so i finally worked up the nerve to check into the local tuesday night net, been licensed for about 4 months and mostly just listen. the net control asked if anyone had any topics or questions and i just kind of blurted out something about what the difference was between a directed net and an open net because i genuinely didnt know. there was this pause and then net control explained it but i could swear i heard someone key up and unkey real quick like they were going to say something and then didnt.

now im overthinking it. was that a dumb thing to ask on a net? should questions like that be saved for after the net or on a different frequency? i dont want to be that guy who slows everything down. i looked it up after and i get the basic idea now but i still feel like i committed some kind of faux pas and i dont know the unwritten rules here.

honestly you did nothing wrong, that's exactly what nets are for, especially the ones that are specifically community or training oriented. most net controls are happy to have newer folks engaging rather than just sitting there silently. the person who keyed up probably just had a cat walk across their desk or something, dont read into it.

the unwritten rule that actually matters is just listen before you transmit and dont talk over people. everything else is pretty forgiving especially on a local club net. i've been doing this for over 20 years and i still hear experienced ops ask basic questions on the air, nobody worth worrying about is going to judge you for it. keep checking in, it gets way more comfortable after a few times.

dude i was so scared my first time checking into a net i gave my callsign wrong lol. said it backwards somehow. just keep showing up, thats really the only way to get comfortable with the procedures. nobody expects new hams to know everything right away and if they do theyre being weird about it.