[hackerspaces] Member Polices/Agreements

[punkin3.14]

On 10-10-04 1:02 PM, Matthew Forr wrote:
> I think our first rule is 'Don't make us make a rule', 

Although that's not an official rule at KwartzLab, our Board does try
very hard NOT to make rules. We'd much rather influence behavior through
social pressures and culture, than through law.

Right now, the only rule we have that would explicitly result in a
somebody being stripped of their membership is chronic failure to pay
dues. In any other circumstance, the Board doesn't even have the
authority to strip somebody of their membership; its up to the
membership as whole.

Most of the conflicts we've had have been related to mis-communication,
so that's what we've been focusing on lately: encouraging members to
keep each other in the loop of what happens in the space, and with
member property in the space. This ties in strongly with what Nate had
to say about labeling :) I like that word "connectocracy".

We are a not-for-profit Corporation in the province of Ontario, so we do
have a Board of Directors who assume ultimate liability in the event of
catastrophic horror. As such, we have been discussing whether or not we
need actual rules governing the use of heavy machinery, and if so, what
they might be. But even there, we'll be keeping them as minimal as
possible, and likely won't have penalties built in. If something does go
wrong, we want to talk about the actual problem, and not some rule that
was broken. Rules don't keep people safe, and don't absolve Directors of
liability.


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