[HCoop-Discuss] [docelic,ntk] Balances policy

[docelic]

On Sun, Feb 24, 2008 at 01:00:38PM -0500, Adam Chlipala wrote:
> OK, let's try this again, and hopefully come to a conclusion that we act 
> on this time. :-)

[Updated with things I hope we agreed on:
- giving 30-day grace period for new members
- allowing extensions for existing members to match deposit system
- disabling member services after (1 or 2) months on negative balance
  (in your vote, include preference for 1 or 2).
]

> - Every member is required to have a deposit with us equal to estimated 
> three months' dues at the lowest pledge level.  At current pledge 
> levels, this is approximately $15, and it should go down automatically 
> when expenses stay the same but membership grows.

- New members are required to make a $10 initial payment and are granted
  30 days to explore HCoop and to bring their balance and deposit to norms.

> - When any member's balance (now not counting the deposit) goes 
> negative FOR [1 OR 2], we start trying to get his attention by disabling
> some subset of his services yet to be determined.

(Vote for 1 or 2 months. I would be most pleased with a setting of 45
days, so Adam, if it is the same implementation-wise, count this as
my primary vote. If you and Nathan think 45 days is an unnecessary
mid-term, then my vote is 1 month).

> - This shouldn't come us a surprise to any good HCoop citizen, because 
> every member will receive low balance e-mails for two months prior to 
> when we would freeze an account, along with the negative balance e-mails 
> that would come in the three months afterward before the board could 
> vote him out for non-payment.

Since this item is anchored to "before freeze", it needs no change.
Also, the part about negative balance seems alright as well - it
means member's services would be on freeze for 45 to 30 days before we 
could vote on terminating the member's account. All this would be
accompanied by months of advance notices and would also be "covered"
by member's deposit.

> - When a member with a pledge amount set above one would be charged an 
> amount that would make his balance negative, we reset that member's 
> pledge to 1 before continuing.
> - An hcoop-announce message will proceed changing of anything visible to 
> members.
> - We give a one-month grace period following the announcement for 
> members to digest the changes and get their balances positive enough.

- On individual requests, the Board may extend the "grace period" to
accomodate specific member's circumstances.

> I vote for this scheme.  docelic and ntk, your decisions?

I vote for this modified scheme.

-doc