Membership State Registry

Defined Membership States

Which membership states do we have — at least applicant, trial, full and exited — and what are their rights, obligations and limitations?

RCOS clauses 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.1.3, 3.1.4, 3.1.5

3.1.1 The community MUST define explicit membership states.
3.1.2 At minimum, the following membership states MUST exist:
3.1.3 Each membership state MUST have clearly defined rights, obligations, and limitations.
3.1.4 No individual MAY hold multiple membership states simultaneously.
3.1.5 No rights or obligations MAY be assumed outside of the individual’s current membership state.

Why a single table of states?

Rights and obligations scattered across documents drift apart. Collecting every state, its rights, its obligations, and its transitions into one table makes the membership system auditable at a glance — you can see every door into and out of the community, and what each one grants. If two documents ever disagree, this registry is the tiebreaker.

How to fill this in

Define every membership state your community recognizes (e.g. Applicant, Trial Member, Full Member, Exited Member). For each, list rights, obligations, entry condition, and exit condition. Keep states mutually exclusive — no individual may hold two states simultaneously.

State	Rights	Obligations	Entry condition	Exit condition
<State 1, e.g. Applicant>	<rights>	<obligations>	<entry>	<exit>
<State 2, e.g. Trial Member>	<rights>	<obligations>	<entry>	<exit>
<State 3, e.g. Full Member>	<rights>	<obligations>	<entry>	<exit>
<State 4, e.g. Exited Member>	<rights>	<obligations>	<entry>	<exit>

> No individual may hold multiple membership states simultaneously. > No rights or obligations may be assumed outside of the individual's current membership state.

What to cover

Which membership states do we have — at least applicant, trial, full and exited — and do we need any others?
For each state: which rights, obligations and limitations apply?
For each state: what moves someone into it, and what moves them out?
How do we make sure nobody holds two states at once?
How do we make sure nobody claims a right, or is held to an obligation, that their current state does not give?

Examples

Applicant: may attend open meetings; must give honest information; enters by applying, leaves on the admission decision. Trial Member: may join all meetings and speak, cannot vote or hold roles; follows the work rota; enters on signing, leaves on the trial decision. Full Member: votes and holds roles; contributes monthly and shares costs; enters when onboarding is recorded, leaves on exit. Exited Member: keeps access to their own records, has no obligations; may reapply as an Applicant. Each person holds exactly one state at a time.

Examples, not recommendations. Your answers will be your own.

Membership State Registry

Download this template

Defined Membership States

Ratification Record