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Membership Enrollment Process |
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Due to the long-term nature of LUGNET and a strong commitment to accuracy and excellence,
it is important that every member of the community behave in responsible ways within the community,
especially in the areas of data organization and the greater marketplace.
Membership in LUGNET is decidedly a serious matter,
and each member will be required complete and sign a short written statement acknowledging that they have read and understood the rules and policies of the community.
This statement will amount to something like the following:
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"I have carefully read and I understand the rules and policies of LUGNET
as defined at http://www.lugnet.com/xyz.html
and I agree to these conditions and I promise to abide by these at all times,
else I may jeopardize my membership."
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The signature of a parent or guardian will be required for anyone under 18 years of age.
This signed statement is sent along with the initial membership sign-up fee, or else the membership is not activated.
It is possible that some people will find this process cumbersome, unnecessary, or offensive,
but this process is designed to filter out non-serious types, as well as to provide clear indemnification, should anyone ever bring forth a lawsuit of any type for any reason.
It is further believed that the vast majority of people will have no quarrel whatsoever with such a process,
since most people tend to be reasonable and mature when they understand the reasons behind such a process,
and their only gripe would be that it delays their membership activation by two or three days.
To be sure, LUGNET is not a corporate marketroid "get as many people as possible as a fast as possible" kind of web site --
it is based on quality rather than quantity.
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Members must complete a signed statement
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As soon as a user applies for membership online, by the way,
he or she is given a temporary (or tentative) membership which expires after 30 days, or after the membership fee is received, whichever occurs sooner.
During this period of temporary membership, a user can begin to explore the system right away -- and to kick its proverbial tires and slam its proverbial doors.
More specifically, a temporary member can set up his or her member homepage,
choose a house in a "faux" version of the Community Map,
participate in one or more "faux" auctions,
and participate in New Member user group activities and forums, where volunteer community mentors provide additional guidance.
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Temporary memberships let people explore the system before making a commitment
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Various personal data will also be collected when a user applies for membership.
Most of this data is voluntary and comprises a summary of personal interests for other members to enjoy at their leisure.
Other voluntary data are things like a birthdate (for calculating age demographics, since people will be curious),
a mailing addresses (for efficient relay to anyone sending a package),
and finally gender and/or gender-related preferences.
(Who knows, perhaps someone someday will meet their soul-mate through LUGNET.)
Required data (not optional) will be a country of residence,
full real name (nicknames and "screen names" or "handles" can be added but not substituted),
and one or more e-mail addresses for identity confirmation.
One more optional piece of data which would be fun is to allow members to create Mini-Figure likenesses of themselves,
using techniques invented by Suzanne Rich in The Minifig Generator.
This personally chosen likeness could be displayed by the system automatically next to the name at the top of the member homepage,
and could be used in a variety of avatar- or agent-type situations.
Perhaps the likeness might even appear on messages the member sends to user groups.
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Member data is collected online
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