Code of Conduct Proposal/Draft

THIS IS A DRAFT PROPOSAL AND NOT THE ACTIVE RULES & POLICIES

Rule and Policy Changes

These rules and policies are subject to change. Changes will become effective immediately upon successful vote of adoption by the Board of Directors. The DMS Secretary shall maintain the documented version of the official DMS Rules and Bylaws. A summarized version of these rules will be posted in the space, with a link to the full rules.

Community Standards

All members and guests are expected to contribute towards building a welcoming and inclusive environment.

Our community is:

• Considerate
  • of others and how our actions impact them.
• Respectful
  • of others, their time, their skills and their efforts.
• Helpful
  • Clean, Maintain, Organize, Improve.
  • Always leave things better than you found them.
• Collaborative
  • Work with others to improve the organization, our space, tools and resources.
  • Actively share tools, resources and knowledge with others.
  • Be welcoming of questions, answer them kindly.
• Honest
  • Stuff breaks, when you break something, own up to it. If you have any doubt about fixing it, ask for help.
• Safe
  • Handle all tools and resources carefully, ensure that you are protecting others and yourself.
  • Follow established procedures and signage.
  • Never bypass safety systems.

Code of Conduct

Dallas Makerspace is committed to building a safe, welcoming, harassment-free culture for everyone. We do not merely want an environment that is free from hostility; we want one that is actively welcoming and inclusive. We want our members and culture to reflect and celebrate the diversity of the communities we serve. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Anyone violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the premises and our online systems, without refund, at the discretion of the organization.

Harassment is prohibited and will not be tolerated. Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

• Offensive comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neurodiversity, physical appearance, body size, age, race, or religion.
• Threats of violence.
• Incitement of violence towards any individual, including encouraging a person to commit suicide or to engage in self-harm.
• Deliberate intimidation.
• Stalking or following.
• Harassing photography or recording, including logging online activity for harassment purposes.
• Unwelcome sexual attention.
• Physical contact and simulated physical contact (eg, textual descriptions like “hug” or “backrub”) without consent or after a request to stop.
• Gratuitous or off-topic sexual images or behavior in spaces where they’re not appropriate.
• Pattern of inappropriate social contact, such as requesting/assuming inappropriate levels of intimacy with others
• Continued one-on-one communication after requests to cease.
• Unwelcome comments regarding a person’s lifestyle choices and practices.
• Deliberate misgendering or use of ‘dead’ or rejected names.
• Deliberate “outing” of any aspect of a person’s identity without their consent except as necessary to protect vulnerable people from intentional abuse.
• Sustained disruption of discussion.

Reporting

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns about problematic behavior, please contact the Code of Conduct team at [email address], by filing a report at [google form] (allows for anonymous reports) or by directly speaking with a team member. There are no minimum reporting requirements, because small abuses often build into bigger abuses.

These are the members of the Code of Conduct team:

    [team member’s name]
        [profile picture]
        [direct contact info]

If the person who is harassing you is on the team, they will recuse themselves from handling your incident. We will respond to your report as promptly as we can.

This code of conduct applies to Dallas Makerspace spaces, but if you are being harassed by a member of Dallas Makerspace outside our spaces, we still want to know about it. We will take all good-faith reports of harassment by members, especially Directors, Officers and Committee Chairs, seriously. This includes harassment outside our spaces and harassment that took place at any point in time. The Dallas Makerspace reserves the right to exclude people from our spaces based on their past behavior, including behavior outside our spaces and behavior towards people who are not members of Dallas Makerspace.

We will respect confidentiality requests for the purpose of protecting victims of abuse. At our discretion, we may publicly name a person about whom we’ve received harassment complaints, or privately warn third parties about them, if we believe that doing so will increase the safety of Dallas Makerspace members or the general public. We will not name harassment victims without their affirmative consent.

Reports made in good faith that later turn out to be incorrect will not result in any actions taken against the reporter. Reports deemed to have been made in bad faith will be recorded, but no actions will be taken. A pattern of bad faith reports may result in disciplinary action.

Consequences

A person asked to stop any harassing behavior is expected to comply immediately.

If a person engages in harassing behavior, the Code of Conduct Team may immediately ban the person from the Dallas Makerspace premises and systems. This ban will be in effect until the next scheduled Board Meeting, or a special Board meeting addressing the incident. The Board of Directors will determine the final length of the expulsion upon consulting with the Code of Conduct team and reviewing the information provided. Harassment victims will not be required to attend this meeting and will not be named without their affirmative consent.

Transparency

The Code of Conduct team will generate a synopsis of actions taken, to be included in the public minutes of each regularly scheduled board meeting. At the team’s discretion, they may post a public announcement on the forums when taking an enforcement action. The report and/or announcements will typically be brief and factual, with no extraneous material.

If deemed appropriate, the team may choose to identify the offender by name in these reports. Harassment victims will not be named without their affirmative consent.

Organizational Rules

1. All guests and members must follow the Code of Conduct, rules, policies and posted signs.
2. Everyone must sign a liability waiver.
3. Smoking cigarettes/cigars, use of vaporizers (also known as electronic cigarettes) is not allowed inside the building.
4. No pets allowed in the building.
5. Sleeping within DMS is not permitted. Naps are not prohibited, provided the nap is less than 20 minutes in length, and the member is not laying down in a prone position. Sleeping will only be considered a nap while in the upright sitting position.
6. It is the responsibility of each member to help enforce the organizational rules. If someone is violating the rules/policies politely explain to them why their behavior is not acceptable. Egregious violations should be reported to a Director or the Officers.
7. Only persons or members that have been formally authorized to act as an agent or representative for the Dallas Makerspace, are permitted to represent DMS in any and all conversations, writing, or other communication with any public official. Failure to secure permission may result in the forfeiture of membership.

Tools

1. Tools/resources must stay on the premises so that other members may use them. Removing tools/resources from the space without authorization from an Officer or member of the Board of Directors is theft.
   1. An Officer or Director may authorize the temporary removal of a tool/resource for purposes relevant to organizational business
   2. The Chair or Vice-Chair of the Committee responsible for the tool/resource may authorize its removal for maintenance purposes but shall notify the Board of Directors of its removal, the specific purpose of its removal, the party/parties in custody, and its expected date of return.
   3. Committees may authorize the routine borrowing of portable tools for legitimate member learning opportunities through clearly-defined checkout processes lasting no longer than 48 hours that do not interfere with scheduled classes/events and complete, accessible records of checked-out tools are kept.

Commercial Use

1. The Dallas Makerspace is based on open source ideals and thus encourages its membership to embrace those ideals as well, however members reserve the rights to all of their creations.
2. DMS may invoice members for incurring costs to DMS significantly in excess of their monthly dues. Determination of excess to be submitted by Committee Chairs and the member billed by resolution of the Board.

Guests

1. Guests can not inhabit the Dallas Makerspace without another keyed Member present.
2. Guests are encouraged to become Members.
3. Guests are not allowed to use tools and equipment, except as part of a scheduled class/workshop.
4. Members are responsible for their Guests and their actions.

Minors

1. The DMS is not a day care.
2. Minors 15 and under must be accompanied closely by Parent or Legal Guardian at all times and are not allowed to have keys to the space.
   1. Accompanied closely means visual range generally, and immediate reach when near dangerous tools.
3. Parents/Legal Guardians are responsible for their children and their actions.
4. Minors under the age of 18 must have their liability form signed by a Parent or Legal Guardian.

Parking

Members are not permitted to store vehicles at the Dallas Makerspace. All project cars must be removed from the premises after work, and may not be stored overnight without the permission of the Logistics Chair, who may grant an exception for one 24 hour period only. All vehicles left more than 48 hours will be towed without notice at the owners expense. No exceptions.

Intoxicating Substance Policy

1. The possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages, illegal drugs, or other intoxicating substances is prohibited anywhere on or within the premises, parking lot, or common walkways of the Dallas Makerspace.
2. Anyone suspected of being intoxicated or impaired will be asked to leave the premises immediately and may be subject to additional disciplinary action. Refusal to leave will result in a call to local Police.
3. Anyone observing this behavior should escalate to an officer or director. If there is not one present, a message should be sent to [email protected] with the date, time, location of the incident, name of the offender, witness names and any other relevant details.

Non-Discrimination Policy

Dallas Makerspace does not promote or discriminate against any person, population group, or organization with regard to categories protected by applicable United States law. These include, but are not limited to race, color, religion, sex, gender expression, physical appearance, language, education background, national origin, age, disability, and veteran status.

Firearms

All work on firearms, as defined by the Dallas Makerspace (DMS) in section 1 below, is strictly prohibited unless specifically exempted in section 2.

• “Firearm” within this policy is deliberately far broader than most legal definitions
• "Work" or "Working" on a firearm means creating, modifying, or assembling section 1 item(s) together with other section 1 item(s) or section 2 item(s)

Violation of this policy may lead to expulsion from DMS and/or filing a criminal complaint with the relevant authorities.

1. Section 1: Work on the following items is explicitly and strictly prohibited:
   1. Firearm: a device that expels a projectile or projectiles by means of a deflagrating propellant (i.e. the deflagration or detonation of gunpowder or other similar propellant). This includes not only the BATFE definition of a firearm - its receiver - but also firearm-specific components that attach to a firearm (unless specifically exempted in section 2) including but not limited to barrels, cylinders, magazines, charging handles, safeties, buffers, actions, barrel bushings, linkages, extractors, firing pins, trunions, recoil springs, gas blocks.
   2. Replicas: Meant to closely resemble a firearm while lacking the ability to expel a projectile or projectiles
   3. Suppressors or Silencers: Reduce the sonic concussion of expelling a projectile or projectiles
   4. Reloading: All activities associated with the production of ammunition, including but not limited to processing primers, gunpowder/propellant, cases, and projectiles
2. Section 2: Work on the following firearm-related items are exempted, subject to conditions:
   1. Devices that expel a projectile or projectiles by non-deflagrating propellant means: Examples include springs, compressed air/gas, electronic, mechanical action. Not exempted are components interchangeable with firearms as defined in the previous section.
   2. Slings: Slings and sling attachments opposite point of attachment to the firearm
   3. Fasteners and commodity hardware: Standard components used on firearms not specific to firearms
   4. Sights: Scopes, sights, lasers, flashlights, etc not integral to the firearm
   5. Bipods: And other firearm supports if removable without tools
   6. Stocks and grips: May be made, refined, or modified at DMS
   7. Props: Non-firearm devices that do not closely resemble actual firearms such as sci-fi, fantasy, steampunk creations. Must not include devices from section 1.
3. Checking the fit of exempted items (i.e. stock, sling, sights, etc) from section 2 to a firearm in section 1 at DMS is prohibited. Section 2 items may be separated from Section 1 items at DMS, however they are not to be attached at DMS.

Formal Complaints

The formal complaint process exists for members to request a discussion be held by the Board of Directors regarding specific actions of another member. Members are expected to discuss their complaints in a calm and polite manner. Mediation is available to resolve issues without the need of a formal complaint.

1. Formal complaints against another member must be submitted, in writing, to the Board of Directors or to any member of the Board of Directors. The complaint must have two parts outlined at minimum, a "Complaint" part and a "Recommended Solution" part.
2. The Board of Directors may decide through informal consensus to either hold a special meeting regarding this matter or consider it at the next meeting in its cycle.
3. The Board of Directors is not required to act in accordance to the grievance or complainant's "Recommended Solution" part and may devise its own remediation.
4. Complaints will be added to the agenda of the meeting, posted on this wiki, without identifying information.
5. Minutes for the meeting will not be scrubbed of identifying information.
6. Any disciplinary action for which one or more of the Board of Directors or officers of the corporation (acting in their role as an officer) are involved require that a written record of the action, reason(s) for the action, and acknowledgement of the accused be sent to the Board of Directors for keeping.

Suspension

1. The Board of Directors may expel anyone who violates our rules via resolution from the premises, online systems, or at sponsored events.
2. Officers of the Corporation may temporarily suspend a member from the Dallas Makerspace premises, online systems, or at sponsored events provided the following conditions are met:
   1. The member presents a serious threat to health or safety, engages in illegal or threatening behavior, disturbs the peace, is forcibly removed from the premises by law enforcement, or other behavior that presents a major risk to the organization
   2. The temporary suspension will be for the shorter of: a period specified by the Officer, 30 days, the next scheduled Board Meeting, or a special Board meeting addressing the incident
   3. The member being suspended, other Officers, and the Board of Directors are informed in writing as soon as possible
   4. Upon reviewing reasonably complete details of the incident and believing a temporary suspension to be in error, a Board member may revoke a temporary expulsion; the Board of Directors may also opt to rescind a temporary suspension by resolution
   5. The power to temporarily suspend may not be delegated - only the named Officer may perform the temporary expulsion.

Privacy Policy

It shall be the policy of the Dallas Makerspace to comply with all laws, whether Federal, State, or Local, with respect to the display, discussion, or provision to any party, formation which identifies an individual or provides sensitive personal information, as a result of any otherwise legal request. This includes all information as identified by Section 521 of the Texas Business and Commerce code. In addition, the Dallas Makerspace will not provide or display any information which may subject a member to fraud, identity theft, harassment, or provide a means for subjecting the member to increased risk of fraud, identity theft, or which may enable another person to engage in Internet fraud or attack, or may enable another to identify, contact, or distinguish any member, without the express written consent of the member(s) owning the data. Various systems and tools, including forums, are structured in such a way that certain types of communications, actions, or stored information are represented as private, or require enhanced access to see. This would include items such as private messages, user data, or user actions, and other functions where a user's actions are not routinely visible, and where a user may feel a reasonable expectation of privacy. It is the Policy of the Dallas Makerspace that such items are not "books and records", and therefore such items will not be available for inspection or disclosure request under the terms of our by-laws and applicable law.

Various members of the Dallas Makerspace, acting within their capacity as officers or assigns, may access such information only to the extent necessary to perform their job function, on a need to know basis, and subject to the absolute prohibition on the provision of any information covered by this policy, to any other person or entity, without the explicit written permission of the Board of Directors.

In compliance with law and our bylaws, DMS will provide Member's names and physical adress only, in response to a valid request for member information.

The Dallas Makerspace will comply with requests lawfully made by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Membership Dues and Rights

All dues are paid in advance and are recurring. Check/cash is accepted only for yearly memberships.

Members who pay for a Yearly Membership will be given a 10% discount off the standard Regular Membership rate.

When membership dues increase, members shall be grandfathered on their current rate schedule unless a lapse of 14 days occurs, at which time the current rate schedule will apply.

Current Rate Schedule

Rate Schedule is effective 10/13/2019.

Plan Name	Rate	Notes
Monthly Membership	$60/mo	Eligible for voting rights after 90 days, see Voting Rights.
Student/Retired/Veteran/Disabled	$40/mo	This rate is for members who qualify under one of these three categories: in school, retired, veteran, or disabled (with Social Security Benefit Verification Letter). Please contact [email protected] to find out if you qualify. Eligible for voting rights after 90 days, see Voting Rights.
First Responder	$40/mo	This rate is for members who qualify under one of these categories: active law enforcement, active firefighter, active paramedic/EMS. Please contact [email protected] to find out if you qualify. Eligible for voting rights after 90 days, see Voting Rights.
Yearly Membership	$648/year	This rate is 10% off the monthly rate of $60. Eligible for voting rights after 90 days, see Voting Rights.
Family Membership Add-on	$15/mo	This rate applies to family members (living in the same household) of a member paying the $60/mo or $648/year plan. These members have access to the space but will not be eligible for voting rights.

Rate Schedules No Longer Offered

This section is not part of the rules and exists for reference purposes only

These rates/programs are no longer available but are grandfathered for existing members that have an active subscription at said rates.

• Monthly Membership: $30, $40, $50 / month, predating rate changes in 2011 and 2019
• Starving Hacker: This program has been redefined as "Student/Retired/Veteran"

Maker Fellowship

The Board of Directors may, to recognize certain members, award fellowships to cover membership dues. Fellowships awarded by the Board will be applied as a credit to a member's account. Fellowships are non-refundable, non-transferable, and may be declined.

Voting Rights

1. All members start off as Supporting Members, with no voting rights.
2. A Supporting Member must have been a member for the immediate past 90 days to become a Regular Member. Exceptions will be considered on a case by case basis jointly by the Infrastructure and Finance Chairs.
3. A member's application to change from Supporting Member to Regular Member must be submitted:
   1. Thru the DMS Voting Registration site at https://votingrights.dallasmakerspace.org allowing you to add or remove your own voting rights
   2. Via email to [email protected] from the email address registered on their account,
   3. Thru other electronic registration approved by the Board of Directors.
   4. Rights will be effective upon receipt of the e-mail or electronic registration.
4. Members added via the Family rate will not be allowed voting rights.

Classes & Events

1. Classes/events must be on the official calendar to be considered scheduled. Adding classes/events to the calendar can be done from our calendar management system.
2. Scheduling of classes/events is done on a first-come basis, as determined by the calendar management system.
3. Scheduled classes/events should uphold our Mission Statement
4. Scheduled classes/events take priority over unscheduled classes/events.
5. Scheduling conflicts should be worked out peaceably by the affected parties. Disputes will be arbitrated by members of the board, or by the Board of Directors as a whole.
6. All classes/events must be sponsored by a current member, who must be present during the class/event.
7. Donations are encouraged but not required to hold events.
8. Guest access to the facility will be limited as required by the class/event.
9. Terms and Conditions for classes/events can be dictated and modified by the Board of Directors.
10. Honorarium Auditors and calendar administrators may at their discretion cancel or modify scheduled Classes or Events that are not in keeping with the DMS mission, are deemed inappropriate for DMS, are deemed not to be actual Classes/Events, represent an abuse of the calendar system, or represent abuse of DMS resources.
11. Hosting events and teaching is a privilege not a right. Honorarium auditors and calendar administrators may temporarily or indefinitely blackball members for representing the Makerspace in an unfavorable way (including but not limited to no shows and unprofessional behavior). The Board of Directors can overturn decisions made by honorarium auditors and calendar administrators.

Honorarium Rules

Honorariums are paid by the Dallas Makerspace to promote structured education about making. These rules are intended to encourage teaching topics which directly relate to making, including learning tools, software, methods, and techniques needed to make something. Honorariums are not intended to encourage the teaching of classes which have nothing to do with making, including subjects which are better learned through public schools or institutions of higher learning. Members may teach non-making classes, however these classes will not be eligible for honorarium.

Requirements

1. Persons wishing to collect honorariums for classes must provide a fully completed and signed W9 to DMS prior to receipt of any honorarium, without exception.
2. To be approved for honorarium, a class must be submitted at least 144 hours prior to the beginning of the event.
3. All classes are subject to scrutiny especially where subject matter is vague, potentially unrelated to making, or instruction time is less than 90 minutes to ensure quality of material and value to the DMS and members.
4. Instructors must provide a syllabus or detailed outline of the class to be eligible.
5. Instructors shall not request or suggest any personal gratuities
6. If an instructor donates his/her portion of the Honorarium to a Committee, then a W9 shall not be required.
7. Only a single honorarium may be paid for any class.
8. Honorarium can be forgone by the hosting member and designated to a committee
9. Honorarium Auditors cannot discuss their own honorarium requests except through channels available to non-Honorarium Auditor.
10. For the duration of their term, no Director serving on the Board of Directors may accept personal payment for honorarium. The 2019-2020 Board (M. Blatz, Julie Harris, Scott Blevins, Ken Purcell, James Henningson) will not qualify for Honorarium until 12 months after their terms have expired.

Honorarium Payment Policies

1. Honorarium payments to teachers will $50.00 per class taught that meets subject and attendance requirements.
2. Honorarium payments will be limited to four (4) per teacher, per month to begin with and this class limit will be periodically reviewed and adjusted to encourage more teaching or to control costs.
3. Teachers will have the option to donate the honorariums they are eligible for to the committee of their choice at the time the class is posted on the DMS calendaring system.

Minimum Class Sizes

1. For all honorarium classes 3 attendees are required to receive honorarium.
2. For Tool Basics classes that met the minimum number of attendees 12 hours prior to the beginning of the class, the honorarium will be paid upon approval by a Director or the Treasurer.
3. Honorarium auditors have the responsibility for enforcing these rules, however, their judgements may be appealed to the Board of Directors at the next available meeting.

Organizational Meetings

1. Board meetings with open agendas shall be posted on the Dallas Makerspace Events calendar.
2. For purchases over $200, the request must include a description of how this spending furthers the organization's Tax Exempt purpose (see Mission Statement.)
3. The President shall preside over the membership meetings.
4. If the President is unavailable, the members of the Board of Directors who are present will choose, via consensus, a temporary meeting chair.
5. If no member of the Board is present or consensus can not be reached, the committee chairpersons present will vote to determine the temporary meeting chair.
6. The board of directors may not allocate more than 5% of the checking account balance on discretionary spending without a current financial status from the financial committee or treasurer.

Committees

Committees are voluntary groups, formed in order to operate and maintain an area of the Makerspace, foster growth of a community of interested persons, or accomplish certain needs, subject to the oversight of the Board of Directors.

Formation

1. At least 5 members are required to form a committee.
2. There is no limit to the number of committees a member can serve on.
3. If the number of committee members drops below 5, the committee will have a grace period of 30 days in order to recruit enough members to remain active. Infrastructure, Logistics, PR, and Education Committees can only be dissolved by motion of the board.
4. Committees shall hold meetings each calendar month at minimum. Committee meetings shall be regularly scheduled on either a specific day of the month (for example, the 13th) or a specified day of the week (for example, the second Monday of each month.)

Committee Leadership

1. Committees shall have a Chair and a Vice Chair who will serve until a Chair-Elect is nominated by the committee during a Chair Election, dismissal of the Chair by the Board of Directors, or the Board of Directors appoints a replacement Chair
2. Duties of the Committee Chair:
   1. The principal duty of the Chair is the recruitment of Committee members, and organization of volunteer activities needed to operate and maintain the Committee resources.
   2. Responsible for operations of the committee, providing reports on the status and activities of the committee at the monthly membership meeting, and managing the finances of the committee. This will include reviewing financial transactions attributed to their committee and working with the Treasurer or Accountant to correct any errors.
   3. Maintaining the safety of the Committee area, including ensuring the safe operation of all tooling.
   4. Maintaining good order of committee area and resources, ensuring adequate supplies of consumable items are maintained.
   5. Enforcing the rules established by the committee, and of the Dallas Makerspace within their area.
   6. Maintain an accurate inventory of all Tools in the format provided by the Board.
   7. Appoint a Vice Chair
3. Duties of the Vice Chair
   1. Assist the Chair, as determined by the Chair or by the Committee at large
   2. Provide oversight and supervision of the Committee area when Chair is not present
   3. Serve as Interim Chair when:
      1. The Chair is not available for an extended period
      2. Has resigned

Chair Elections

1. Committees shall meet and vote on a Chair to nominate for confirmation by the Board of Directors
   1. In advance of the May and November Board of Directors meetings
   2. When directed to do so by resolution of the Board of Directors
2. The winning candidate shall become Chair-Elect and assume the duties of the Chair
3. The Chair-Elect shall appoint a Vice Chair Elect who assume the duties of the Vice Chair
4. The Board of Directors shall consider the committee’s nomination of the Chair Elect at the soonest convenient Board Meeting, and may opt to do one of the following:
   1. Confirm the Chair-Elect, upon which the Chair-Elect and Vice Chair-Elect become Chair and Vice Chair, respectively
   2. Reject the nomination of the Chair-Elect and appoint a different Chair, whom shall name a Vice-Chair
   3. Reject the nomination of the Chair-Elect and direct the committee to hold another election which shall occur at the next scheduled committee meeting

Committee Responsibilities and Rules

1. Committee purchasing is controlled by the Financial Policy Manual, Board-set allocation and authorization limits.
2. Committees are responsible for establishing the rules of the Committee area.
3. The Chair/Vice-Chair shall be empowered to enforce the rules of the Committee, and of the Dallas Makerspace within the Committee area, and may limit access to the Committee area for a time not to exceed the last day of the subsequent month. The Chair may petition the Board to enforce a longer or more stringent consequence.
4. Committee meetings must be posted on the calendar and announced on the forums. Meetings to select a chair recommendation shall be published a minimum of 13 days and 12 hours in advance.
5. Committees shall make a good faith effort to publicly post meeting agenda items in advance of each meeting so that committee members may review and discuss them.
6. Committee meeting minutes must be posted in a timely fashion on the wiki following the conclusion of each meeting and shall adhere to standards established by the Secretary.
7. The Chair may hold an emergency Committee meeting with 5 days notice on the forums of DMS, and on signs conspicuously posted in the committee area, provided a good faith effort to notify all current committee members is performed, and that the time of the meeting is not unreasonably restrictive on the members.
8. Committees may establish other positions as needed to ensure the effective operation of the committee, or to accomplish Committee goals. Ad Hoc positions with spending authority, or administrative access to DMS resources, require the approval of the Board.
9. Each committee will need to maintain a page on the wiki with at least the following information:
   1. The name of the committee chair
   2. A list of all active members
   3. A brief statement listing the goals or tasks assigned to the committee.
   4. The category tag,either:

      [[Category:Active Committee]]

      or

      [[Category:Proposed Committee]]

   5. All rules made by the committee for committee areas or covering all committee equipment.
   6. Any new rules made by the committee for specific committee equipment.

Active Committees

A list of active committees can be found in the Active Committees category.

Inactive Committees

A list of inactive committees can be found in the Inactive Committees category.

Proposed Committees

A list of proposed committees can be found in the Proposed Committees category.

Organizational Roles and Responsibilities

Finances

The organization's finances are controlled by the Financial Policy Manual.

Treasurer and Financial Group

The duties of the Treasurer and Financial Group are defined in the Financial Policy Manual, Dallas Makerspace Treasurer's Office.

Other Officers

Other Dallas Makerspace Officers are defined on their respective pages in the Officers section.

Property and Equipment

Storage

1. The Dallas Makerspace is not a storage facility, personal property left at the space that does not follow these rules, will be considered donations.
2. Personal property can only be stored in designated Project Storage Areas.
3. Personal property stored in the Project Storage Areas must follow the rules and policies created by the Logistics Committee which may be changed at any time.
4. Personal property may be stored elsewhere with the approval of a member of the Board or by a vote of the membership.
5. Firearms, gunpowder, primers, and assembled ammunition cannot be stored at the Makerspace.
6. All tools must be claimed by a committee. Committees are ultimately responsible for the maintenance, upkeep and training of tools.
7. Personal property left outside of designated storage areas for more than 24 hours without permission from the Logistics committee will be considered abandoned and will be dealt with how the Logistics committee sees fit. Please ask for permission rather than forgiveness for storing unusual items.

Storage in Committee Areas

1. Anything in a committee area is available for use by all members unless documented/labeled as training required.
2. Items that require training may be secured, but a path to obtain use of said tool should be documented.
3. If a person must be contacted to use a tool, 2 or more points of contact must be listed on/around tool.
4. Storage of materials is not be permitted in committee areas unless there is a defined/documented area.
5. For items to be considered on display and not storage, items have to be in a designated area.
6. Anything that is a personal item in a committee area must have gone through the Loaning of Tools & Equipment to the Makerspace
7. If training is required and not set up at least once a month, the personal item on loan is subject to removal within 30 days.

Loaning of Tools & Equipment To The Makerspace

Members can generously provide tools or equipment for use in the space, either by donating them outright or by loaning them.

When equipment is loaned, the following conditions apply:

1. All loaned equipment must be marked or labeled with the owner’s name
2. Permission of the accepting committee - which will be responsible for the tool - must be obtained before the loan will be accepted
3. The owner must contact the accepting committee so that they can record the following information:
   1. Name of owner
   2. Equipment being loaned
   3. Serial number if available
   4. Terms or conditions of the loan
4. Equipment is loaned subject to the understanding that it is preferable for DMS to own their equipment, rather than borrow it. DMS may seek to buy equipment in order to replace loaned items, which are then returned.
5. Loaned items may be returned at any time, by request of the owner or as determined by the accepting committee.
6. DMS is NOT responsible for maintenance of loaned equipment, but may maintain it as determined by the accepting committee.
7. DMS is NOT responsible for the damage, theft, or loss of equipment. However, efforts will be made to provide reasonably secure storage.

Donations

1. Donations of items intended to be used or consumed by the DMS
   1. Must be explicitly accepted by the committee chairperson in whose area the items are to be stored or used
   2. The Treasurer may reject donations at their discretion
   3. Donations not explicitly accepted by a committee will not be accepted by DMS; if the donor delivers them to DMS without explicit acceptance they will be disposed of as the Logistics committee sees fit
2. Donations of motor vehicles must have written approval of 3 board members

Member Exchange Shelf

1. A Member Exchange (Freebie) shelf will be made available for members to give to and take items from at Logistics’ Committee discretion; if no shelf is being made available, these rules no longer apply
2. Items placed on the Member Exchange Shelf
   1. Are not donations to DMS
   2. Are available for members to claim once placed on the shelf
3. Certain items are not accepted. The Logistics committee or its successor regulates the list of unacceptable items. The complete list can be found on the Logistics Committee page.
4. Claiming items from the shelf
   1. Items removed from the freebie shelf become the property of the member removing them, effective once the item has been removed from the shelf
   2. Items left on the shelf cannot be claimed regardless of verbal claims made, labels placed on items, or any other action other than removal from the shelf and its general vicinity
5. The Member Exchange Shelf is maintained by Logistics, which may implement additional processes in the interest of safety and orderly operation of the Member Exchange Shelf

Disposition of Assets

Any committee or group wishing to dispose of non-consumable Assets belonging to DMS will submit to the Treasurer, no less than three days prior to the proposed disposition:

• If in the case of Assets that are to be destroyed or thrown away, a list of the Assets and a statement that they hold no or de minimis value and stating that the effort of sale is unlikely to produce funds in excess of the costs of sale. Upon review, the Treasurer may inform the prospective disposer that the disposal shall be referred to the board. The Board will the review the proposal at its earliest convenience, but until such time, the items will not be disposed.
• If in the case of assets that are to be sold, a list of the assets and a statement of where it is proposed they be sold or offered for sale as well as the asking price.
  • For items estimated to be worth, on an individual basis, not more than $1000 the Treasurer can approve or deny the proposed sale. In the case of denial he/she will inform the Board and the committee/group in writing of his/her reason for doing so and the committee or group may appeal the decision to the Board.
  • For items estimated to be worth, on an individual basis, more than $1000, the decision will be referred to the Board to approve or deny the sale. This decision shall be final.

For Items that have been approved for sale:

1. They will be offered for sale to the public on internet sites generally known to facilitate the transaction of secondhand goods (e.g. Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, etc.) or at such other public places as explicitly approved by the Treasurer.
2. If offered for sale on an internet site, they will be listed for a minimum of 24 hours before any member of DMS is eligible to purchase and in no case will an offer from a DMS member lower than the then-listed asking price be considered.
3. If sold through other venues (e.g. auction house, garage sale, consignment store, etc.) the membership will be treated exactly the same as the general public and will receive no preferential treatment whatsoever.
4. Upon the sale of an item, the seller will complete a Bill of Sale, in the form approved by the treasurer; provide a copy to the buyer, and place the bill of sale and the funds generated in the finance box.

Notes

These notes are not officially part of the Rules or Bylaws and are only meant to provide additional information or an interpretation of the Rules and/or Bylaws.