Members Guidebook: Difference between revisions

This is *NOT* the official Member's Guidebook. That one is hosted here: [[Protospace Membership Guidebook]]. Maybe some day this one will become the new guidebook, but for now it's just some notes.

'''Getting Access:'''

Vetting usually happens at the Tuesday night get-togethers. If a month has passed and people forgot to vet you, just remind a director that it's time.

'''Once you complete the vetting process you will:'''

   

A Director will walk you through this brief process.

You are responsible for your own safety and the safety of others by your actions. Learn from a capable instructor how to operate any tools you intend to use. In addition, check the tools wiki before using a tool to check for usage notes, safety notes, or restrictions on tool use.

Some tools require specific Protospace training and certification before use because:

   

The purpose of training (in decreasing order of importance) is:

   

Training courses by volunteers are usually run once per month based on availability and need.

'''Tools Requiring Training:'''

People trained to use a machine are not necessarily trained to teach it to others. If you feel qualified to train others on a machine and would like to do so, speak up about it. Volunteers are often overworked.

If you would like to bring in tools to donate or know someone who would, please speak up about it. Volunteers and vehicles are often available to help move larger eqiupment. Protospace has all its tools because of people like you. When you bring in a tool for communal use, please add it to the tool wiki so people know what it is and where it came from.

Protospace stocks leftover and donated materials for its members to use for their projects. Among these are: acrylic and wood laser scraps, scrap metal, surplus electronic components, and others. These are stored in their respective common storage areas.

If you would like to donate material or components or know a company who would, please speak up about it. All the common material came from people like you.

If you have a project in mind that won't fit on your shelf and isn't practical to take home every day, it might still be okay to build at Protospace. Speak up about your plans, their impact on others, and your timeline for having it finished and out of the space. These are decided on a case-by-case basis. Members are often enthusiastic about big exciting projects and willing to overlook the temporary inconvenience. Make sure you label everything and date when it was last worked on. Note that even if approved, Protospace is still a shared workspace. In most cases unless there's a labelled short-term reason why not to (paint drying, aligned but not welded, etc.), other members will move your project out of their way to accommodate their own builds.

The space is open for events with invited guests to be hosted at the space. Any time without other interfering scheduled events (eg. Tuesday Nights) is potentially okay. Speak up about it as soon as possible, but at least 3 days before the event so others have time to consider and comment. Note that approval would give you permission to host the event, but not exclusive rights to Protospace. Other members may be there doing other things. Feel free to invite guest speakers to Tuesday nights if you think there would be interest.

The administrative mailing list is the current tool used to announce and decide matters relevant to the membership. Just create a thread to explain what you'd like to do.

Protospace has chosen to have minimal rules. The largest all-encompassing rule is: "Be Excellent to Each Other" which applies to almost every social and practical situation that occurs. Be respectful and mature towards everyone. Be gentle with the tools, speak up about tools you accidentally broke or tools you noticed that are broken that no one else mentioned. Clean up after yourself every visit and help clean up after others once in a while. Don't monopolize Protospace's space and resources. Watch the lights and heat, help keep our utility bills low. Do not give or loan others your access key. Common sense things but things to take seriously when you consider your future behavior. Members will hold you accountable for how you treat them and Protospace. When in doubt, just do your best to be excellent to others.

Protospace is a "do-ocracy" where possible - those willing to do the work decide what to do and how to do it. If members want something done a certain way, they show up and help. Protospace does not yet have the luxury of too many volunteers. If you would like to do something non-permanent that you think makes Protospace a better place, just go do it. If you're timid, speak up about it and solicit feedback.

Minor decisions are usually handled on the mailing list. Issues significant enough for an official vote wait for a meeting to occur. All meetings are optional. There are 3 tiers of meetings:

Directors are elected volunteers responsible for Protospace meeting its legal obligations. They also manage Protospace's bills and finances. If you have any dues related issues, bring it up with one of them. Occasionally Directors handle private issues affecting specific members. Otherwise, they have no more significance, power or leadership than any other voting member.

The directors can be accessed directly by members through the administration mailing list or by emailing directors@protospace.ca . Say thanks to them once in a while, they're overworked.

Tell a Director you'd like to quit. All the steps taken for you to become a member will be reverted. Then continue being excellent away from Protospace. No hassles. Alternatively, if you fall behind on your dues for 2 months and make no attempt to contact a Director to make arrangements, it will be presumed you've quit and your key will be deactivated, shelf reclaimed, document access revoked, etc. Same result but the latter is a larger burden on our volunteers.

Sure, there is lots more detail if you want to read. Protospace's actual bylaws are accessible by all members and you are welcome to read through them to learn more.