[hackerspaces] Members under 18

[Don Ankney]

You're conflating two questions. The first is the practical one about how to go about admitting. The second one is whether you really want to. Your opinion is already pretty clear:


"?We've got some people who are against it because it would "ruin" their favorite hangout space, or make them uncomfortable in some way."


Setting aside the pejorative overtones of this statement,  you will likely lose some members over the decision to admit kids as members. Just as many adults chose not to become parents, many adults don't enjoy hanging out with kids. That's okay, and you should recognize that it's a perfectly valid preference, and that those folks will likely wander off and find new places to invest their time, effort, and money.


This decision represents cultural change. Take it seriously and have a real discussion about it rather than writing off the "adults-only" faction as whiners. Either decision can be positive -- just go into it with an open mind and eyes and make sure it's the culture you really want to have.


________________________________
From: discuss-bounces+dankney=hackerco.de at lists.hackerspaces.org <discuss-bounces+dankney=hackerco.de at lists.hackerspaces.org> on behalf of Bob Bownes <bownes at gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 6, 2014 4:29 PM
To: Hackerspaces General Discussion List
Subject: Re: [hackerspaces] Members under 18


At the TVCoG, we require an adult be onsite to be responsible for anyone under 18. The kid can be the member, or it can be a family membership, but someone has to be responsible for them. It's really a matter of state law and age of majority for us.



On Thu, Nov 6, 2014 at 7:26 PM, Alan Fay <emptyset at freesideatlanta.org<mailto:emptyset at freesideatlanta.org>> wrote:
Here's Freeside's age restrictions policy, for some ideas:
https://wiki.freesideatlanta.org/fs/Policy_AgeRestrictions

On Thu, Nov 6, 2014 at 7:19 PM, Pete Prodoehl <raster at gmail.com<mailto:raster at gmail.com>> wrote:

Our space is currently in a discussion about allowing people under 18 (16 & 17 year olds) to become members.

We've got some people who are against it because it would "ruin" their favorite hangout space, or make them uncomfortable in some way.

We've got some people who are convinced that the legal/insurance aspects will cause us to lose our insurance policy and have to shut down.

We have some that think that while we can trust an 18 year old, a 17 year old is in no way to be trusted and will do completely stupid shit.

We've even discussed specific rules for 16 & 17 year olds, which would be much more limiting than members 18 or older. (They would need to have a family member as a member, not be allowed in the space without the family member that is a member, etc.)

Anyway, I'm sure there are spaces that allow people under 18 to be members, or guests that can use equipment, etc. and I'm looking for real cases especially if you've got an insurance policy that addresses minors.

thanks!


Pete



_______________________________________________
Discuss mailing list
Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org<mailto:Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org>
http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss


_______________________________________________
Discuss mailing list
Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org<mailto:Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org>
http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.hackerspaces.org/pipermail/discuss/attachments/20141107/8325063e/attachment.html>