[sudo-discuss] jake's idea for sudoroom membership structure
Jake
jake at spaz.org
Sat Sep 14 19:21:29 PDT 2013
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sudo room is not a 501c3 non-profit organization.
On Sat, 14 Sep 2013, Patrik D'haeseleer wrote:
> By the way, the California code for non-profit organizations with members has some very specific language
> that needs to be in the bylaws (or sent annually to all the members) on the procedure to be followed for
> expelling a member "in a fair and reasonable manner". One of the few cases where there is actually a
> legal requirement for how a nonprofit should run its business:
>
> http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/cacode/CORP/1/1/d2/2/3/4/s5341
>
> The procedure is fairly involved and it can take weeks before someone you want out has been officially
> terminated. So you may want to make sure that you can also bar someone access to the space while their
> case is being reviewed.
>
> Patrik
>
>
> On Sat, Sep 14, 2013 at 6:49 PM, Jake <jake at spaz.org> wrote:
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>
> I hope that others will step up to answer these questions as to what they believe would be right
> for sudoroom. My personal answer is:
>
> the membership decides. Whether we decide things based on consensus (problematic because it
> doesn't define whether consensus is required to do something or to prevent it), or some form of
> voting, is a larger discussion where we need to brainstorm the advantages and disadvantages of the
> different styles. For example, if we do voting, will we try to do ranked choice? Should we have
> different voting percentages for different issues? What happens when the group is cleanly split
> along a percentage line, is there a tiebreaker?
>
> I agree that there are a lot of decisions to be made, sort of like trying to compile your own
> kernel, and being asked a million questions. But at the same time, even copying a popular bylaws
> structure from a template or existing organization would be a great improvement from what we have
> right now. I claim that what sudoroom has right now is a moment of good weather and luck, and an
> opportunity to create a structure that will last a long time.
>
> - -jake
>
> On Sat, 14 Sep 2013, Eddan Katz wrote:
>
> Jake. Thanks. As always, this is really helpful. I was hoping though if you could
> elaborate on (1) who decides; (2) in what circumstance; (3) by which process. I think
> that too often people ignore the (1) who decides - part of the equation; and in regards
> to diversity, inclusion, and openness - I think it's a key factor.
>
> Janelle Orsi of SELC used the phrase "The Tyranny of Structurelessness" in her workshop
> the other day. This notion strikes an important chord to think about as we continue to
> evolve.
>
>
> sent from eddan.com
>
> On Sep 14, 2013, at 4:25 PM, Jake <jake at spaz.org> wrote:
>
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>
> i confess i have no idea how to properly edit the membership wiki to add my
> ideas.
>
> So i will just type them here, and maybe someone can help me put them into
> the wiki properly.
>
> Sudo room/membership
> Do we have it?
>
> I think sudoroom does not currently have a membership structure in place.
> We are currently existing in a (most of the time) benevolent anarchy,
> resulting from equal parts luck, hard work by caring people, and security
> by obscurity.
>
> I think we SHOULD have membership, which is clearly defined and binary
> (either you are a member in good standing, or a nonmember for whatever
> reason). There should be a list of members which can be publicly accessed,
> with enough information about each member that they can be identified by
> any member (a description or picture provided by the member themselves)
> since we don't all "know" each other.
>
> I think membership should be something that is in exchange for ONGOING
> contribution to the community, as defined (continually) by the membership,
> on a person by person basis. For example, $10 per month might be accepted
> by one person as sufficient, but another person might be required to pay
> $40 per month. Or the group can decide that a persons offer to "clear and
> sweep the floor once a week" is sufficient.
>
> Also the community should be able to refuse someone's membership, even if
> they are a current member who has been making their required contribution.
> Also the community should be able to change the requirement from a person
> based on information from them or anyone, to a higher or lower or different
> requirement. The community should be able to declare that a person has not
> fulfilled their requirement and is, until they return to that requirement,
> temporarily not a member.
>
> Does it [membership] confer special privelages?
>
> I think that membership should confer special privelages including access
> to the space even if it is closed, for any community-approved uses. A
> member can be there when no one else is there if they want to be. Also
> while anyone can participate in discussions at meetings, only members can
> vote (or block consensus items).
>
> I think a member should be able to "sponsor" a nonmember (or multiple of
> them) WHILE they are present in the space. This way nonmembers can use the
> space any time a member who supports them is present, which should be easy
> for nonmembers who use the space properly in a cooperative way. And for
> all nonmembers wanting to use the space, their sponsor can help them use
> the space properly.
>
> I think that nonmembers should be nominally granted up to 24 added-up hours
> of access to the space without a specific sponsor. This part is subtle and
> I urge people to think about the total effect of this "pseudo policy"
> before objecting. If a nonmember behaves badly before they have used up 24
> hours they can be asked to leave by a member, of course. And if a
> nonmember behaves well it is likely that no one will even point out when
> their "24 hours" appears to have expired.
>
> are there expectations of members, do they have responsibilities?
>
> I think that all members should promise not to leave the space open without
> a member present. This means that when an awesome nonmember is working on
> a project and you're the last member and you want to leave, you have to
> decide between staying to help them or asking them to return when the space
> is open. It is also a good time to remind them that by contributing in a
> community-approved way, they can have 24-7 access.
>
> One reason for members making this promise to each other is because members
> have accountability to one another, and were approved at a meeting, and can
> be contacted with questions by other members, and can be trusted. However
> that trust does not extend to strangers and we must respect the process of
> meetings and accountability when we are not present to act as an advocate
> or translator for a nonmember we want to support.
>
> Some practical reasons for not allowing nonmembers in the space alone
> include security of property and materials, projects and tools. But also,
> the organization of the space and functionality of it is tied to human
> effort to make it a usable space. People who are members are contributors
> to the space in one way or another, and they contribute toward the
> usability of the space. It isn't fair to our fellow contributors to allow
> others to use and take from that space when we ourselves are not willing to
> supervise our own guests' use of the space.
>
> How do you become a member?
>
> People who want to become a member of the space must meet members of the
> space and learn about membership and the space. They need to announce to
> the membership, through the discuss list, that they want to become a member
> and answer responses to their post so that members who might come to a
> meeting will be satisfied with their reasons for wanting to join. Also, use
> of the mailinglist demonstrates a basic ability to communicate and be
> accountable to other members in case they are accepted.
>
> After making their desires known, they will come to meetings to get to know
> people, and announce that they would like to become a member. They can
> discuss with the group what kind of contribution they feel comfortable
> making, based on their income or free time levels, and in the case of
> nonmonetary contributions, how they propose their contributions be tracked
> (could be an email declaring that they cleaned the space at 3PM today and
> saw certain members there who saw it happen)
>
> I think that we should not do like noisebridge and expect a secret
> discussion, or expect a specific timeline for consideration of membership.
> If a person makes their bid for membership on the list and shows up to the
> nearest meeting after that, they should not expect to achieve membership
> for at least another week while the possiblity for objections is there. At
> their first meeting the announcement having been made, one week should be
> sufficient time for the membership to bring out any uncertainties.
>
> If a person is a member of the space, they should not have any less
> accountability to the space than a nonmember (on the contrary). This means
> that a member can be discussed at a meeting for questionable behavior and
> if necessary, have their membership revoked by the group. Consensus Minus
> One would be nice for this purpose but is too limiting in practice, because
> we hackers tend to be contrary and side with the underdog to a fault. If a
> large portion of the membership agrees that a person is not a good fit for
> the space, the minority should not ask them to put aside their discomfort
> without convincing them of the reasons in dialogue.
>
> Why is this necessary?
>
> As I said in the beginning, i feel that sudoroom is riding on a streak of
> luck and hard work at the moment, and that we can't expect this to continue
> in the face of entropy. We already have and will continue to see abuse of
> the space by people who have no feelings of accountability, and our members
> have no recourse or policy to address anything like that. I know from
> experience what results from this, and it is sad. The failure of Sudoroom
> would not be a sufficiently educational experience to justify allowing it
> to happen, when the lessons we would learn have been offered so many times
> in other places.
>
> We talk about the challenge of diversity in a hackerspace like ours. One
> thing we don't seek is diversity of people who are good and bad for what
> we're trying to do. We do not invite drug dealers to sudoroom to sell meth
> to people from the street outside, even though it would please them greatly
> if they could use our space. We don't invite meth addicts to browse our
> hacking materials shelves to find copper and aluminum to recycle so they
> can buy more drugs.
>
> We also should not invite people to the space who are unwilling to behave
> in a way that is respectful to the members and guests whose interests we
> share, and want to share. That means that, despite our aversion to
> exclusion, we need to choose between excluding some or excluding others.
>
> For example, if we refuse abusive or disrespectful behavior and those who
> insist on it, we create an accessible space for people who avoid that
> behavior. If we maintain an atmosphere of cooperation and care for each
> other and the hardware that is our space, we invite people from all
> backgrounds who seek to do the same things. On the other hand, if we
> refuse this responsibility, we allow the tone to be set by those with the
> loudest voice, and the least to lose, and the quiet and self-respecting
> people will go elsewhere.
>
> I ask that we look to the future to envision the challenges we can expect
> as we continue to grow and do more awesome things, and think about what we
> hope to achieve. That is why we need to protect ourselves, each other, and
> our hackerspace, from complacency and entropy as best we can.
>
> well, I feel that i have said more than enough about it for now, but if
> anyone has opinions on this i look forward to continuing the discussion.
>
> - -jake
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