[hackerspaces] handling new members

[Enabrin Tain]

The "find two board members to sponsor your application" model works pretty well for us. Each membership application is a Board Proposal and it takes two Nay votes to halt a Proposal. This works to ensure that the Board has good feel for incoming members. As a Board Member, I actively encourage interested members to run for the Board so that they can see more "under the hood" of what it takes to run Makers Local. People can run once they've been members for three consecutive months, giving them an opportunity to soak up more group culture. This brings fresh blood in every six months and lowers the likelihood of an "old boy's club" developing. We do have recourse options for correcting bad behavior, they include Immediate Termination in response to criminal activity, and a Formal Complaint process for behavior unbecoming of a member. 

https://256.makerslocal.org/wiki/Bylaws

 
 Phil Showers


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Message: 2
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 19:27:20 -0700
From: Mars Saxman <mars at redecho.org>
To: Hackerspaces General Discussion List
    <discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org>
Subject: Re: [hackerspaces] handling new members
Message-ID: <03f7769a3d773b072db4daa203398a79 at redecho.org>
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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
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