The World Radio League membership is a cross-section of our entire great world. We come from all walks of life, socioeconomic backgrounds, faiths, races and much more. We’re male and female, we’re young and old, and we’re new to the hobby and long in the hobby. We ask for tolerance of all backgrounds in any of our community groups!
Here are some specific rules and guidelines as you participate in our World Radio League community forums and conversations:
Elmers are welcome: Experienced ham radio operators offering assistance to those studying to become a ham or inexperienced hams are known as “elmers.” We welcome the participation of elmers in our community. The assistance provided by elmers is invaluable, whether you are a new licensee or even a more seasoned amateur. We appreciate your help!
Spam is not tolerated: Multiple cross-postings or promotion of amateur and non-amateur products and/or services is not allowed by those with an interest in the promotion. With that said, there is nothing wrong with contributions to conversations that are helpful. For instance, if an amateur is asking questions about good antenna tuners and you happen to represent a business that produces or sells them and can make a recommendation, by all means, offer your input with a link. However, we will not tolerate promotions in multiple conversations that are disruptive to the flow of communication.
Introduce yourself: As you join a new conversation in World Radio League’s community, feel free to introduce yourself. If you join a conversation on the use of AM rigs on 80 meters, tell us about your interest, equipment used for 80 AM, etc. After all, we’re a community and we want to meet you! However, please tailor your introduction to each conversation. For instance, we don’t want to know about your 80-meter boat anchor in a conversation about DMR hotspots!
World Radio League centric: We ask that you refrain from promoting or mentioning competitor’s products or services, free or paid, in our community. We’re all here as learners through World Radio League’s platform and we ask that you respect our product and services as such. Any mention of competitors’ or their learning products or services might be deleted, depending on the context.
We’re family friendly: We have men and women, as well as people of all ages in our community. We ask that you show respect. All conversations should be civil and respectful and family-friendly language should be used at all times. Please refrain from sexism in your posts and comments, as we have a high percentage of women who are our members. This is a welcoming community! Anyone who doesn’t abide by this may be placed on moderated status for a period of time to ensure children, families and others aren’t offended by posts that are inappropriate. Basically, keep your conversations similar to what you might say on the air, being civil and friendly. If you disagree with someone, don’t be a jerk. Just move on.
We’re ham radio only: Our community is here to help you learn more about amateur radio, to advance in the hobby and to advance the hobby in itself. We’re not interested in seeing conversations about religion, race, politics or sex – or anything off topic from amateur radio. There are plenty of other forums for that outside our community. Remember, we have members from teens to senior citizens in our group and we ask that all communications be family friendly.
Share your success: When you pass your exam or upgrade, share your success! We love hearing of our students’ success, and our community is here to cheer you on! Post a photo of you holding your Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination or new FCC license so we can all congratulate you!
Sales of amateur gear: We follow FCC rules as if our community here were on the air. Only the sale of amateur radio equipment is allowed in our community. Have a 2-meter antenna you want to sell? How about a DMR handheld? Maybe you have a signal generator to unload? By all means, post your sale item. But it has to be related to ham radio. We don’t want non-amateur items posted for sale in our community, and as such, is subject to deletion. The basic rule is if the item wouldn’t be used by an amateur radio operator or in the operation of their station, don’t post it.
Deals between members: Any sale or exchange of equipment or items between two or more parties in our community is done between the parties only and World Radio League is not responsible for the outcome of your sale or exchange. We recommend using services such as PayPal to offer assurance in the sale (but not their “friends and family” feature that offers no help in the event of an errant sale). We are unable to assist anyone if a sale goes bad, so be sure you know what you are doing and be sure to get photos, videos and more of what you are purchasing beforehand. It’s buyer beware, as on most forums. If we learn of multiple potential bad sales by an individual, we reserve the right to suspend their ability to post in our community. As a buyer, if you are seeking better assurance in a sale, we suggest that you use a platform such as eBay to procure used items where eBay backs the sale, if needed. Also, we strongly suggest that as an added benefit to our members that if you have an item for sale, post it for sale on eBay and then share the link in our community. That will offer others assurance in the sale of your item.
We’re here to help: World Radio League’s industry-best Student Success team is here to support you in many ways! If you are experiencing technical issues with your courses or use of the website and community, the best way to reach out to our team is through our support desk by sending an email to support@hamradioprep.com. By doing this, we are able to elevate your support ticket to others on our team, including the engineers behind the scenes that make everything work! We want to offer you the best experience and service as possible. We pledge to get back to you within 24 hours (except Sundays and some holidays) when you have any problems or questions, and we typically get back to you sooner, but hey, we’re based in the USA and we sleep, too!
Thank you: Above all, we want everyone to have a favorable experience in our World Radio League community and we ask that you exercise the same respect that you do on the air. By doing such, our community becomes a place to learn and to engage with all our members. Thank you for sharing in our community.