10/22/2019

ARRL's Committee on Communication with ARRL Members has opened new online forums where all radio amateurs - ARRL members and non-members alike - can discuss issues and topics in two-way conversation with ARRL leadership. The new groups are aimed at enhancing communication among ARRL leadership, staff, members, and prospective members, in a manner that enables timely updates and collegial discussion.

This project was based on the success over the past several years of the ARRL-LoTW (Logbook of The World) Group in responding to Amateur Radio operators' questions and generating discussion on ways to improve that program. "The LoTW initiative has clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of online Groups as a means of achieving the desired interaction," ARRL said in announcing the new groups.

ARRL has added three online groups:


o ARRL-Contesting[1]ÿ- moderated by ARRL Contest Advisory Committee Chairman Dennis Egan, W1UE.


o ARRL-Awards[2] - moderated by ARRL Radiosport and Field Services Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ.


o ARRL-IARU[3] - moderated by IARU Secretary Dave Sumner, K1ZZ.



The existing ARRL-LOTW[4] group, which has about 4,750 members, remains hosted by Groups.io but has moved.

Everyone who subscribes to an ARRL Group is also automatically subscribed to the "ARRL Groups" group. This administrative feature will allow ARRL to convey routine announcements relevant to subscribers of all ARRL groups.

ARRL IT Manager Michael Keane, K1MK, worked with Groups.io to set up the new groups.

In the months ahead, the Committee envisions creating more online groups to support two-way communication focusing on areas of additional interest to radio amateurs, including ARRL activities, services, initiatives, and policies.

ARRL currently hosts members-only online forums that include Awards and Contesting. While these forums will continue to operate, participants will be encouraged to post new threads in the appropriate new groups.

Participants will be expected to adhere to some basic ground rules:


o All questions are welcome, no matter how many times they have already been asked and answered, or how obvious the answers might be in the documentation.


o Neither personal attacks nor foul language will be tolerated. Violators will immediately be placed on "moderated" status, meaning their subsequent posts will require Moderator approval until the Moderator's trust has been regained.


o Individuals posting are reminded that these forums are open to everyone, including prospective hams and operators who are not ARRL members but may be thinking about joining. Civility and courtesy are expected, even when you may take issue with a post or thread topic.



The Committee on Communication with Members believes that providing more opportunities for two-way discussion between ARRL leadership and the broader Amateur Radio community will assist the organization in truly serving the needs of this community.


[1] https://groups.arrl.org/g/ARRL-Contesting
[2] https://groups.arrl.org/g/ARRL-Awards
[3] https://groups.arrl.org/g/ARRL-IARU
[4] https://groups.arrl.org/g/ARRL-LoTW

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08/31/2022

ARRL's Operations Department manages several online forums where all radio amateurs - ARRL members and non-members alike - can discuss issues and topics in two-way conversation with ARRL staff and leadership. The groups are aimed at enhancing communication among ARRL leadership, staff, members, and prospective members, in a manner that enables timely updates and collegial discussion.

ARRL has added several online subgroups:


o Antenna Law and Policy Forum[1]
o ARRL-Awards[2]
o ARRL-Contesting[3]
o ARRL-Education[4]
o ARRL-HF-Band-Planning[5]
o ARRL-LoTW[6]
o ARRL-New-Hams[7]
o ARRL-Regulatory-Affairs[8]
o Feedback to ARRL[9]

To browse them all from the groups.io page, use this link:ÿ https://groups.arrl.org/g/ARRL-Groups[10]

Everyone who subscribes to any of the above ARRL Groups is also automatically subscribed to the master "ARRL Groups" group. This administrative feature will allow ARRL to convey routine announcements relevant to subscribers of all ARRL groups.

Since these new groups are hosted on a Groups.io platform, those wishing to subscribe must use a Groups.io username and password, if they have one, or create a Groups.io account if they don't.

Participants will be expected to adhere to some basic ground rules:


o All questions are welcome, no matter how many times they have already been asked and answered, or how obvious the answers might be in the documentation.
o Neither personal attacks nor foul language will be tolerated.ÿ Protracted criticism of individual ARRL Staff Members is not appropriate subject matter for any of these forums. Violators will immediately be placed on "moderated" status, meaning their subsequent posts will require Moderator approval until the Moderator's trust has been regained. Repeat offenders will be blocked from posting.
o Individuals posting are reminded that these forums are open to everyone, including prospective hams and operators who are not ARRL members but may be thinking about joining. Civility and courtesy are expected, even when you may take issue with a post or thread topic.

Please note that these forums are not monitored 24x7x365 and it may take time for someone to respond.ÿ Send an email to the Group Owner in the forum you're posting in if you have not received a response within 5 business days (one work week).ÿ Note that some ARRL staffers are likely to visit these forums on weekends, not all do.ÿ Please be patient.ÿ

Thank you!


[1] https://groups.arrl.org/g/ARRL-Antenna-Law-and-Policy
[2] https://groups.arrl.org/g/ARRL-Awards
[3] https://groups.arrl.org/g/ARRL-Contesting
[4] https://groups.arrl.org/g/ARRL-Education
[5] https://groups.arrl.org/g/ARRL-HF-Band-Planning
[6] https://groups.arrl.org/g/ARRL-LoTW
[7] https://groups.arrl.org/g/ARRL-New-Hams
[8] https://groups.arrl.org/g/ARRL-Regulatory-Affairs
[9] https://groups.arrl.org/g/FeedbacktoARRL
[10] https://groups.arrl.org/g/ARRL-Groups

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