Participation

Rather than identify members, we identify only participants. Participation fulfills some of the roles and functions that membership fills in some organizations, but is distinct in other ways. Becoming a participant does not require any commitment of future involvement or allegiance to the group.

Participants are given access to edit the wiki and contribute to discussions on the wiki.

Becoming a participant

	This section is part of our core beliefs and practices. The content of this section reflects the consensus of our group. Always obtain consensus at a meeting before editing this section. Other material on this page is part of our general wiki and may not reflect complete consensus.

In order to officially become a participant in our group, someone must:

• Make a commitment to follow the rules of communication and our process of communication in meetings and on the wiki.

AND

• Either:

• Attend a meeting in which we use the rules and process of communication, and follow these rules.

OR

• Have a conversation with two existing participants (either together or separately) about our group, and the rules and process of communication, while following the rules.

Record of participants

	This section is part of our core beliefs and practices. The content of this section reflects the consensus of our group. Always obtain consensus at a meeting before editing this section. Other material on this page is part of our general wiki and may not reflect complete consensus.

• Participants can choose to be listed on our list of participants. Do not add people to this list without their consent.
• People are not required to be on our list of participants in order to be considered participants.

Removing participants

	This section is part of our core beliefs and practices. The content of this section reflects the consensus of our group. Always obtain consensus at a meeting before editing this section. Other material on this page is part of our general wiki and may not reflect complete consensus.

• People stay considered as participants unless they are removed by consensus at a group meeting.
• The following are grounds for removal:

• A person consistently breaks the rules of communication in writing, on the wiki or in any other official written medium of Why This Way.
• A person refuses to follow the rules and process of communication.
• A person uses or threatens to use violence in a meeting, or harasses anyone during a meeting.
• A person uses or threatens to use violence against anyone, or harasses anyone, in any circumstance, and a participant in Why This Way believes that the incident could negatively affect the group.

• Violence, threats, or harassment in a meeting are also grounds for a person's immediate removal from the meeting.
• If any participant causes a severe problem on the wiki (such as vandalizing pages), anyone can contact a wiki administrator, who can temporarily bar their account from editing until the matter is resolved at a meeting.
• When discussing removal of a participant, that person is allowed to attend the meeting where their removal is discussed. At this meeting, that person is only required to follow the rules of communication to whatever minimal degree the other participants are comfortable with. If the person oversteps these boundaries, they can be removed from the meeting immediately.
• Removal of participants is not permanent; consensus at a meeting and an 8-day waiting period to check for objections from participants not present are required for a person who has previously been removed to become a participant again through the normal process.