\section{How to become a SIPB member}

The most effective way of becoming a SIPB member is to become a
prospective and hang around the office helping out so much (see below)
that the members forget you aren't a member and proclaim, ``WHAT?
You're not a members?  We'll have to fix that!''

The full, official procedure for Granting Membership is described in
the By-Laws Article III section 3 amended by Section 1 of Amendment
III.  That document is currently available in
/afs/sipb/admin/text/constitution.

\subsection{Becoming a Prospective}
\label{become:prospective}

Becoming a prospective is easy.  Show up in the office and express
interest in SIPB and in becoming a Prospective.  Then ask any member
(this means you need to find out who in the office is a member) to add
you to the prospective members list.

\subsection{Being a Prospective}

A prospective has virtually all the rights, priviledges and
responsibilities of a member.  The main differences are that they
cannot have a key to the office, they are not to be given the root
password to any of the SIPB machines, and they do not get a vote in
elections.  They also may not be added to certain sipb mailing lists,
although there is a mailing list (sipb-prospectives) devoted to
prospectives.

A prospective is expected to:

\begin{itemize}
\item Learn as much about the SIPB as they can tolerate.  Good ways
to do this are hanging out at the office, reading SIPB documents,
looking through the office and learning where resources are kept, and
just plain talking to people.

\item Learn who the currently active SIPB members and the
current prospectives are.  Becoming familiar with the expertise of
these members is also useful when being helpful and answering users'
questions (see below).

\item Attend SIPB meetings.  Attendance at at least 4 meetings is
required, and thus a one month ``probationary'' period as a
prospective is required before nomination for membership.  In general,
very few prospectives are membered in only 4 weeks.  The only
technical exception to the 4-meeting rule are non-student, associate
member prospectives, but in practice everyone has a minimum
``probationary period.''

\item Help out with SIPB functions as much as possible.  This includes
projects such as documentation writing, programming, teaching SIPB
courses over IAP, as well as day to day functions such as answering
phones and questions, cleaning parts of the office (it almost always
needs this), and keeping the documentation rack supplied.  The
prospective need not do all these duties, of course, but is expected
to help SIPB within reasonable bounds.

\end{itemize}

\subsection{Membership Elections}

Before The Elections Meeting:

\begin{enumerate}

\item The prospective should have followed the above instructions about
how to become a prospective and how to be a prospective.

\item At a meeting at least 1 week before the election meeting, a member
must move to nominate the prospective for membership, and the motion
must carry a majority of full members present at that meeting.

\item An announcement of the nomination must be made to all members at
least 4 days preceeding the election meeting.

\item Someone, anyone, everyone should read the By-Laws Article
III section 3.

\end{enumerate}
At the Meeting:
\begin{enumerate}
\item Introduce the nominees 
\item Open the floor for questions
\item Ask ``The Question''
\item Kick out nonmembers
\item Open private discussion
\item Pass out ballots (get someone else to pass out ballots, tally,
etc.  Traditionally a nonstudent)
\item Apply formula to results
\item Let the herd in and announce results!
\end{enumerate}