There are lots of good technical societies that do good work and offer great benefits to members. I'm thinking ISA, WBF, SAE, SME, etc., etc. They're serious and important, and I wouldn't diss any of them for the world. But, to my mind, they lack a little, shall we say, panache. Maybe it's the burden of those TLA (three-letter acronym) names. Would they be different if they had names such as The Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers?
Now here's a professional group I can get into. It has an interesting history, its own coat of arms, and a racing cutter!
I'll bet they wear cool robes to meetings too.
