One other item…Dave and I have discussed this matter at length. _____ From: John Bellows [mailto:jbellows@skypoint.com] Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2007 11:23 AM To: arrl-odv Subject: Re the Secret Society About a week ago I suggested a way to address the concerns raised by Rich Moseson in his “Secret Society” editorial in the June 2007 issue of CQ Magazine. In essence the suggestion was to ask W2VU for an opportunity to respond in CQ to the questions he asked in the editorial. The idea was that a clear statement of we the Board did, together with the reasons why we took those actions could at least be a first step in answering some of the concerns raised in the Moseson editorial. After I posted my comment I received several positive responses, some via odv and some direct. Additional there were a couple of emails from board members who didn’t think the suggested approach was the way to proceed. That is great since odv was created for this sort of discussion. After that first flurry of comments odv has gone quieter than HF at the bottom of the cycle. If the CQ questions had arisen in one of the web “trash talk forums” a response would likely be futile, since those gristmills seem more interested in volume than solutions. The questions raised in CQ are different, they were raised by a serious and experienced Amateur in a respected and public forum and we shouldn’t just leave them hanging. My suggestion may not be the way to proceed, but it seems that if the recent discussions about improving our communication with members and non-members are genuine, we should do something and shouldn’t let a serious question by a responsible voice in amateur radio go unanswered. Left unanswered the reasonable assumption is that the statements in the June CQ editorial are either true or the ARRL leadership simply doesn’t feel they need to answer. Either way ARRL loses. 73, Jay, KØQB