How HC became a janitor at Frontyard
When I, Hethre Contant, became a janitor at Frontyard, I kept notes on my phone documenting what happened. This was my indoctrination process:
1.) Got involved at Frontyard. I did a series of brunch residencies on Saturdays for about a month or so. Then, I attended meetings of the Library Working Group to try to cull some of the books from the library and make space. I voluntold my partner to fix the desk in the library. And I helped on some of the big clean-up and weeding days.
2.) Dating the janitors. Apparently, this is what they call the first step of indoctrination to become a janitor. During my "dating period," I attended 2 janitors' meetings to observe what happened. I didn't say anything. I just listened and watched.
3.) Paid a gold coin. I decided to formalise my janitor-hood after 2 months of janitor dating. I did this by showing up to a third janitors' meeting and telling the janitors that I did want to become a janitor. Excitement followed. As a symbol of my commitment, I donated a gold coin ($2) to the donation box. (I believe this has to do with the need to be financially invested in the organisation for legal reasons).
4.) Filled out the official membership form. I was sent a form to sign and send to the Frontyard records keeper. I signed the form digitally, sent it to another janitor to sign as a witness, and then sent it to the official records keeper.
5.) Got added to the #janitors channel on Slack. There is a special channel on the Frontyard Slack that only includes janitors. I was added to that channel.
6.) Logged into Frontyard accounts. In the janitors Slack channel, there is a pinned post with instructions about how to log into the Frontyard Gmail, Instagram, Mailchimp and other accounts. Frontyard uses a password management system called Bitwarden. I followed the instructions in the pinned post to access Bitwarden and log into the Frontyard accounts.
7.) Hosted my first Open House. I opened the doors and put out the Open House whiteboard sign. I greeted people who came in, showed them around, and talked to them about what they wanted to do and when.
8.) Inducted People. For those with solid plans or desires to be inducted into Frontyard so they could do a residency or host an event, I made sure to do everything on the Frontyard Induction Checklist.
9.) I "pencilled" people into the green INTERNAL calendar. I checked the Frontyard calendar via the Gmail account and "pencilled in" a person's residency/event to the green "INTERNAL" calendar, which cannot be seen on the Frontyard Events page. To formalise the person's residency/event, I sent them an email with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Contact form for them to fill out. This form is also pinned in the janitors Slack channel.
10.) Responded to Frontyard emails. A lot of emails are responses to the MOU and Contact Form. When I got one of those, I confirmed the dates, times, title, and description of the residency/event in the calendar. Then, I changed the event to the blue "PUBLIC" calendar, which does show up on the Frontyard Events page. I confirmed everything with the booker by sending them some version of my semi-modular booking confirmation email.
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