The Path to Membership

In our community, we distinguish between Supporters — who are vital to our mission — and formal Members. Membership is a recognition of sustained, meaningful contribution. It grants you a formal voice in our governance and a tangible stake in our collective success.

This page outlines the transparent, merit-based process for becoming a W3PN Member.

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Membership is Earned, Not Given

There is only one way to become a Member: by demonstrating your value to the ecosystem through your work. Membership cannot be bought or granted as a favor. It is a recognition of trust and responsibility that you earn through your actions.

The path involves four clear steps.

Step 1: Contribute and Create Value

This is the most important requirement. Before you can be nominated, you need a clear, public track record of contributing to the W3PN mission.

“Demonstrable contribution” can take many forms, including:

• Leading an initiative through the full “Intentional Do-ocracy” cycle.
• Making consistent, high-quality contributions to another project (e.g., code, design, research, event organization).
• Actively and constructively participating in community discussions and governance over an extended period.
• Doing valuable work within a Recognized Ecosystem Project. Contributions to these independent projects are explicitly valued as contributions to the entire W3PN mission.

Step 2: Earn a Public Nomination

Once you have a track record of contribution, an existing W3PN Member must formally nominate you.

This happens in a public channel (like #governance on Zulip). The nomination must include a brief summary of your contributions, ideally with links to specific examples of your work (e.g., GitHub commits, published articles, projects managed).

Step 3: Community Consent (Lazy Consensus)

Your nomination is then open for a 72-hour review period. During this time, other Members can review your track record.

This process follows our “Lazy Consensus” model:

• If no formal objections are raised, the nomination is considered approved by the community. Silence equals consent.
• An objection must be based on a belief that the candidate has not met the contribution criteria or does not align with our Shared Guidelines.

Step 4: Steward Confirmation

After the review period passes without objection, the Stewards perform the final administrative act of confirming your new status and granting you access to any members-only channels or resources.

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Rights and Responsibilities of a Member

Becoming a Member grants you both new powers and new responsibilities within the ecosystem.

You Gain the Right To…	You Accept the Responsibility To…
Create a Formal Proposal	Act in good faith and uphold the Constitution.
Formally object to a proposal	Actively foster a healthy and collaborative environment.
Participate in the election of Stewards	Use your governance rights thoughtfully and respectfully.
Participate in the Contributor Rewards system	Help nurture and guide new contributors.

This system ensures that those who have the most influence in our governance are those who have proven their commitment to our shared mission.