New ILDA Membership Category proposed

[soforene]

....The word "amature" would scare venue managers and promoters.

It scares me but probably for different reasons.

[Doc]

It scares me but probably for different reasons.

Not a single fuzzy VHS in sight.

[cfavreau]

I think you could just say I am an "ILDA Member" no? Do people need to know what level?

Is there some rule someplace that forces us to disclose that information? Maybe just give the membership levels numbers... takes the whole name stipulation thing out of it...

[buffo]

Indeed - you are an ILDA member. If you don't do any commercial shows, you're a hobbyist. If you do a few shows, then you need to step up to the "Individual" level. (Which is only $125 per year... Many of us spend that much just to keep PhotonLexicon running...) But either way, you're still an "ILDA Member".

Adam

[blowfly]

Indeed - you are an ILDA member. If you don't do any commercial shows, you're a hobbyist. If you do a few shows, then you need to step up to the "Individual" level. (Which is only $125 per year... Many of us spend that much just to keep PhotonLexicon running...) But either way, you're still an "ILDA Member".

Adam

Wow, I didn't realize PhotonLexicon needed so much support. How much does it cost to run this site? I feel like I should be contributing. How do I do that?

On the ILDA membership, I guess it's not very clear to me what the benefits are vs. the cost. I would spring $50 for a membership to get a newsletter and for the satisfaction of contributing to increasing general knowledge of laser safety and to help protect the industry politically. In my current position $125 is a tougher sell. I would need to have a better understanding of what the money is used for and what the benefit is to me personal. The probably sounds a little arbitrary, keep in mind that I'm speaking from a position of utter ignorance.

Mike

[allthatwhichis]

Wow, I didn't realize PhotonLexicon needed so much support. How much does it cost to run this site? I feel like I should be contributing. How do I do that?

I know I am happy to do the $10 a month subscription not only to assist with site costs but to help "the janitor" in any way I can; I'd still be shining a SP161B onto a mirror attached to a speaker if it were not for this "site". I would like to request he place this is a more visible spot or add the donate button back to somewhere highly visible on all screens. I am not sure how much it cost to keep this site going, but I hope it takes less than come in from those who are contributing; the man deserves a little in his pocket for the shite he goes through to keep this beast a float.

[edison]

Great to see that hobbiest and amateurs have an oppertunity to get involved in ILDA activities. As for the safetycourse i think it should stay optional. Keep the bar as low as possible that way more hobbiest wil support and join this and have the chance to learn and understanding safety just by talking to others. That way more and more hobbiest wil build projectors that have more safetyfeatures. Its also great to have a chance to learn from proffesionals.

[buffo]

I feel like I should be contributing. How do I do that?

Simple. Just follow the link that Aaron posted above. It will take you to the paid subscriptions page where you can set up your recurring donation. (You need to be signed in first though.)

On the ILDA membership, I guess it's not very clear to me what the benefits are vs. the cost.

ILDA is the only professional organization that is firmly in our corner as far as laserists are concerned. They (ILDA) lobby the government to help guide new legislation, they actively seek to correct misstatements in the press, and they have even gone so far as to release public statements to explain "our side" of the story when things go bad. The most recent example I can think of was the press release they published in numerous media outlets (at a cost of nearly $10,000), explaining the reasons behind the eye injuries which were reported at the Aquamarine rave outside Moscow back in the summer of 2008. This document went a long way towards calming the media frenzy.

They also work with manufacturers to make their products safer. (A good example here is the recent launch of the laser pointer safety website.) They host technical presentations at the annual meetings to help educate the members. And of course, ILDA has already developed several standards which we all use.

So given that ILDA is out to protect my interests with regard to lasers and laser shows, I don't mind supporting them with an annual membership. True, PhotonLexicon is also a big help to the average hobbyist, but ILDA is involved with the larger issues that most of us don't even think about every day. PL is never going to be able to lobby the CDRH for changes, but ILDA has already done so (and no doubt will do so again in the future). For example, the current dialog about moving MPE calculations towards a risk-based assessment (rather than shooting for an "intrinsically safe" rating) is being spear-headed by several ILDA members.

I would spring $50 for a membership to get a newsletter and for the satisfaction of contributing to increasing general knowledge of laser safety and to help protect the industry politically.

Which is exactly what Tim is proposing with his "hobbyist" membership level.

In my current position $125 is a tougher sell. I would need to have a better understanding of what the money is used for and what the benefit is to me personal.

Well, the individual membership level ($125) is really aimed at people who perform commercial shows by themselves, not hobbyists. If you are a one-man shop, and you perform laser shows, then the Individual membership is probably where you want to be anyway. (This level also gives you the right to vote for board members at the annual meeting.)

The only reason I joined as an Individual is because there was no "hobbyist" category when I joined.

Adam

[blowfly]

Thanks for the detailed explanation of what the ILDA does. That was helpful. I didn't realize the laserpointersafety site was theirs, that's a good one. In an industry as technical as this where safety is important, I recognize the need for lobbyists and people who keep an eye out to ensure regulations make sense.

I think my first priority is to start helping with PL. I'm here pretty much every day while I'm waiting for bits to twiddle. When I make more progress with my projector then I can see the value in investing in the ILDA.

Thanks guys!
Mike

[flecom]

I'd still be shining a SP161B onto a mirror attached to a speaker if it were not for this "site".

in all fairness I would have a LOT more money in the bank if it wasn't for this site