Member Management Team
Status
The Member Management Team or MMT has several key functions as of 2025:
- General Membership Support: Resolving tickets in FreshDesk that are generated when info@pumpingstationone.org receives an email.
- Membership Administration: Managing membership applications, renewals, terminations, and maintaining accurate member records.
- Storage Audits: Performing occasional storage locker audits to keep the storage registry and member profiles in sync and up to date.
- Data Management: Collecting and providing resources/data to the membership as they pertain to using the space effectively.
Policy Approach
To preserve volunteer involvement, the main goal of MMT is to help distill member support inquires into automated self-service functions and concise resources that reduce maintenance efforts and input from volunteers while maintaining a high degree of accuracy and reliance. Primarily focused on resolving support inquiries, MMT is well positioned to identify pain points and patterns that can be delegated to an area's team or an infrastructure team such as the Tech Team. While there are coders on MMT, it's important to maintain that there should not be an expectation to code in order to join the team.
Members Frequently Asked Questions
How can I be an excellent member and avoid being entangled in drama?
Unfortunately the space is not immune to drama, but here are a few guidelines that should help keep you in the clear. Keep opinions of others and your political opinions to yourself, even if you're directly asked for them by someone you consider a friend at the space. Consider providing neutral responses or try to politely change the subject to a project or craft. Even if you're open to changing your mind, others may think you're not and mischaracterize what you say, so keep the topic light. You can always simply say you're not comfortable talking about something or leave the room. Remember to clean up after yourself after using an area, and be considerate of people working nearby. Park your projects out of the way and off of workbenches. If using any toxic chemicals, consider their effect on the surrounding air and use proper ventilation. And of course, make sure to only wash food related items in the kitchen sink.
Something happened at the space and I don't feel safe, what can I do?
Read through the DRC documentation and follow the procedure listed. Knowledge is power, if you see that the procedure isn't being followed, make it known. Find volunteers you can trust and ask if they can help you in the process. Consider only coming to the space if you're meeting with a trusted friend. Have a neutral or trusted third party present for any interactions you think may put your membership status or personal safety in jeopardy.
People are suddenly treating me differently and I feel alienated, what is happening and what can I do?
If you're unaware of anything you might have done then kindly try to gather more information from someone that you trust, it's possible that a rumor or mischaracterization has spread about you among active members or volunteers. Remember that it's natural to have a strong emotional reaction as certain accusations can attack your moral character, and behind-the-scenes discussions can create social isolation. Without being given a chance to respond and with a loss of community connections, it's easy for a fight-or-flight response to be triggered and to feel an urgency to do something. Remember to document everything and request a clear process (seek specific examples or evidence and make sure the DRC procedure is being followed). Connect with those you trust and maintain professional relationships. Having an outside perspective can also help keep you grounded. Write about your thoughts privately and if something seems overwhelming remember that you don't have to respond immediately and do not have to come to the space alone. Document all interactions to establish a clear record. This documentation can help maintain peace of mind and helps protect you by providing an accurate chronological record of events and communication that you can refer back to.
An accusation was made against me by an unknown party, what happens now?
According to DRC procedure, "2.1.6. The DRC shall review, but not act upon, anonymous issues (i.e. where the petitioner does not identify themselves to the DRC", but you may unfortunately be subject to penalties regardless. And once again you may unfortunately be the subject of alienation by other members, even if the claim is not true. While this can be challenging to stomach and feel unfair, it's important to consider that an all volunteer run organization is ever evolving. People are fallible and make mistakes, including yourself, so it's important to stick to the facts and not point fingers. Keep your interactions professional and if evidence of the subject of the complaint can not be attained, you can at least push for evidence of the complaint being fielded. The DRC has access to an internal document titled "Investigation Guidance Questions for Complaint Follow-up". This document contains questions that will capture the details of when the complaint was fielded. This information can then be correlated with other resources to help clear you of wrongdoing or verify your mistakes.
Membership Administration Procedures
New Member
- New members initiate their own member profile at https://pumpingstationone.org/join
- Before a new members account is approved, the prospective member needs to start a Stripe subscription through https://ps1.link/stripe
- An in-person or virtual ID check is performed as the final step to approve a new member's account.
- As a courtesy, a user's first fob is typically set up at the time of the ID check, but members are able to set up their own fobs. Instructions can be found on the fob wiki page.
Returning Members
- Returning members need to set up their stripe subscription using https://ps1.link/stripe
- The account will remain in a pending state until a volunteer with admin WA access is able to review the returning members WA profile and confirm the Stripe subscription status before re-enabling the account.
Member Cancellation
- The way to cancel depends on how you signed up and pay for membership:
- If you paid through Stripe, you can cancel your membership by deleting your payment information on the payment portal.
- If that link doesn't work, login to Wild Apricot using the SSO button, and you'll see a shortcut link to Stripe on your WA profile.
- If you paid through PayPal (super old account), you'll have to cancel in your PayPal portal.
- If you paid through Stripe, you can cancel your membership by deleting your payment information on the payment portal.
Membership Administration Tools
FreshDesk
FreshDesk is the current customer service ticketing solution used by MMT to resolve member inquires emailed to info@pumpingstaitonone.org.
Wild Apricot
Wild Apricot (WA) is the primary membership management software used to hold and maintain all PSOne member records. While it can be used to process payments, there is an ongoing effort to use Stripe subscriptions directly in order to remove reliance on WA. Older accounts in WA will still perform charges through WA, but as of August 2024 new members are set up through a Stripe subscription model outside of WA.
To access WA, login via SSO at the membership subdomain >>>> membership.pumpingstationone.org.
