Wikimedia LGBT+/Membership

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WMLGBT+ User Group Membership

The “WMLGBT+ User Group” or Wikimedia LGBT+ User Group is a Wikimedia User Group recognized by the Wikimedia Affiliations Committee and operates under a Wikimedia affiliates agreement.

The user group has the following proposed policies which define and regulate membership which is expected to become part of published articles for incorporation during 2024/2025.

There is no fee envisaged for membership as it may create barriers to entry.

2023 Membership Registration

• Fill out this form if you’d like to register to be a member of Wikimedia LGBT+:

Registration form

• If you want to register via email, please answer all form questions, as posted on Meta at: Wikimedia LGBT+/Membership/Registration-questions , and email to: membershipwmlgbt.org
• The deadline for Membership registration to be eligible for 2023 Elections voting was 31 October, 2023.

Goals for membership

Through this policy and a process of registering members, the user group aims to:

• Provide a community voice for governance, holding the user group and board of trustees to account and prioritising improvement
• Establish a formal user community for surveying Wikimedian LGBTQ+ interests and sponsor future resolutions and projects
• Provide an ongoing community to recruit user group trustees

Eligibility

Members must meet the following requirements. If you are unsure if you meet any of the requirements, we encourage you to explain on the relevant Google form, or contact the membership coordinator.

• EITHER
  • disclose a real name
  • OR a Wikimedia user account name

• EITHER
  • BOTH have made 250 LGBT+ related Wikimedia edits AND have a Wikimedia account which is 3 months old
  • OR describe comparable off-wiki LGBT+ community engagement

• EITHER
  • have no blocks or bans in Wikimedia projects
  • OR be nominated by the Wikimedia LGBT+ governance committee
• Be over age 13
• Provide an email address for official contact
• Agree to support the mission of Wikimedia LGBT+

Membership register and administration

The register of members must be maintained. Due to risks of harassment, prosecution and similar for global LGBTQ+ volunteers, the register is confidential and contains minimal personal data, though at the trustees' discretion a list of members who have opted in to be a public member may be published. Members may be removed for inactivity on an annual basis, or at any time for cause at the trustees’ discretion.

Volunteers have a right to confirm if they are a member or resign as a member, and a membership administrator should be available to be contacted and respond within a reasonable timeframe.

Member applications are vetted by the Membership Committee to ensure they are a natural person. Should any applicant wish to retain anonymity, the vetting process applies a system of trust to add a preferred unique anonymous identity to the register of members. Anonymous identities may not be a real name or related to a Wikimedia user account. Vetting must establish the user is an active Wikimedia contributor and is a unique person.

Honorary members and corporate members may be recognized who are not active Wikimedia contributors but otherwise benefit the aims of the user group.

At the trustees’ discretion, membership of the user group may be limited, closed or procedurally restricted if there are concerns of entryism or unexpected over-subscription.

Membership votes

Members are invited to take part in the user group's annual general meeting (AGM) and put forward any resolutions to the Board of Trustees. At this meeting, resolutions may be voted on by the board, or the board may put to a vote of members, which may change or improve any user group policy or recommend changes to the published user group articles. A resolution may be rejected by the trustees with an explanation of why it would be an improper resolution based on legal advice, governance issues or otherwise in conflict with the published aims of the user group. Vote totals are published but individual votes are made in confidence.

Members registered at least 28 days in advance will be invited to participate in votes in the AGM or during an exceptional vote procedure. Resolutions will be made available to members at least 14 days in advance of a vote.

Votes may be suspended at any time by the trustees if there is credible evidence of entryism or other forms of inappropriate vote manipulation.

Election of trustees

Members of the user group may run in trustee elections when there are free seats on the board. At least 28 days in advance of the annual general meeting, the trustees shall announce the process for election and hustings, with consideration given to members that may wish to stay anonymous.

Membership responsibility

Members and trustees are required to respect the decisions by the board of trustees that are taken fairly and within the policies of the user group.

Membership review

The trustees have a duty to at least annually review the representation and diversity of the community by the voting membership of the user group and the body of trustees when compared to the diversity of the global LGBTQ+ community.

Where a review of membership is considered significantly unrepresentative on the basis of first language, nationality, gender, sexuality or other key stakeholder groups, the trustees shall seek actively to correct these biases by recruiting members and trustees.

As personal data is not held with the register of members, the review of membership relies on WMLGBT+ volunteers and members participating in anonymized surveys.