[Dx-qsl] QSLing courtesy

Sun Sep 12 23:59:02 EDT 2004

KU9C writes:
> Doing what I do, it amazes me how many people do one or more of the following:
> -QSL every contact that they make, usually via the bureau, and expect a QSL in return. How many times do you need a garden variety Caribbean country confirmed?

I hope I didn't irritate Steven or any other QSL manager for the issue
written above, but I should confess that until recently I did not
eliminate issueing paper QSL cards for the same-band-and-mode contacts.
(Recently I decided to remove the duplicates before printing the cards.)
I might have sent two QSL cards, one direct, one via the bureau, for a
same QSO. I think, however, I haven't done any more that that.
Let me tell you something about how the paper QSLing is recognized by
the JAs.
I don't know how many JAs are actually doing the above things for a
Caribbean station, but within JAs, JARL members take the QSL bureau for
granted as a no-metering (=unlimited) subscription service. In Japan
most JAs are repetitively sending QSL cards for the same-band-and-mode
contacts between JAs through JARL bureau since they don't have to pay
the price for each card which they send via the bureau. And at least I
can say that *many JAs demand other JAs* to issue *QSL cards for ALL THE
QSOs*. This is one of the reasons I quit actively working with JAs,
though I surely live and operate in JA. 
I suspect many JAs consider that the no-metering policy could be
extended to *all* foreign QSL bureaus, which is absolutely wrong. Once
you know how the ARRL or RAC outgoing and incoming bureaus work and that
ARRL or anyone else does now provide intra-USA QSL card bureaus so far,
you should immediately quit sending unnecessary QSL cards via the
American bureaus and those who are implementing the same policies if you
have some consideration about the cost the recipients pay.
I always include SAE and the postage (of a USD 0.80 stamp or a JPY 80
stamp, or 1 or 2 GSes, or 1 or 2 IRCs, whatever) for requesting a QSL
card, and I agree that's the bottom line in the year 2004, or at any
time when the cost of handling QSL cards is not free. 
And I post all the avaliable logs to the LoTW, mostly for myself, but
also for somebody who wants a JA on the system.
73
// Kenji Rikitake, JJ1BDX/3