It's a huge barrier, but also, it sets a high bar where the only way it grows is by being great somehow. I always acknowledge to applicants that it takes a lot

It's a huge barrier, but also, it sets a high bar where the only way it grows is by being great somehow. I always acknowledge to applicants that it takes a lot of courage to approach a bunch of guys like that, and also mention that we do have to get to know them a bit because it's very possible they're just nuts. I watched the clubhouse.io thing play out pretty closely because they were dealing with the exact same trade offs of "guarding the west gate." This idea of managing and growing a community online is very close to what masons have been figuring out over 300 years, and the problems are closely analagous. Internet communities are essentially fraternal socieities and we know the good ones when we see them, but don't quite have the recipe for making ones that thrive. Open source projects are the closest thing I've seen to masonry, where you are only the quality of your work. I'd even wonder whether the BDFL model of open source projects could learn something from how to use progressive chairs and a rotating executive. Anyway, I'm generously tolerated as a member of #581 in Toronto. It's been quite an adventure. :)