Hi, I appreciate some of the things people have said about ILDA giving away the donated Arctic laser. I can see your concerns.
Earlier today, I added a section to the drawing giveaway page explaining additional facts about the giveaway. For example, the laser goes to an ILDA Member, who presumably has Class 4 lasers already, the person is required to sign a safety acknowledgement, the person does NOT have to accept the laser if they don't want it for any reason (they get an alternative prize), etc.
Also, ILDA is not taking a position on Wicked's business practices, or on the CDRH warning letter, or on Class 4 lasers in general. We just happened to get a laser donated to us by Wicked, and we're giving it away to a responsible, willing laser user. That's all.
Also, someone thought the original graphic looked too much like a Wicked ad, which is a good point, so I photographed the actual laser and changed the text to remove the specific name of the laser -- not that people can't figure it out...
Anyway, I understand reasonable people can disagree about this particular move. If we had been donated a laser projector, we would have given it away. But we were donated a Wicked Laser, which uses the same diodes that a LOT of ILDA Members have been harvesting or buying, so that's what we're giving away.
If anyone wants to discuss this more, feel free to email or write directly to me. (But first check out the new section, "Additional information about laser safety and this drawing", on the drawing page at ILDA's website.)
-- Patrick Murphy, ILDA, 407-797-7654,
mail@laserist.org