A very long time ago the function was carried out by Committees of Correspondence. I am embarrassed to admit how long it took me to figure out why they were necessary and what, exactly, they corresponded about. Place a ham radio in that format and I think we have a viable model.
Well, I confess, I’m embarrassed to admit that I had not even known what a “Committee of Correspondence” is. I looked it up, and realized I had known of the function, if not the name.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/committee+of+correspondence
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_of_correspondence