[IAEP] Membership fees (was: Re: Next slobs meeting?)

[Sascha Silbe]

Excerpts from Bernie Innocenti's message of Sun Jun 05 06:33:40 +0200 2011:

> > >  * Membership fees
> > 
> > Could you elaborate what you have in mind here? :-)
> 
> It's a prototype idea, not yet discussed anywhere yet. I'd like to know
> what the board members would think about asking a yearly fee from
> members and, in case there's interest, how it could be implemented.

Whatever you choose to do, please do not *require* membership fees.
Their existence alone is enough to make it impossible for a lot of
people to join. They might even be able to afford the actual membership
fee, but not necessarily the associated costs of transferring the money
to Sugar Labs - given that's possible at all.

I wouldn't mind *optional* membership "fees", i.e. yearly donations.
But it should be the decision of the member. Don't require proof of
being too poor to pay the fee. It's impossible to do; been there, tried
that, failed to convince to other party. Besides there's a high
psychological barrier to admit that you're poor.

Instead just *encourage* people to donate a recurring amount of their
choosing. Do a direct debit from their bank account, with a minimum
amount to cover banking costs (they still have the option not to donate
at all). Publish donations above a certain threshold on the website,
maybe using several different thresholds and calling them bronze /
silver / gold sponsors (or some sweet equivalent).

Sascha

-- 
http://sascha.silbe.org/
http://www.infra-silbe.de/
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