Used to be. Honestly don't even remember my callsigns.
I became a Technician when I was in high school because I lived in NYC (went down to Varick street to take the test) but didn't know anyone who could administer the Novice test.
Built a small QRP rig but never made contact with anyone and lost interest.
A few years later I went back to get either my Extra or Advanced...who remembers. I did that more to see if I could copy code at the required rate than for any other reason. Actually I think my last license might be in the safe, I should take a look someday.
I was never that interested in being a ham and talking to other people; SWL was much more fun. I had QSL cards from all over the world.
I used to be. I got my technician class license at 14, just before morse code became optional (which I think they never should have done). In fact, I passed the 20wpm code test for general, but never took the written. My license expired while I was in the middle of graduating college, buying a house and having a kid. I had other priorities on my mind at the time, obviously, and didn't even think of it until the grace period had ended. I want to get back into it, but there are no longer any VE's in the area and it's just a lot of hassle to travel a long distance to take the test. The last time I checked, though, my call sign was still available (KE4BZY), and if I did test again, I'd probably pay the vanity license fee to get it back, if possible.
Low-code Extra here. I've got a couple Altoids tin kits, but I've never put enough time into code to really work CW QRP. I've worked some far contacts with 2-5 watt PSK though.
Yes, the 30m band is allocated to amateur radio operators by the ITU, and this is enforced by the authorities in each member country (e.g. Industry Canada in Canada, or the FCC in the US).
In practice, especially on bands this low, it's mostly unenforceable. Just don't be a jerk: keep your power low, your bandwidth small, and make sure no one is using the channel before you smear your transmission all over it.
a) The FCC love to exert their dominance over everyone and it's illegal to use a radio channel without permission / licensing.
b) You would be being an ass to hams who are trying to use the channel to communicate amongst themselves but now it's filled with ununderstandable garbage.
That begs a good question. How many hackers here are also hams? I'm W1OFZ.