"Joining" vs "becoming a supporter"

[Daniel Pocock]

On 01/12/17 16:06, Florian Snow wrote:
> Hi Carmen,
> 
> 
> Carmen Bianca Bakker <carmenbianca at fsfe.org> writes:
>> However, I would be in _full_ support of reinstating the usage of
>> "fellow" for volunteers who contribute time and effort.  But then,
>> maybe "volunteer" also cuts it?
> 
> We discussed this choice of terminology many times.  Some people really
> like it, some people, like me dislike it because "Fellowship" makes
> people at best think of Lord of the Rings and at worst makes them think
> of some sort of religious group which we very much don't want to be.  I
> think it was a good idea to make the switch and also a good idea to not
> differentiate between people who donate money to us and people who
> donate their time.  Both are valuable contributions that help us fulfill
> our mission.
> 


The real problem is that both "supporter" and "fellow" are ambiguous.
When FSFE is using either of these words, we are actually talking about
recurring donors.

For me, these words have clear meanings:


Donor = somebody who gives money

Volunteer = somebody who gives time

Member = somebody who has a vote in the AGM

Join = become a Member


Any other words like "Supporter" and "Fellow" appear to be marketing and
need to be qualified whenever they are used in the web site or other
materials.


Regards,

Daniel