# 5. Membership

## How do I become a member?

1. Fill in [the membership application form](https://wiki.hackerspace.gent/Membership_form) and get two people to sign as sponsors. They will be responsible for making sure you get settled nicely, that you understand how the hackerspace works, and know how you can participate.
2. Attend a meeting and present your application. On this meeting you announce you want to become a member and who your sponsors are. If you want you can talk a bit about why you're interested in the space. *Note: this meeting is simply an announcement. Your membership won't be discussed further, and no decision about it will be made on that meeting.*
3. On the next meeting, your membership will be decided upon. It's useful to have you present at that meeting, but this is not a requirement. As a bonus for coming to the meeting, membership is often the first thing to be decided on a meeting. When you get voted in, you can join the rest of the meeting as a member! Membership decisions at a meeting follow the same process as other meeting decisions. See Chapter 3 for more info.
4. Create an automatic bank transfer to transfer the membership fee each month. You will get your key after you made your first payment.

Why this process?

* Step #1 ensures that two people know and trust the applicant enough to vouch for them. It als ensures that the "culture" of the space gets transferred to new members.
* Step #2 ensures that the applicant understands how meetings are run and that there is some time between the applicant first arriving in the space and the applicant being voted in.
* Step #3 ensures that there is enough support for the applicant. The meeting decision model is used for the same reasons as to why it's used for meetings: a bad solution is better than no solution.
* Step #4 gives the new member an incentive to pay asap.

*Note: If you want more context, see the `HTH_2018-11-17_membership.md` document in "the legacy" for more discussion on the membership procedure.*

## What are the responsibilities of a member?

*The members create and maintain the hacker environment.*

When a conflict/problem can not be resolved between individuals, via do-ocracy or when it impacts the group, a group decision is required. Any member can request that a decision is made on a meeting instead of by do-ocracy or individual members.

The members should do the following things as a group.

* Create and patch the hackerspace blueprint.
* Solve problems in the hackerspace when do-ocracy cannot fix them.
* Electing the board during a General Assembly.

*The individuals have to be excellent.*

* Organize workshops, events, lectures.
* Follow do-ocracy.
* Actively try to fix problems.
* Maintain personal safety and that of others.
* Follow and enforce the Guidelines.

## Non-members

Non-members are also an important part of the space. They can contribute to the hacker environment and they can be potential members. However, non-members have less privileges than members.

* Non-members are only allowed in the space when they are in company of a member. That member is responsible for the actions of the non-member.
* Non-members have to follow the guidelines. A non-member is not allowed to challenge a decision made by the group. If the non-member disagree with a decision made by the group, then they should become a member and bring the topic forward on a meeting.
