[Dxspider-support] Discussion: Informing Users About Registration Requirement for Spotting

Thu Mar 6 18:07:16 GMT 2025

Hi David

I use Logger32 as my logger program.
I can see in the Telnetwindow when I log in to my cluster with a call 
that has never logged in before this message is visible:
_________________________________________________________________
#################################################################
You are not registered to this cluster
Please register first and use a pssword to login.
You can apply for a password by contacting sysop at pa4jj.nl
IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO REGISTER YOU STILL CAN USE THE CLUSTER
BUT YOU CANNOT SEND SPOTS.
################################################################
________________________________________________________________

73
Jan PA4JJ

Op 6-3-2025 om 18:59 schreef David Spoelstra via Dxspider-support:
> 1. I am a heavy user of the cluster.
> 2. In 50 years, I have never posted a spot.
> 3. With my current logging software, I never see the telnet interface. 
> I have a table with name, IP, Port, user name, and password. 
> Everything is pre-filled in except for password. I don't even know 
> where they get the list of nodes. I *can* change the table if needed.
> 4. For those of you that wonder why you lose half your people when you 
> implement passwords, it's obvious to us that actually *use* the packet 
> cluster software rather than sit in front of it managing it from the 
> command line. WE DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU HAVE ADDED A MANDATORY PASSWORD! 
> We just know that _your node is no longer working_ so we just click on 
> the next node down in the table. I'll bet a lot of OMs wouldn't even 
> know *how* to get on a telnet terminal and add a password anymore. 
> From my experience as a club president, they can barely run the 
> software as it is. Our most asked for monthly club topics now are how 
> to use different software packages. Our most asked technical questions 
> are no longer how to build an antenna, etc, they are "How do you do X 
> in Y software?" It actually feels more like I'm running a computer 
> club than a ham radio club!
>
> I believe that if you really want to implement mandatory passwords, 
> you are going to have to _work with the logging program authors to 
> make it much easier for the users_. For example, in my software if I 
> just add a password in the table, it won't connect. I'm guessing that 
> the software is assuming that somehow I have already established a 
> password with the node.
>
> Remember, the average age of our users is getting older and older and 
> they are having trouble coping with new technology. I have people in 
> my club that buy new radios and then sell them because they are "too 
> complicated" and they can't run them. You would be amazed how many 
> people use SignaLinks with IC-7300s because they don't know or can't 
> figure out how to use the built-in soundcard interface in the IC-7300! 
> When I go over to their house and remove the SignaLink from their 
> setup they argue with me that they need it to run FT8. When I run FT8 
> without it, they are amazed and wonder why it wasn't made more obvious 
> in the software how to interface without a SignaLInk so they wouldn't 
> buy something they didn't need.
>
> _If you want mandatory passwords, then look at it from the end user's 
> perspective - not from you own bias of command lines and telnet 
> windows - and make it much easier to implement from the end user's 
> perspective which means you are going to have to get the software 
> authors onboard._
>
> This is from the documentation of the DXLabs software (DXKeeper 
> specifically) - which from various tables like eQSL is one of the most 
> used softwares. "If you'd like to monitor spots from the N6WS, EI7MRE, 
> K1RFI, and JH1RFM  DXClusters, enable them and repeat the above steps. 
> Like DX Spots, none of these DXClusters require a password, so you can 
> leave their Password textboxes blank; _specifying a password when none 
> is required may cause the login to fail_."
>
> -David, N9KT
>
>
> On Thu, Mar 6, 2025 at 7:34 AM Faizul via Dxspider-support 
> <dxspider-support at tobit.co.uk> wrote:
>
>     Hello OM Rick,
>
>     Yes, this is exactly our concern now. Even during contests or
>     other on-the-air programs, we often see that some people are
>     unaware of the rules and regulations. A registration helps ensure
>     that users understand the requirements, but as you've noticed, it
>     can also lead to a drop in participation when enforcement is
>     tightened.
>
>     Perhaps we need to conduct a mass campaign to educate users on why
>     registration is necessary and how it benefits the community. Clear
>     communication and outreach could help more people comply while
>     keeping engagement strong.
>
>
>     On Thu, Mar 6, 2025 at 8:18 PM Ricardo Suarez via Dxspider-support
>     <dxspider-support at tobit.co.uk> wrote:
>
>         Hello all.
>
>         From more than one year, I have the motd saying some like "you
>         need to send message to lu9da for registration, or you can`t
>         send spots"
>
>         A couple of days ago, I set registration on AND I LOST HALF OF
>         USERS IN QUESTION OF HOURS!
>
>
>         Rick LU9DA
>
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-- 
____________________________________________________
my dxspider clusters running on a raspberry pi:
pa4jj-2 77.174.195.163 port 7300
pa4jj-3 77.174.195.163 port 7388
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