Is there a membership blacklist?

Membership Services
#1

I’m still pretty new around here, so forgive me if this is something I am already supposed to know . . .

I recently gave lobby access for signing the waiver to a returning member who renewed online. I then let that new member in the common area to help them get a new key fob. After they were all setup, I turned them loose.

I felt like that was all legitimate in the spirit of DMS. We are exceptionally member community run and driven. However, it occurred to me that if we have some kind of membership blacklist, that I could have just given building access to a bad actor.

Even if we do not currently have a blacklist, that we may have one someday is, unfortunately, entirely conceivable. I would assume that anyone on some sort of blacklist, could technically sign up again. Some system then has to exist to review all new member signups and then determine if any of those signups are blacklisted. At which point, membership and access is revoked with no refund.

I don’t really need to to know the specifics. I suppose I am mostly asking if I acted accordingly and should continue to do so the same in the future regarding member signups.

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#2

Generally that’s fine. Those that have been banned in the past already know how to set up waivers/ fobs/stuff, and the payment systems should prevent them from signing up again anyways I believe.

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#3

If they are a banned member & do that, it’s a good way to get themselves banned again pretty quickly. Most of the longer members have a recollection of who was banned.

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#4

Full list of board actions since wiki is a bit outdated:

https://source.dallasmakerspace.org/display/RULES/Board+Actions

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#5

This is outdated though. There might be one on Source that is more updated but yeah - these are general bans. If you see somebody who other people say are banned, then it can be reported to the officers to take care of but we don’t require individual members to always be on the hunt for previously banned people.

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#6

Yeah, just posted the source link, since the wiki is outdated as you mentioned.

#7

I’ve been a member for several years and just looked at the Source document regarding this new members’ question. By the way, thanks for the updated link.

I had wondered what happened to some of our old members. I looked at a few of these cases where people were permanently expelled. Most of these cases showed there was a move to waive notice which the board unanimously passed. Does this mean this was not placed on the agenda for DMS members to have time or knowledge to participate?

There also doesn’t seem to be any specific information regarding the reason for being expelled. Are there other documents with more details regarding each of these cases?

#8

Waving noticed is more about the board members not requiring to be notified x days in advance since they are all present. It would be exceedingly rare for a member discipline meeting to be held before the membership.

P.S. - I’m one of the few members that has been banned and reinstated by the BoD. But that is another story for another day over beers and burgers.

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#9

This list is the most accurate one, the list on the wiki is outdated. There is no requirement to ask anyone to leave but if you see someone who has been banned inside or around DMS please let us know on discord (directors and officers are at the top of the member list) or by emailing [email protected]. Please don’t let anyone borrow your fob.

When I see someone trying to get in, I’ll usually ask them if they are a member and if I can help them activate a fob. If they have been blacklisted then they shouldn’t be able to activate a fob.

#10

I’d have to imagine if someone does something so egregious to be blacklisted I’d hope the board would also trespass them from the property.

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#11

Some of the details are vague (I’d assume intentionally to keep the privacy and avoid witchhunts), but a lot of the details seem to suggest major breaches in member conduct like repeated safety violations, non petty theft, violence/harassment, etc.

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#12

Ah, but some banned members are pretty bold. I remember seeing one guy that I knew fairly well – I recognized him in a mask. Not sure who let him in. I was thinking about who I could send a pm to on Talk when a board member walked through and sent him away. Having an official no-trespass against someone requires some sort of authority to be called.

#13

I implemented the original Expelled and Suspended Members page on the wiki for several reasons:

  • Expulsions were becoming a routine event
  • There was no coherent, centralized, authoritative source of expulsions and suspensions

We drew some inspiration from Noisebridge’s 86 page without all the … superfluous verbosity: name, start/stop dates, associated meeting minutes, terse description of why they were suspended or expelled. No need to editorialize and re-live whatever angst the issue brought up.

The Source page should be renamed for clarity’s sake.

There’s an organizational disinterest in airing all the tawdry details beyond the summary reasons on the 86 page and whatever was captured in the meeting minutes. Our interests around member discipline are protecting the organization; the next level of seriousness would involve contacting law enforcement, but that’s a Board or Officer action.

This. The unanimous waiving of notice is required for a Board meeting to occur on short notice.

The Bylaws (these not not very prominent on Source) around Expulsion are terse:

  1. A member shall be expelled from the membership of the corporation for a period set by resolution of the Board of Directors after providing the member with reasonable written notice and an opportunity to be heard by the Board of Directors either orally or in writing, and upon a determination by the Board of Directors that the member engaged in conduct materially and seriously prejudicial to the interests or purposes of the corporation.

TL;DR

  • The Board can expel a member for a period of their choosing if it determines a member engaged in disqualifying behavior
    • Notice of this pending determination will be communicated in writing to the member a reasonable time in advance
    • The member will be given an opportunity to respond to the incident in person or in writing

These meetings are generally private so as to minimize drama and focus on the incident(s) at hand. No audience to appeal to, no need for raised voices, no need for the uninvolved to bloviate.

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#14

Thank you Esmith for addressing my questions so thoroughly. I have the added bonus of learning a new word, “bloviate”. :slightly_smiling_face:

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#15

You’re not alone in that boat.

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