Proposed Rules

These are PROPOSED rules and are not currently in effect. Please see the Rules and Policies page for the active rules. Please discuss this proposal using the forum thread: Proposed Rule Changes.

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 or by the membership at a membership meeting. A summarized version of these rules will be posted in the space, with a link to the full rules.

Code of Conduct

1. All guests and members must follow the Code of Conduct.
2. Directors and the President may ban anyone who violates the Code of Conduct from the premises or online systems. Bans may be reversed upon agreement by 2 or more members of the Board of Directors.
3. Don't merely respect each other; be excellent to each other.
   • We are all here to make things and learn. Collaboration is important.
   • When you break something, own up to it. If you have any doubt about fixing it, ask for help. Don't make someone feel bad for breaking things, help them understand what went wrong.
   • Clean, Maintain, Organize, Improve. Always leave the space better than you found it.
   • Don't be afraid to ask questions. Answer them kindly; eventually you'll have to ask for help too.
   • Tools/resources must stay on the premises so that other members may use them.
4. Everyone must sign a liability waiver.
5. Sleeping is not cool, but naps are ok. We are not a hotel.
6. All members are expected to maintain a safe and clean environment at all times.
7. Smoking cigarettes/cigars, use of vaporizers (also known as electronic cigarettes) is not allowed inside the building.
8. No pets allowed in the building.
9. Don't catch fire, set others on fire, or set anything on fire which has not been designated or designed to be on fire.
10. It is the responsibility of each member to help enforce the Code of Conduct. If someone is violating the Code of Conduct politely explain to them why their behavior is not acceptable. Egregious violations should be reported to a Director or the President.

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 without member supervision.
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.

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 will decide to either hold a special meeting regarding this matter, or will 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.

Membership Dues

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

Plan Name	Rate	Notes
Monthly Membership	$50/mo	Eligible for voting rights after 3 months, see Voting Rights.
Starving Hacker	$35/mo	This rate is for members who qualify under one of these four categories: in school, unemployed, underemployed, or retired. Please see a board member to find out if you qualify. Eligible for voting rights after 3 months, see Voting Rights.
Yearly Membership	$540/year	This rate is 10% off the monthly rate of $50. Eligible for voting rights after 3 months, see Voting Rights.
Family Membership Add-on	$10/mo	This rate applies to family members (living in the same household) of a member paying the $50/mo or $540/year plan. These members have access to the space but will not be eligible for voting rights.

Rates No Longer Offered

Legacy Rates: $30 and $40-These rates are no longer available. They are grandfathered rates from before the rate change in 2011.

Voting Rights

1. All members start off as Supporting Members, with no voting rights.
2. A Supporting Member may submit an application to become a Regular Member only after 90 days of membership.
3. A member's application to change from Supporting Member to Regular Member will be approved automatically upon receipt of the application by the Secretary or President.
4. Members added via the Family rate will not be allowed voting rights.

Storage

1. The Dallas Makerspace is not a storage facility, projects and materials that do not follow these rules, will be considered donations.
2. Projects (and materials for them) can only be stored in designated Project Storage Areas.
3. Projects (and materials for them) stored in the Project Storage Areas must follow the rules and policies created by the Operations and Facilities Committee which may be changed at any time.
4. Projects can be stored in committee controlled rooms, as long as they follow the committee's guidelines.
5. A project may be stored elsewhere with the approval of a member of the Board or by a vote of the membership.
6. Projects stored in committee rooms or other places outside of the designated Project Storage Areas must follow these additional rules:
   1. Projects must be labeled, and include the names of the member(s) working on the project.
   2. Projects should be presented as active at the Monthly Meetings.
   3. Projects are urged to create a thread on the forums and a page on the wiki under the projects category.
7. Individual storage areas will be available for each member:
   • Each storage area is approximately 10"x16"x24"
   • The individual storage area is located in the workshop.
8. Firearms, gunpowder, primers, and assembled ammunition cannot be stored at the Makerspace.

Events

1. Events must be on the official calendar to be considered scheduled. Adding events to the calendar can be done from our calendar management system.
2. Scheduling of events is done on a first-come basis, as determined by the calendar management system.
3. Scheduled events should uphold our Mission Statement
4. Scheduled events take priority over unscheduled 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 events must be sponsored by a current member, who must be present during the event.
7. Donations are encouraged but not required to hold events.
8. Guest access to the facility will be limited as required by the event.
9. Terms and Conditions for events can be dictated and modified by the Board of Directors.

Events Charging Entry Fees

1. For any use of the space where an entry or material fee is charged, the Dallas Makerspace shall be paid 15% of gross sales.

Honorarium

1. Approved classes will be eligible for a $50 Honorarium, to be divided among the teachers of the class.
2. To be eligible for the Honorarium, Classes must be submitted to the Board of Directors for approval and added to the calendar at least 12 days before the class. Classes must be approved by a majority of the Board of Directors to be eligible for payout.
3. Classes must be attended by at least 3 people to be eligible for payout.
4. For every class eligible for payout, $50 will be given to the committee that sponsored the class.
5. A Honorarium can be forfeited and given to a committee.
6. Honorarium payout requests MUST be submitted, by form, within 30 days.
7. Teachers paid out more than $600 in a single year are required to fill out the appropriate tax forms.

Organizational Meetings

1. Board meetings will attempt to follow the MIBS SRC3 format, and will be held on an as-needed basis.
2. Board meetings will be posted on the Dallas Makerspace Events calendar.
3. For purchases over $200, the request must include a description of how this spending furthers the organization's Tax Exempt purpose (see Mission Statement.)
4. Regular membership meetings will be held every 2nd Thursday at 7pm, at the Dallas Makerspace's main location.
5. Informal weekly meetings will be held every Thursday at 7pm, at the Dallas Makerspace's main location.
   1. Prior to the start of each informal meeting, time will be set aside to clean the space.
6. The President shall preside over the membership meetings.
7. If the President is unavailable, the members of the Board of Directors who are present will choose, via consensus, a temporary meeting chair.
8. 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.

Committees

Committees are voluntary groups, formed by members in order to achieve certain goals.

Rules

1. Committees must be approved by the Board of Directors.
2. Committee chairpersons are appointed by the Board of Directors.
3. At least 5 members are required to form a committee.
4. The Committee chairperson will be responsible for maintaining the list of committee members and providing reports on the status and activities of the committee.
5. There is no limit to the number of committees a member can serve on.
6. 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.
7. 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:

      [[Category:Proposed Committees]]

8. By default binding committee decisions can be made by the chairperson or by majority vote of the committee members. Governance model can be changed by majority vote of the committee members.
9. Committee meetings must be posted on the calendar and announced on the forums.
10. Committees can appoint advisory members, who only have communications access to Dallas Makerspace resources, pending Board of Directors approval.

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.

Commercial Use

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.

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. The owner must contact the Operations and Facilities 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
3. 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.
4. Loaned items may be returned at any time, by request of the owner or as determined by the Operations and Facilities Committee.
5. DMS is NOT responsible for maintenance of loaned equipment, but may maintain it as determined by the Operations and Facilities Committee.
6. 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 usable items must be approved by the committee in charge of the location in which the item will be stored/used.
2. A "freebie shelf" is availabe for items that are free to use/take for all members. The shelf will be periodically cleared by the Ops committee.
3. Donations for the "freebie shelf" will be accepted so long as there is availabe free space in the designated area, and as long as it does not conflict with rule #5.
4. Donations for the "freebie shelf" that do not fit cannot be left in the space unless approved by the Ops committee
5. The following items will not be accepted for donation:
   1. CRT monitors
6. Donations to a project are only spent on that project and are spent prior to any DMS allocated money to the same project.
   1. If the project is deemed unsuccessful all remaining funds will be returned to the source.
   2. Allocated money will be returned to the source fund, if more overages remain the money will be returned to the contributor in proportion to their donation.
   3. If the project is deemed successful, accomplishing the stated goal, any unspent allocations will be returned to the committee fund in charge of the project, unspent donations will be returned the contributors according to the proportion of the donation.
7. Donations of motor vehicles must have written approval of 3 board members.

Finances

1. No authorization or allocation can be made in excess of the moneys available in the General Fund.
2. Unless an exception has been given by the Board of Directors, funds which have already been allocated for spending from the General Fund may be spent from the line of credit as long as interest is not accrued and an outstanding balance is not kept.
3. All profits from the sales of items are placed into a related committee's fund (the committee responsible for the item, if applicable) at the Treasurer's discretion.
4. Refunds for membership dues paid within the last 30 days can be authorized ONLY at the discretion of the Treasurer or President.
5. Dallas Makerspace must receive a written invoice or receipt prior to payment for any services or goods. This only applies to vendors who regularly provide a written invoice (or receipt) to their customers. If a best effort is not made to provide the treasurer with a written invoice (or receipt) from the respective vendor:
   1. Dallas Makerspace will not provide payment for the respective goods or services.
   2. If the transaction was already purchased with funds belonging to the Dallas Makerspace, the amount of the respective transaction must be refunded to the Dallas Makerspace.
6. All property purchases equal to or greater than $500 and having an useful life of one year or more are to be capitalized.
7. All individual items purchased for less than $500 and having a useful life of less than one year are to be expensed.

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.