Is there any mechanism for buying guest memberships for Social coop, and if not should there be?
Jules Bristow (afewbugs)
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Seen by 213
Given that it requires a donation through Open Collective to join Social Coop, I wondered whether there was any mechanism for members to invite people and pay their membership for them? If not is that something we should look at having?
The onboarding process for joining the Fediverse and picking an instance is notoriously complicated, and most people without techie backgrounds tend to start out on Mastodon.social which is poorly moderated and as a result restricted by a lot of other instances, so they don't get the best experience right from the outset. However they are then reluctant to pay for something they haven't enjoyed.
Given *gestures at the world right now* I'm sure we all know some people who we'd like to see moving over here. I wondered whether there was any mechanism for existing members to invite them and pay their first year's membership for them or something?
Tod Robbins Wed 6 Nov 2024 5:18PM
I love this proposal!
Stéphane Klein Wed 6 Nov 2024 5:47PM
+1 👍
Nathan Schneider Wed 6 Nov 2024 6:55PM
This reminds me, also, that we don't have a clear statement about the cost structure on our about page, wiki, or application page.
Is there a specific current policy stated anywhere?
My recollection is that the sliding scale goes to 0, if that's what people need.
Jules Bristow (afewbugs) Wed 23 Apr 2025 10:09AM
Could I reopen this please? I'd like to pay the financial contribution of someone who wants to join but can't afford it, and I suspect I'm not the only one who would find it useful if we had an official mechanism for this
Andrew Escobar (Andres) · social.coop Finance Working Group Wed 23 Apr 2025 4:44PM
This could use a policy update. Our finances are strong enough to support new members who don’t have the means or a method to contribute.
Andrew Escobar (Andres) · social.coop Finance Working Group Wed 23 Apr 2025 4:48PM
current barrier: a link to an Open Collective profile is required on the registration form (last updated in Dec. 2022)
Matt Noyes Thu 24 Apr 2025 2:00AM
Our current policy is that a financial contribution (of any level) is encouraged but not required. However, members do have to set up a free account on Open Collective. To donate on someone's behalf, you can just increase your donation. Does this work @Jules Bristow (afewbugs) ?
mike_hales · Wed 6 Nov 2024 10:50AM
+1 :)