ok so ive been licensed about 8 months now and ive been making contacts pretty regularly, mostly on 40m and some 2m stuff locally. but the whole QSL confirmation thing is starting to feel overwhelming and i dont really understand what i actually need to be doing.

like i get that you can send physical cards through the bureau or direct, and i signed up for LoTW a while back but honestly i just uploaded my log once and forgot about it. then someone at the club mentioned eQSL and now im wondering if i should be doing that too. are these all separate things that different people use, or is there like a standard that most people follow? i dont want to miss out on confirmations from people if theyre only on one system and im not.

also the physical cards - do people still actually send those? i got one in the mail a few weeks ago from a guy in Slovenia which was really cool, but i havent sent any out yet and i feel a little bad about that. do i need to get my own cards printed or can i just confirm digitally and that's fine?

yeah this trips up a lot of newer hams, dont worry about it. basically LoTW is run by the ARRL and its the one that counts for awards like DXCC, so thats the one most serious DXers care about. eQSL is a totally separate thing and some people love it, some ignore it completely - it has its own award system and the cards look nice on screen but its not accepted for DXCC. physical cards are still very much a thing, some folks absolutely love them and will only confirm that way.

my honest advice is keep uploading to LoTW regularly, that one matters most if you ever want to chase awards. sign up for eQSL too if you want, its free and you might get some nice confirmations. and yeah get some cards printed eventually, doesnt have to be right away but its kind of a nice part of the hobby. places like KB Prints or even vista print work fine for basic ones.

the Slovenia card thing is cool, you should definitely send one back if you have their address - most people who send direct cards include a self addressed envelope or at least their address expecting a reply. not sending one back feels a bit rude in the DX world honestly, though im sure nobody's going to track you down over it haha.

i use all three systems just because different operators prefer different things and i want to make sure i dont miss a confirmation. LoTW gets uploaded every week or two with TQSL, eQSL is pretty automatic if you set it up right, and i keep a small stack of cards for the contacts where someone sends me one direct or asks nicely. its not as complicated as it sounds once you get into a routine with it.