"joining" the FSFE

[Cornelia.sulzbach]

This is shameful! There ist no reason to not let everyone become a member. I have read today. I have read a lot, and it is clear the FSF should be ashamed of themselves. I am glad there are people like you Daniel who can change this! Just read:

  https://www.fsf.org/associate/

It's all about giving money to the FSF. Never once are listed any benefits of being able to vote!

Shameful.

Cornelia

> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: "joining" the FSFE
> Local Time: October 2, 2017 8:13 AM
> UTC Time: October 2, 2017 8:13 AM
> From: daniel at pocock.pro
> To: FSFE Discussion <discussion at fsfeurope.org>
>
> Hi all,
>
> Whenever I"m discussing FSFE with people at an event, somebody
> inevitably asks me about the joining process or what it means to be an
> FSFE member.
>
> There has actually been some ambiguity about this.  The main page of the
> web site has a "Join the FSFE" button, it is very prominent.
>
> It links to a page where "join" is in the URL:
>
> https://fsfe.org/fellowship/ams/join.php?ams=join
>
> and the title says "Join the FSFE"
>
> Anybody who has ever joined any other organization before is going to
> assume that after following these links and completing the form they are
> an equal member of the organization.
>
> In practice, the organization has different groups:
>
> - the GA members (the first group) being the only members of the legal
> body, the "Join" page doesn"t give any instructions for people to pursue
> this type of membership nor does it tell people that they are not
> becoming voting members
>
> - The "Join" links on the web site should probably say "Become a donor"
> because that is what they are about, asking people to become regular
> donors (this is the second group)
>
> - people can also be a volunteer (the third group), without being either
> a legal (voting) member or a donor, the join link doesn"t actually give
> people any information about how to do this
>
> I"ve tried to raise this in the GA a few times but the "Join the FSFE"
> button remains prominent on the web site and I feel this undermines the
> organization in the eyes of the wider community and also challenges the
> relationship between the organization and those people who have already
> engaged with us.
>
> I proposed a motion for the GA meeting to finally resolve this, give us
> clarity in the future and hopefully putting the issue behind us in a way
> that will gain respect and confidence from anybody who "joined" and
> subsequently became disillusioned about it.
>
> Would anybody like to comment on this topic, share their experience with
> the joining process or comment on your impression of the buttons and
> text currently in use?
>
> Proposed motion:
> The GA recognizes that the widespread use of the word "Join" on the FSFE
> web site may have caused many fellows and volunteers to believe their
> payment made them a member of the incorporated association. The GA
> resolves that a notice should be published on the web site clarifying
> the situation, the notice should be sent to everybody who completed the
> form to "Join the FSFE" and any future communication, through the web
> site or other marketing materials should make it unambiguous whether
> people are being solicited to join the incorporated association,
> volunteer their time or become a financial supporter and also making
> them aware of the alternative roles they can have in the organization.
>
> Regards,
>
> Daniel
>
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