Preparing to open the shop in March 2011

Related to the “Access/Levels of Trust” issue from last meeting, I did a little research on shop access. Because we haven’t lived by one definition of what a quarter is, it has been difficult for staffers to maintain some control and comfort when interacting with users. Nothing in FR crabgrass documentation that I could find refers to the “rolling quarter” except Amy’s discussion of the non-existent council. So the existence of rolling quarters has a nebulous origin.

More importantly, whatever its origin it has a negative impact on shop staffing. If we ask council to define a quarter the way the rest of the universe does, we can support our staffers as they try to ensure fair access and a level of user contribution that might be more sustainable. It is unrealistic to expect a staffer to restrict access to someone who thinks they are entitled to access, without clear support of that staffer.

This is a council issue in that it has to do with membership, but it really has more to do with the shop, so I’m starting the discussion here. Thoughts? I would like to propose at the next meeting that we have seasons or quarters from 3/1-5/31, 6/1-8/31, and 9/1-11/30.

I am just amazed that that never occured to me, or anyone else, I guess.

My two bits. (A bit is apparently $0.125: "In the U.S., the “bit” as a designation for money dates from the colonial period, when a common unit of currency was the Spanish milled dollar. As a way of making change, these dollars were cut into eight pie-slice shaped pieces which were called “bits”. (For this reason, the whole coin was known as a “piece of eight.”) Each eighth-dollar bit was then worth 12.5 cents, “two bits” was a quarter of a dollar (25 cents), “four bits” was a half-dollar (50 cents) and “six bits” was 75 cents. Because there was no one-bit coin, a dime (10 ¢) was sometimes called a short bit and 15¢ a long bit." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_(money)

freeride’s “quarter” policy makes about as much sense (sorry) as RL Stevenson’s account of the American use of “two bits” which follows the above definition on Wikipedia. I think my “two bits” starts in May? It’s a guess when anyone else’s “quarter” starts. I understand there might be a rationale for this policy. Whatever the reason, it has spawned an irrational policy. Of course if we adhere to Morgan’s admonition that if it isn’t in the bylaws, it’s invalid as …“it would need to be in there as it’s a condition of voting rights…” (we.riseup.net/freeride_council/bylaws), the web version is not binding. Any reasonable person would assume a quarter is a quarter, not a pair of dimes as in the days of “two bits”. Without an explicit definition in the bylaws, anyone and everyone is safe to assume a calendar quarter is the same as the universal calendar quarter, Jan/Feb/March, April/May/June, etc.

Only reference I can find to the individualistic, idiosyncratic, insane “rolling two bits” is in our web presence:

“When a new quarter starts (three months after you join), you again have one month to meet the membership requirement in order to keep your membership current.” from freeridepgh.org/volunteer/join-the-coll...

The “rolling quarter” is confusing, makes it nearly impossible to determine whether someone has met the requirements to be on the Council, and makes my head hurt. To determine if someone’s membership is current, the date of their enrollment must be ascertained. If during that period their membership lapsed, they have a new “two-bit” schedule. It’s confusing enough at freeride without this impediment to membership.

We could have Seasonal Quarters as Marc proposes; a Spring Quarter from March through May, Summer, Fall and Winter, and I’m fine with that; it makes sense. Almost everyone’s membership will of course expire over Winter(so folks would by the web rules have to fulfill their membership volunteer hours in March), unless freeride stays open over Winter. If freeride is to stay open over Winter (which I for one support), then we might as well stay with the universal understanding of fiscal quarters? Either way, I’ll side with the sane approach. freeride is benefited by making membership intelligible and uniform, and harmed by squirrelly, loopy and nutty policies that create barriers for the sane to become members.

Scott: I actually looked up the precise date I first volunteered at freeride so I could make certain I was eligible for Council Membership on the specific date the Council met last this month. “Rolling quarters” edged me through by a day or two. Woo?

Marc’s suggestion will work great for this year. It can be changed.

For the time being, let’s at least remove the “rolling quarters” stuff from the website. It’s confusing and not in the bylaws.

“Rolling quarters” should maybe stay a drinking game?

OK, here’s what the brochure says and the website says much the same but in slightly different words: “How to become a member: Come to Open Shop and ask the Greeter at the entrance to become a member. You immediately get the benefits of membership. You have 1 month to complete your member contribution. When a new quarter starts (3 months after you join), you again have 1 month to meet the membership requirement in order to keep your membership. If your membership lapses, it is renewed when you complete your membership requirement.”

But this appears not to be in the bylaws or internal policies. Does anyone know its origin or benefits?

If we do decide to fix the quarters’ dates, we could call them ‘seasons’ (ie, spring season, summer, fall) to distinguish them from quarters that go Jan-Mar (fiscal quarters).

wow. a bit or two… how/or are people notified when their membership is coming is needed to be renewed? i.e. if they need to put in more hours? If it’s a matter of phone calls or emails from staffers, such as with earn-a-bikes, i think chunks of time, such as seasons or something similar, would be most helpful for tracking volunteer hours and membership. If it is a matter of the volunteer keeping track of hours, it seems as though “seasons” will still be most convenient as we can remind everyone to check in.

Another “two-bits”: Another quarter heard from…

I’m not advocating this idea, just suggesting it. Other collectives/co-ops have a yearly membership fee. It would be easier on members if they only had to volunteer “X” number of hours a year or pay “X” number of dollars, and easier to calculate and assess annually rather then quarterly for whomever keeps tabs on such things. A once yearly effort at membership renewal is more workable then three or four (or ongoing as with the current system?). Like I wrote, I’m not arguing for this approach, just tossing it out here.