Beagle
"Always ask yourself whether your actually NEED to make that call!"
As I said in an earlier post I know this is a common stance. Your definitions of "need" may even be the same as mine.
However I get the impression that some pilots will avoid asking for a flight information service - and I hope it is still on topic, becasue Genghis may have been reluctant to talk to Goodwood in this case because it was a little way a way.
If I am aerobating over Ford or Thorny Island I will always tell Goodwood. If no one is going to talk to Goodwood my call also becomes a bit pointless! However I bet if your are on frequency you will either hear them passing that information on to other pilots or listen in on my call. The problem is that if everyone only listens Goodwood does not have the opportunity to provide the information.
In my view if a freqeuncy is not too busy a quick call as you pass to ask for a FIS is not pointless yak and adds significantly to reducing the risk of a collision.