associate/friend of Skullspace status

[Mark Jenkins]

One topic that has been batted around over the years and has come up
again recently with folks is the idea of Skullspace offering some kind
of paid associate status to folks which would get them event related
discounts in return for an annual fee but none of the 24/7 access or
voting rights that members have. Actual members would always enjoy the
same discounts.

It's been suggested this will come up at the AGM, so I figured lets
have an open discussion here in discuss@ in advance.

(I originally wrote this in the #general channel on our discord where
there is a lot more discussion activity these days)

I don't believe this is going to come in the form of a bylaw
amendment, which requires:
* a high standard of advance notice (with the actual wording)
* to be done at an AGM or special meeting of members called for that purpose
* care to not break the bylaws with careless wording
* passing as a members resolution.

Though some of the conversation in past years has been around this
being a bylaw amendment, I don't know if this kind of thing
necessarily needs to be in the bylaws. The board may just have the
power to just do this as a policy, though consultation of the members
is of course always valued.

An associate status is very much not foreign to me, as a long time fan
of the Free Software Foundation (FSF) I've long been aware of their
"associate member" status sold to the pleebs and that the true
"members" of the FSF non-profit (which elects their board) is a secret
and small cabal intended to preserve the goals of the organization, a
group thought to be made up mostly of former board members.

This naturally brings up the matter of what magic words to use.
"Associate-member" does come with some confusion as to who the real
"members" are or are not. On the flip side, including the "M" word
after the A word does have some marketing vibe value, though taken far
enough the confusion starts to become the point?

So I'm more inclined to not confuse anybody and to just use the word
"associate" or "friend" or what have you and not go down the path of
confusion that "associate-member" would bring.

But consider me on board with the principle of taking other people's
money for a limited status.


Mark Jenkins