This policy covers how we add new members to the camp. A new member is one who has never camped with us before at any event.

Existing camp members (active or inactive) can recommend that we invite people to join the camp, or new people can ask to join through an existing member. In either case, an existing member emails the camp mailing list with the candidate member’s name and hopefully some more information about the person. The existing member should direct the candidate to our wiki, explain the basics of the camp, explain a bit about the new member process, and offer to answer any questions the candidate has about the camp. The cutoff for suggesting new members is 10 days before the start of an event (7 days before the start of Early Arrival, plus the 48-hour review period).

Any suggested new member must be approved of by at least one existing member (the person suggesting them counts!) This policy is meant to account for the case where an existing member receives a request to join the camp from someone they don’t really know, and wants to forward it to the camp without actually vouching for that person. The Universe generally wants to always accept new members whenever possible, so ideally someone will decide to approve of the candidate even if no one knows them. This policy is meant to make sure that everyone who is invited to join the camp has at least one person interested in welcoming them to the camp.

The camp has 48 hours from the time that the above email is sent out to voice objections that would block the invitation of the new person. A camp member may voice objections by either emailing the member who has proposed the candidate, by going through a friend as a proxy, or by emailing Jon (the camp lead). Please be thoughtful in objecting to new members, and please provide a reason for the objection.

If no objections are raised within 48 hours, the member who recommended the candidate invites the candidate to join the camp should follow the procedure on the Adding New Members page.