Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: CH game room

[Ben Levi (ben]

Patty wrote:
> How do you communicate your consensus process to new members?  
> Do you have a written Rights and Responsibilities of Group Membership?  

Yes, we have a document which sets out our decision-making process. We
utilize the "Rule of Three," which means than any new member can
contribute to the conversation, but that in order to participate in the
decision-making (consensus, standing aside, blocking) they need to come
to three decision-making meetings (not just social ones). Hopefully in
that period of time they will become familiar with the nuances and the
responsibilities of standing aside and blocking a decision. The rest, it
seems, is a process of learning together.

In your specific circumstances, it isn't clear to me whether a
*decision* was made seven years ago (or whatever period of time it was)
to welcome the pool table as a part of the programming for the common
house. If it was indeed a decision, then the way I look at it, that
decision is still binding until the whole group (in whatever form it now
is in) agrees to reopen the decision (i.e. decide again). If you don't
have some way of binding decisions that are made, then you'll constantly
be in the bind of going back over old decisions, Especially with new
members.
-- 
Ben Levi            | Ph:303-546-0679    | Fax: 303-473-0489
2800 Kalmia, #A-327 | Boulder, CO  80301 | ben [at] dimensional.com