ok so ive been listening to the local 2m net for about three weeks now and i finally worked up the courage to check in last tuesday. the net control called for check-ins and i just said my callsign like i heard other people do, and he came back to me and acknowledged me, so i think it went ok? but then later in the net he asked if anyone had traffic and i wasnt sure if i was supposed to say something even though i didnt have any traffic, or if you just stay quiet. i ended up just staying quiet and i think that was right but honestly i have no idea.

also at one point someone said they were mobile and gave their callsign twice and i wasnt sure if thats a thing you always do when youre mobile or just sometimes. i dont want to be that guy who does something wrong on the air and embarrasses himself. been licensed since march so still pretty new to all this.

You did fine, don't stress it. When net control asks for traffic it just means formal written messages being passed using the NTS format, most local nets have zero traffic most nights and everyone just stays quiet exactly like you did. You only speak up if you actually have a message to pass to someone.

The mobile thing is just a courtesy so net control knows your signal might vary or drop out, some nets ask you to identify as mobile or portable so they know what to expect. Not every net requires it but its a nice habit. Honestly the best way to learn net procedures is just to keep showing up and listening, you'll pick up the rhythm pretty fast. You're doing great for three weeks in.

yeah i was in the same boat when i first started checking into nets, felt super awkward for like the first month. one thing that helped me was i found a copy of the ARRL Net Directory and just read through how formal nets are supposed to work, not that every local net follows it perfectly but it gives you a baseline. also dont be afraid to ask the net control directly after the net closes, most of them are super happy to answer questions, thats kind of the whole point of the hobby anyway