so i finally worked up the nerve to check into our local weekly 2m net last tuesday, been a ham for about 8 months now and just been listening for a while before jumping in. went fine overall but there was this one guy who kept coming in before net control even acknowledged the previous station, like just walking right over people mid-transmission. happened at least three or four times and the net control operator never said anything about it.

i guess i was just surprised because everyone talks about how important operating etiquette is and i always assumed nets were kinda... more formal about that stuff? or am i just being naive. is this normal and i missed something, or is this actually bad practice and people just let it slide to avoid drama. genuinely not sure what the correct thing is here

unfortunately yeah, this happens more than people like to admit. some nets are run really tightly and the NCS will gently remind someone to wait their turn, but a lot of local club nets are pretty relaxed and the net control doesnt always want to call someone out publicly, especially if its a long-time member. its not ideal but thats just the reality of it.

the proper procedure is to wait until NCS acknowledges you before transmitting, thats pretty standard across almost any net format. what you witnessed was technically incorrect operating but its one of those things where people let it slide. if it really bugs you and you get to know the net manager you could always mention it privately, that usually goes over better than saying something on air. welcome to nets by the way, glad you finally checked in

ive had the same thing happen and honestly i just chalked it up to that particular guy having a bad radio or something lol. like maybe he genuinely cant hear the other station. but yeah net control should probably say something, even just a quick "please wait for acknowledgement" keeps things running smooth. some nets i check into are super organized and others feel like a free-for-all. just depends on whos running it i guess