[hackerspaces] handling new members

[Mars Saxman]

On 2014-03-23 13:07, Edward L Platt wrote:
>  Asking new members to prove
> themselves silently pushes away folks who are different from the
> current makeup of the group, and can contribute to "old boy's club"
> syndrome.  That's one reason I much prefer mentorship to sponsorship
> models.

At ALTSpace we are even more liberal than that: you can sign up for a 
membership on our web site without knowing anyone or having ever visited 
the space. You still need to meet up with one of the managers in order 
to sign the waiver, take the tour, and get your key/code, but we assume 
that anyone interested in joining should be allowed to join.

Mostly this has worked out well for us. We have had a few problem 
members over the years, but our governance model is a "benevolent 
dictatorship" so it's not that hard for the managers to kick someone out 
if they are causing a problem.

-Mars