[at-l] Certification, etc.

[phil.heffington@oc.edu (Phil Heffington)]

My daughter is a "Certified Baby Sitter".  That simply means that someone
has taken it upon themselves to make up a certificate that says she has
qualified to receive it, under their particular standards.  It has meaning
only to the point that a person recognizes the person or group issuing it.

On the other hand, a "license" is issued by someone who has the official
authority to regulate whether or not a person is legally allowed to perform
a specific task, etc.  Thus, I am a licensed driver, a licensed social
worker, or a licensed whatever, and can perform my duties with the blessing
of the authorities.

Anyone, and I mean anyone, can choose to issue a certificate if they want to
do so.  That doesn't indicate that it has any special significance at all,
unless you give the person or group issuing it some special level of
credibility.  WF doesn't have the right to tell the ATC what their standards
should be to receive their "certificate" and vice versa.  I wrote WF when he
announced his "Avery Society" and informed him "Thanks, but no thanks".  To
me it would just indicate that I belonged to a group that "doesn't play well
with others."