We Want Your Essays!
Sporadic Essays is an alternative to the online discussion forum. Your essays on any Amateur Radio, or other interesting topic, are invited. It's almost like the regular "forum" sites, but you can't just stop by and deposit a one or two-line flame, or just as bad, a comment that has absolutely nothing to do with the topic in question.
Your submission must be in the form of an essay and that essay must be at least 250 WORDS in length. Your essay MUST stand alone! You cannot comment on another author's essay, even remotely!
For example, I don't like repeaters. I'll have several essays that are not complimentary to repeaters. If you love repeaters, by all means submit an essay detailing the joys of repeater operation. Just don't use my essay as a "stepping stone" to launch yours. Don't cite points from my essay and offer counter-points to my ideas.
Regretfully, I cannot even allow "positive" comments about another's essay. If I allow the positive, then I must allow the negative. When this happens, we are no different from QRZ or e-Ham… we'll just have full-length flames instead of one- or two-liners.
ALTERNATIVE: I, like many of you, am loaded with little one and two line comments about something or another that's ham radio related. So, how about this: save your short comments in a text file. Add to it every day. When you come up with a file size meeting the minimum word count, submit it as a "collection of your knowledgeable observations". Remember, your submission must still stand on its own two feet.
Of course, no personal attacks are allowed. You may attack bad operating practices, but do not mention specific operators, groups, etc. Send specific complaints to the FCC. FCC not responsive? That would make a good letter in itself. And no "bad guy" reports. If you got ripped off at an auction site, don't report it here. That's not what we do.
I'm not a lawyer, and I don't plan to hire one to review submissions. I'll take the easy way out and simply decline to post questionable essays. Hopefully, the "drive-by" commentators, those who merely troll the forums and look for innocent victims on whom they can deposit their snipes and flames, will be rendered impotent by the requirement to have to actually write an essay.
I'm sure this means we'll have very few essays here, but I'm looking for quality, not quantity.
To submit an essay, just use the "Post" button above and send it directly to me, the Sporadic Essays editor.
73,
WF5TX
