No one decides who is, or is not, a member of any group. If you choose to go to Chat Circle Meetings then you are a General Member. If you choose a particular group as your “home group” then you are a Group Member. You may also switch allegiances at any time. The only issue that may impact your membership negatively is antisocial or deliberately disruptive behavior at meetings.
No group should promote itself as serving a particular demographic. Each group is open to everyone regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. While individual members will naturally have differing beliefs and views, Chat Circle groups should be nonpartisan, secular, and open to all.
Chat Circle is not for dating. The purpose of joining a Chat Circle group should be to increase your circle of genuinely platonic friendships. Making romantic or sexual advances changes the dynamic of an encounter, and is at odds with the “Chat Circle” primary purpose of cultivating platonic relationships. This doesn’t mean that your relationship with a member should never develop beyond that of platonic. It means that finding a partner or hooking-up should not be your motivation for participating.
Chat Circle groups should not accumulate wealth. Groups should only collect money for the purpose of paying bills such as room rental, promotion, meeting refreshments etc.. If funds are starting to accumulate beyond that of a necessary reserve, the treasurer should tell the group that the weekly collection wont be necessary for a while. The accumulation of money can lead to security, management and administration concerns on the part of members, which can result in issues of trust between group members and the group trustees.
Service and contribution is voluntary. Members should not feel pressured into contributing financially. Neither should they feel compelled to take on a service role. In a healthy group, members will want to contribute to the upkeep of the group, and there will always be some members who gravitate toward service positions within the group. If a group fails due to lack of interest on the part of the members, that’s just the way things are meant to be.