Edit: I have updated this post for clarity. I have also removed some inflammatory language to better communicate my stance. The problem is cultural, not technical. The issue cannot be fixed with more software. I also included context for my reasoning that will hopefully help those unfamiliar with US history. I encourage you all to click the links and learn about the issue for yourselves. Don’t take my word for it.
Some of you may have noticed that I removed content covering JS8 and JS8Call. This is due to the realization that the author of JS8Call supports the activities of an extremist group with ties to the Jan 6th insurrection. The issue was raised on the groups.io mailing list and nothing was done to address it. Furthermore, the FCC knows this is a real problem.
Due to JS8 mailboxes and message forwarding being the primary reason I use the mode, I can now no longer in good conscience use the software.
97.219
(c) Except as noted in (d) of this section, for stations participating in a message forwarding system, the control operators of forwarding stations that retransmit inadvertently communications that violate the rules in this part are not accountable for the violative communications. They are, however, responsible for discontinuing such communications once they become aware of their presence.
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-97?toc=1
Disabling the automated networking features to prevent abuse renders the software much less useful and interesting to me. There are other similar modems within fldigi with good weak signal performance so nothing of real value is lost by discontinuing use of the software and mode.
I find the root of this issue to be indicative of deeper problems in the hobby. Of the radio amateurs I’ve met who have expressed to me that they joined mainly to participate in the emergency communication facet of the hobby revealed themselves to be either the best or worst of us. There doesn’t seem to be a middle ground. I think this speaks volumes about volunteerism in America. We know from research that egoism and altruism are major factors in volunteerism and public service. The self-interested volunteer to protect something they fear is at risk of being lost. I’ve observed far too often that the motivation to volunteer is the delusional fear of losing a country that never was. Hate mongers will always be around to stoke this ember of division. It is our collective duty to be vigilant and stamp it out.
We who are different develop a sixth sense. We can sense where it is not safe to be. This is what to point to when people ask what needs to change to get more people involved in the hobby. Unfortunately this case is not an outlier.