New Member FAQ

New members: So now what?

EMS Mission Statement

This organization is a nonprofit public benefit corporation, and is organized exclusively for charitable, scientific and educational purposes, more specifically to foster a collaborative environment wherein people can explore and create intersections between technology, science, art, and culture.

Shop Rules

In a nutshell:

Clean up after yourself (whether in the shop or parking lot)
Be out of the shop between 1AM and 7AM
Don't smoke/vape in the shop or parking lot
Please don't park like a jerk
Be excellent to each other

Dues

$35 a month and a payable to the EMS Treasurer by the 10^th. EMS membership is paid via Patreon via this page. Once you sign up at a membership level, you can automatically get door access. Use the same e-mail address for your door account to have access automatically given.

In some circumstances, you may pay in cash in an envelope with your name and the month and amount placed in the locked mailbox inside the EMS shop but Patreon is very much preferred because of the regularity it gives us that allows us to pay our bills on time with minimal temporal-anxiety re: income.

Communication

Here at EMS most communication either between members as a group and EMS Bo D and it’s members is primarily done through Slack: Click here to join. You can also find information on the “talk-to-me” board located just inside the door. If you are having problems and are not getting answers to your questions from the discussion list/forum you can [the board].

Parking

We strive to be a community shop and one way to build community is to respect our neighbors and their parking spaces. When using the EMS shop we ask that you park in the spaces located in front on the big windows. Please refrain from blocking the big roll up door so others can load or unload larger items. In the event the spaces in front of the windows and the roll up door are already taken, there is overflow parking at the west end of the lot in front of the fence or on the street.

Tools

All tools should be labeled. The code system is located on the talk to me board. Some tools are EMS owned and are free to use by members anytime and visitors during Open Hack nights. Other tools are member owned and should be used with care as instructed by the color code. If you are not sure of a tool or it’s owner, contact the discussion list/forum. If you have tools you would like to donate of to bring to the shop for others to use please email the board. If you do not know how to use a tool safely or wish to gain instruction on better tool usage it is best to come to Open Hack or to email the discussion list/forum.

Guests and Minors

We encourage you to bring guests and any minor children to the space. As described in the governing documents guests may attend any Open Hack to freely use the tools available. Any guests who wish to accompany you to the space during non-public hours may do so, but are not allowed to use any tooling or equipment stored at the EMS shop (see GD’s for specific policy). Minor children may accompany a parent to the shop to use the tools/equipment as long as they have a current minor waiver on file with the Board Secretary AND they are in direct supervision by a parent. Minors are not permitted to use the shop or its tooling unsupervised. Anyone found in violation of these policies may lose member privileges as outlined in the governing documents.

Pick-a-part

Upstairs you will find a plethora of interesting useful things. Unless otherwise indicated by a personal coded sticker, everything up there is fair game for use by EMS members. Members may also donate items that can be used in projects by other members. We ask that all donations meet the donation policy as outlined below. There are many “diamonds” up there is you are willing to find them. Feel free to explore and use any item *AT YOUR OWN RISK*

Zero Object Space

You will find work benches in the shop are labeled "ZERO OBJECT SPACE." This is a helpful reminder for you to, upon finishing an exciting project, to remove 'ALL' of your scrap, tools, wire, parts, etc... When members work on a projects at EMS it is understandable that you will have many objects on various benches but when you leave these space's must be reverted to a ZOS.

Garbage/Recycling

If you are able and willing please take all the fallen soldiers, empties, foam and bubble packaging, pizza boxes, etc with you when you leave the space. We do not have a garbage or recycling service and taking the waste with you is super important.