[sac-forum] Re: curious

On Dec 1, 2008, at 12:32 PM, Steve D. wrote:
From what I gather from the AL website and this discussion, the main reason against joining AL is they have little to offer that SAC doesn't already have. SAC is known worldwide for its observers, observing awards and lists and its deep sky database.
That is debatable as I told a couple of astronomy friends from Georgia that I was a member of SAC and had to explain who we were. It's best not to make general assumptions based on a few data points. In fact, a simple Google of "Astronomy Clubs" places SAC's website as the 143rd entry displayed. Since Google's rankings are based on how many other sites refer to ours, this indicates that we're not as well known as some of us might believe. As a yardstick, EVAC is 78th.
The AL would add only the Herscell II award, and SAC's board members have had a discussion about changing that. (It didn't get far, probably my fault, but there it is.)
Why does this have to be about awards and viewing programs? Doesn't the networking opportunity bring in any value? How about being able to post our events on their much more heavily trafficked web site? How about book discounts? Or, is there animosity between our club and the AL that' I'm just too new to know about?
If SAC joined, who would get the newsletter, or would we just pass it around?
Since each individual member would get their own copy, I'm not sure that I understand your question. Each of our members that elected to join the AL would get their own copy of the AL newsletter - not just one for the club, however the club does get a copy for our library.
Personally, I think we have the greatest club in the world and see $10 to the AL as a waste of limited resources, at least on the club level. Join if you like, since it's doable, it's up to you.
While I appreciate and agree (mostly) with your belief in the club, I don't see how becoming an AL member club lessens our worth. If anything, the $10.00 gets us another venue for sharing our programs and schedules. Again, I reference the "donation" that we provided to the AL for Jack's H-I award. If that was more than $10.00, then the club's $10.00 plus any individual member interested in paying and chasing their awards would be the "better" option. Does anyone have an accounting of what that donation amount was?
Ah well, I've bloodied my forehead enough and the wall is still standing so I'll cry UNCLE and leave this one. 

Tim

Other related posts: