The question “Should LoTW be sponsored?” is one with a long history. A&F and the Logbook Committee itself have discussed many variants of this question, with a variety of possible answers considered. It would help if those in the discussion had some sense of what answers have already been discussed, and of some of the possibilities. While I understand Mark’s point that some people think LoTW should have less advertising, the level and nature of advertising should be considered in the context of ARRL’s total offering of advertising to the vendors and manufacturers. When ads appear on LoTW, they are seen by amateur radio’s most active participants, ARRL members or not, and thus have a special value to advertisers. Finally, for any topics discussed with our “stakeholders”, it should be clear at all times that the discussion does not amount to a promise to do what they suggest. Decisions about the sorts of activities likely to be discussed should be made after deliberation, and not on the fly. In particular, promises of follow-up or even of implementation ought to be avoided. 73, Greg, K0GW On Friday, July 26, 2019, <hopengarten@post.harvard.edu> wrote:
At the most recent meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors, I put forth a motion suggesting that the Division Director and two members of the Legislative Advisory Committee should attempt to meet with a few principals from each of the 15 or so major vendors to the Amateur Radio Community.
As I understood it, there was overwhelming agreement that we have things to learn from our vendor community, but that a minute in our published minutes would have negative implications. I withdrew the motion.
The next major regional convention occurs soon, September 6-8, and happens to be here in New England (“Boxboro,” https://hamxposition.org). I expect that K1TWF will be able to tell me which major vendors will have management present. It may be only one or two. But nonetheless, it will be a good opportunity for a trial run at a qualitative survey.
The plan:
· A Thursday (during the day), or evening meeting – requested in advance – and off-site.
· Not a lot of questions, and those that are asked may best be open-ended.
· A summary provided to the Legislative Advisory Committee to help the next round of qualitative interviews.
· A report back to the Board by July 2020.
A guideline to such interviews (and it is clear that chats on the show floor are nowhere near as good) is attached. It is only Version 1. Improvements welcome!
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