POLL for The Laser Man 2

[Unown (WILD)]

Although I don't remember much about it there was a member who got his butt banned for being 11 years old with the nickname The Laser Man.
Recently made an account as The Laser Man 2. Being impossibly obvious it moved me to pity and I'm allowing his new account to stay and giving him a chance to prove himself.
I'll probably regret it but who knows...
This thread is to inform everyone about him and take in consideration what information you give.
If anyone has an objection towards this decision please tell me about it in here or in pm. We do have quite a few young members in here already and is probably why I wanted to be lenient in this particular matter.
Again please share your thoughts.

 

[CurtisOliver]

I myself started this hobby underage. I also know I wasn’t alone. I didn’t start nowhere near as early as this though. Sometimes age is just a number. At 11 years old I would say that is very young imo. However it comes down to the individuals maturity. I work in a school and come across students aged 11-19 on a regular basis. You have a mixed bag. Some impress with their apparent maturity for their age, others you can tell they have some growing up to do. I’ve met kids that have more maturity than some 30 year olds. We don’t know this individual to know where they stand. I am one for giving people a chance, however as a community certain things need to be made clear. As a adult community we have some duty to safeguard the child away from danger. So no one should be actively encouraging the ownership of class 3b and especially class 4 lasers. The law is 18 for a reason. However if the user goes out and purchases or is already in possession of a class 3b/4 laser then that is down to the parents. We distance from any responsibility. All we can do is give our advice and guide them in safe usage. If you tell kids not to do something they’ll likely do it anyway. So best to help them and give them understanding than try to stop them unless they are in immediate risk of harming themselves or others. That’s my 2 cents regarding any underage members we will face on here.

 

[mdbourg98]

Personally I think its a good decision. Someone interested in any hobby will almost always look at the more dangerous aspects first, because they look or sound the most fun. It's better to have experienced people to guide them through safely, then just sit back and watch them go through the dark. Lord knows when I was younger, safety was rarely my first concern, and not even always second.

 

[the laser man 2]

i just wanna know about laser safety a bit more before i buy a 1 watt blue i know what is okay to do and what isnt though i dont know enough about safety glasses and how they work to buy a 1 watt i bought a 50mw green advertised as 500mw which is why i want more lasers after that i bought a laser 303 advertised as a 1000mw laser now i used it for about a month and im bored and want to burn more stuff tho laser 303 is 200mw (i think its just under the power where it blinds you with a direct hit) now i know more about lasers and want stronger ones

 

[Sowee7]

i just wanna know about laser safety a bit more before i buy a 1 watt blue i know what is okay to do and what isnt though i dont know enough about safety glasses and how they work to buy a 1 watt i bought a 50mw green advertised as 500mw which is why i want more lasers after that i bought a laser 303 advertised as a 1000mw laser now i used it for about a month and im bored and want to burn more stuff tho laser 303 is 200mw (i think its just under the power where it blinds you with a direct hit) now i know more about lasers and want stronger ones

uhh i dont think you should buy a 1 watt laser, also 200mw is WAY over the power needed to permanently damage your eyes with a direct hit, anything above 5mw can permanently damage your eyes with a direct hit, also laser 303s arnt 200mw (unmodified) they are usually 30-75mw. did you get a direct hit with any of your lasers?

 

[the laser man 2]

i got a direct hit once did nothing but made me see spots for a few minutes

edit: not sure if it matters but the white text on it says YF laser 303 i was told its 200mw

 

[WizardG]

I've tried to stay out of this but the responses from laserman2....disturb me.

We have before us a minor who is quite obviously unaware of how to responsibly use/handle a high power laser.

Those of us here, who are of the age of majority, are free to take our chances and make choices that are... questionable. And the consequences are on us, as individuals.

But with laserman2, a minor, the situation is different. If this kid handles a 1W+ laser and gets a direct or reflected hit that fries one or both of his eyes who do you think his parents are going to come after? The seller of the (illegal) laser pointer? You bet. This forum, and the members who offered advice and encouragement, and the mods who broke their own rules allowing a minor to participate. Yep, absolutely. If this kid's parents got a decent lawyer there would be subpoenas and summons a-plenty for anyone and everyone who played any small part in this minors hobby.

IMNSHO a laser 303 is probably too much for this kid to be playing with without adult supervision. He's been using it to burn things? Was he wearing proper laser goggles while doing so?

I can just imagine the story in the local news; local kid blinds himself with illegal laser pointer. Got advice and directions from on-line forum..... You can write the rest as easily as I can.

I disagree with the decision to allow him back on the forum. Can we have a poll to decide the matter?

 

[the laser man 2]

I've tried to stay out of this but the responses from laserman2....disturb me.

We have before us a minor who is quite obviously unaware of how to responsibly use/handle a high power laser.

Those of us here, who are of the age of majority, are free to take our chances and make choices that are... questionable. And the consequences are on us, as individuals.

But with laserman2, a minor, the situation is different. If this kid handles a 1W+ laser and gets a direct or reflected hit that fries one or both of his eyes who do you think his parents are going to come after? The seller of the (illegal) laser pointer? You bet. This forum, and the members who offered advice and encouragement, and the mods who broke their own rules allowing a minor to participate. Yep, absolutely. If this kid's parents got a decent lawyer there would be subpoenas and summons a-plenty for anyone and everyone who played any small part in this minors hobby.

IMNSHO a laser 303 is probably too much for this kid to be playing with without adult supervision. He's been using it to burn things? Was he wearing proper laser goggles while doing so?

I can just imagine the story in the local news; local kid blinds himself with illegal laser pointer. Got advice and directions from on-line forum..... You can write the rest as easily as I can.

I disagree with the decision to allow him back on the forum. Can we have a poll to decide the matter?

i know what im doing you guys are not responsible if i get 3rd degree burns or blind myself also my parents cant really afford a lawyer my dad is paid i think 4.5k liras each month and my mom 3k liras were from turkey and im going to get safety googles before buying even if my parents would be able to afford a lawyer i wouldnt let them sue because its my fault if something goes wrong because of the LPF i got some recommendations on safety googles if i wasnt here i would buy a 1 watt blue withot googles blind myself and probably start a fire the forums gave me info and im gonna buy safety googles before i buy the 1 watt laser

edit: i learned reflective surfaces by using the laser 303 inside the house its unlikely ill get a direct hit all i have to worry about with a 1 watt blue is the dot and fire hazard its unlikely ill start a fire as i know where to not point it at and about eye damage from the dot ill buy safety googles first

 

[Unown (WILD)]

and the mods who broke their own rules allowing a minor to participate

Let me be clear. This "rule" has been practiced way before I joined as a mod. I personally don't want to go along with it but there are some members here that actually provide a service so I stuck with it.
I'm not above the others but then again there's only two active mods on here and I do all of the spam control. I'm doing the best I can on these other matters as well.
This is why I wanted to bring to everyone's attention because I need to hear other opinions which you've done which I thank you.
I might add a poll to this. Make it anonymous so there's no hurt feelings.

 

[WizardG]

i know what im doing you guys are not responsible if i get 3rd degree burns or blind myself also my parents cant really afford a lawyer my dad is paid i think 4.5k liras each month and my mom 3k liras were from turkey and im going to get safety googles before buying even if my parents would be able to afford a lawyer i wouldnt let them sue because its my fault if something goes wrong because of the LPF i got some recommendations on safety googles if i wasnt here i would buy a 1 watt blue withot googles blind myself and probably start a fire the forums gave me info and im gonna buy safety googles before i buy the 1 watt laser

edit: i learned reflective surfaces by using the laser 303 inside the house its unlikely ill get a direct hit all i have to worry about with a 1 watt blue is the dot and fire hazard its unlikely ill start a fire as i know where to not point it at and about eye damage from the dot ill buy safety googles first

Your reply only reinforces my opinion. First, your attitude towards permanent eye damage or blindness is flagrantly immature. Blind is for life, and at your age that's a long long time. Second, your parents wouldn't need to pony up a single lira. There would be lawyers lining up to take the case on contingency. And third, there is a LOT more to think about with a class IV laser than just the dot when you're burning things. How about IR protection? Laser goggles may block the blue light, but what about the infrared from the object being burned?

This forum is a great resource for learning about lasers, and especially laser safety. I think you need to be a lurker for a while and read these pages voraciously.

 

[the laser man 2]

Your reply only reinforces my opinion. First, your attitude towards permanent eye damage or blindness is flagrantly immature. Blind is for life, and at your age that's a long long time. Second, your parents wouldn't need to pony up a single lira. There would be lawyers lining up to take the case on contingency. And third, there is a LOT more to think about with a class IV laser than just the dot when you're burning things. How about IR protection? Laser goggles may block the blue light, but what about the infrared from the object being burned?

This forum is a great resource for learning about lasers, and especially laser safety. I think you need to be a lurker for a while and read these pages voraciously.

thats why im here in the first place to learn about safety googles before i buy a laser and about the IR i think there are googles that block it aswell

 

[RedCowboy]

My only real concern is of legal liability for the site, otherwise I personally have no problem with young people who act responsibly, so I will not vote as it's not my decision nor my culpability.

That said I try to do my part to promote laser safety and I pass along our medical message when ever I see someone asking for medical advise which we do not give.

We are all ambassadors of our hobby which is threatened by people who are ignorant to proper laser safety, so everything we do can have a potential impact on the future legality of what we enjoy and the legality of accessibility to exciting evolving technology.

 

[gazer101]

As long as there is a big fat zero-liability disclaimer, from an ethical point of view we should allow minors to be a part of this site.
Banning them will only result in them performing their naïve experiments without our blessing and potentially blinding themselves... keeping them in the loop might cause them to reconsider or at least talk to us before doing something stupid

The site is public, so with or without an account any teen could easily procure all the components needed to blind themselves.
Sure there will always be some karen that says "you helped my kid blind themselves", but we can point to that zero liability policy and explain that we tried to talk sense into them

Maybe we should make it so that minors need to have parental consent (perhaps in the form of a small online contract?) but that's for a lawyer to decide not me

 

[CurtisOliver]

I’m about giving people a chance but I have to agree that after seeing responses from the laser man 2, I can’t stress enough not to recommend or influence any decision regarding ownership and use of class 3b/4 lasers. That is a liability we cannot be responsible for under any circumstances.
I urgently advise that laser safety is prioritised. I get a very uneasy feeling on this one.

 

[the laser man 2]

As long as there is a big fat zero-liability disclaimer, from an ethical point of view we should allow minors to be a part of this site.
Banning them will only result in them performing their naïve experiments without our blessing and potentially blinding themselves... keeping them in the loop might cause them to reconsider or at least talk to us before doing something stupid

The site is public, so with or without an account any teen could easily procure all the components needed to blind themselves.
Sure there will always be some karen that says "you helped my kid blind themselves", but we can point to that zero liability policy and explain that we tried to talk sense into them

Maybe we should make it so that minors need to have parental consent (perhaps in the form of a small online contract?) but that's for a lawyer to decide not me

my parents are fine with me getting lasers and being on the site

 

[Unown (WILD)]

my parents are fine with me getting lasers and being on the site

Your parents are not moderators of this forum. Their approval means jack. It looks like I'm going to have to give you a 7 year temporary ban. In a way I'm glad this topic came up. It definitely needs to be addressed. Some minors are ok while others are not. I feel that there isn't going to be a one all action for this. The thought of it gives me a migraine but we'll just see how things turn out.