Do you think Building a Pulse Laser Pistol at Home belongs on PhotonLexicon?

[taggalucci]

With reference to http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...Pistol-at-Home

Do you believe this type of content, or even the linking to it, belongs on PL?

[norty303]

Good lord, another poll.......

Can't it be done the old fashioned way and we just hound them out of town with pitchforks?

[Eidetic]

Here's an article from 1964:

[mixedgas]

Sir, pitchforks can be messy, I suggest cattle prods retrofitted with MOTS.

All joking aside, the OP asked the wrong question. He needs to go take a university level course in "Educational Test and Measurement".

The correct question is something like, "Should egomaniacs be allowed to post unsafe tutorials, designed to 1. Inflate their ego. 2. Earn money from Youtube, and 3. Introduce a false concept of professionalism?"

Yag laser safety is a valid concept for this forum.

I'm the one who voted none of the above. Improperly written question, although Tag, you know I agree with your concept.

Meh!

.
Steve

[edison]

No. Lets look back in time and learn from it. The guy that invented the nuclear bom was eager to find out if his theory was right. After inventing it he said he has regret it his hole live for
inventing it. Once he invented it others took over and you all know what has happend. It killed millions of innocent people. So please if you have interest in lasers start inventing something
that is good for all mankind instead of a weapon

[lasersbee]

With reference to http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...Pistol-at-Home

Do you believe this type of content, or even the linking to it, belongs on PL?

I saw that on LPF the other day by the same "author"...
It wasn't that well received over there either...IIRC
I'm fairly sure he doesn't know what PL is about....

Another member from laserpointerforums.com even suggested I post this here.

Maybe it was a joke...


Jerry

[ShortyInCanada]

I also voted for neither.
The question, as phrased, is too simplistic for me.
The idea of over simplifying anything that commands the due ammount of respect that any dangerous hobby/work/research requires just doesn't sit right with me.
Is the project. on the whole, a bad fit for this forum ? Not really. It is laser based. It was produced by a hobbiest. That hobbiest is a member here. That would seem to mean that by definition that it should be allowed and accepted as valid.
Is the tutorial that was presented with it suitable for this forum ? (Conjecture here as the video is blocked for me at work.) From the comments in the other thread it would appear that the original video has some safety related concerns. Whether or not those concerns are provable or not is irrelevant. That there is room for concerns about safety means that this aspect of the tutorial needs to be addressed. (How it is addressed can go many ways.) The original poster has commented that he intends to make changes and as such I hope that he willingly removes the video pending a posting that addresses the concerns mentioned. This would make any further comments concerning it as moot.
Would any posting about a laser based project WITHOUT properly addressing the dangers and safety concerns involved be acceptable for this forum ? I think the responses will prove that to be "No."
Again I will point out that the "grey area" of "addressing" the safety concerns is the problem. What one person claims to be adequate may not be (and will not be) the same as another's viewpoint. I would advise that for the sake of your own protection you should always anticipate that some completely foolish young person without any full comprehension of the consequences (like we all were at some time) will eventually attempt what you have done. If you haven't blatantly and in a very obvious way demonstrated your safety precautions, and explained them, then they will skip over them too and leave themselves unintentionally exposed. You don't really want to risk that do you ?

So your question can't be answered with a simple "yes" or "no". It's both parts of "yes" and "no".

[lasersbee]

I also voted for neither.
The question, as phrased, is too simplistic for me.
The idea of over simplifying anything that commands the due ammount of respect that any dangerous hobby/work/research requires just doesn't sit right with me.
Is the project. on the whole, a bad fit for this forum ? Not really. It is laser based. It was produced by a hobbiest. That hobbiest is a member here. That would seem to mean that by definition that it should be allowed and accepted as valid.
Is the tutorial that was presented with it suitable for this forum ? (Conjecture here as the video is blocked for me at work.) From the comments in the other thread it would appear that the original video has some safety related concerns. Whether or not those concerns are provable or not is irrelevant. That there is room for concerns about safety means that this aspect of the tutorial needs to be addressed. (How it is addressed can go many ways.) The original poster has commented that he intends to make changes and as such I hope that he willingly removes the video pending a posting that addresses the concerns mentioned. This would make any further comments concerning it as moot.
Would any posting about a laser based project WITHOUT properly addressing the dangers and safety concerns involved be acceptable for this forum ? I think the responses will prove that to be "No."
Again I will point out that the "grey area" of "addressing" the safety concerns is the problem. What one person claims to be adequate may not be (and will not be) the same as another's viewpoint. I would advise that for the sake of your own protection you should always anticipate that some completely foolish young person without any full comprehension of the consequences (like we all were at some time) will eventually attempt what you have done. If you haven't blatantly and in a very obvious way demonstrated your safety precautions, and explained them, then they will skip over them too and leave themselves unintentionally exposed. You don't really want to risk that do you ?

So your question can't be answered with a simple "yes" or "no". It's both parts of "yes" and "no".

That hobbyist became a member here just to post his project... It was
his 1st Post...
It is obvious that he did not take the time to understand and find out what
this Forum is about before posting it...

Posting on a Forum is a privilege.... not a right... Subject matter is deemed
acceptable or not by the Admin or the Forum community as a whole...

There is a big difference in me building something dangerous for myself and
only showing pictures of it... or building something dangerous and showing
every Tom... Dick and Harry how to build it himself and then show the use of
the item without proper safety precautions...

The other part of this that seems to be overlooked is that PL is basically a Laser
Projector Forum...

Why don't you do a Laser Pointer Review here showing all the things your Laser
can do... ( burn stuff... Pop Balloons....etc...)


Jerry

[ShortyInCanada]

Yeah Jerry. You are right about that one. "The other part of this that seems to be overlooked is that PL is basically a Laser
Projector Forum..." I stand corrected.
His "projector" isn't quite the same as the entertainment devices of the typical member here. I overlooked that detail.

And we are in agreement over his possible (I say possible as I still haven't been able to watch the video) disregard of safety issues.

However, I will state that even as it was his first posting, he was still a member. For good or bad. For smarter or dumber even. If he was smarter he would have read a bit more before thinking of posting. Then he could have avoided a bit of debate/arguing that made for good reading, in my opinion. But he didn't and now he has been taken to task for it.
-If he would try something like that at LPF would he ever have gotten a blasting...
Whether or not he learns from it is the true question.
Perhaps we have helped him out with that a bit.

So how can a forum prevent a new member from posting something, for lack of a better term, "objectionable" ?
Isn't it better to see first hand what kind of member they are ? (I find the occasional "raw" and unrestrained posting to be refreshing. Maybe it's just me.)
....perhaps this is leading to a different thread topic though...

[gottaluvlasers]

homebrew-

flame wars, name calling, safe this, or safe that. showcase this or showcase that. goggles or no goggles. the bottom line at this point is quite simple, you are a new member here and you are expected to respect the forums intent and mission (if thats the right word to use here). the PL community of active members here is, for the most part, a close knit group of PROFESSIONAL Laserists (professional is not refering to skill level or shows for pay) who respect this art form and its inherent dangers. This is (for the most part) not the place to showcase a "death ray" or "ray gun." Is it cool? yeah, i actually think what you made is pretty bad ass. and i give you kudos for knowing how to do it and having the skill set to build it. However, PL is just not the forum for you to come and show it off.

We view equipment like this as dangerous, pointless for anything other than mischief or dangerous activities (which it quite obviously is) and just not a *positive* addition to the laser profession/hobby and its advancement. There have been NUMEROUS members here who expressed their dismay at what you did and what you posted. That should be enough as of now to "bow out" respectfully. be a positive member here, you obviously are a smart guy and have some good knowledge. Use it for GOOD not EVIL!! You'll make your stay here much more positive than your intro thus far!! :P

-Marc