A good point is made about professional organizations -- but I would like to ask how many professional organizations require -employment- for membership, or allow only organizations/institutions to become members? Certainly this is not true of either the "local college of physicians and surgeons" or the various engineering societies. Indeed, I am eligible to join the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), though I have no engineering degree -- and so are you. --bayla singer, independent scholar [log in to unmask]