How to Better Look After Newcomers?

Also I should add, the membership application is not to become a member of Jediism, but a member of this church.

In the protestant church there is a membership process as well. We need to know about our membership before you can become part of this church.

But that does not stop you from being a Jedi, or a part of Jediism.

Quite honestly, I balked pretty hard at the questions on the application as well...and hesitated for several weeks before submitting mine, for much of the same reasons you have raised here Asakura Shoko.

Still not quite sure what the tipping point was that convinced me to take the risk...but I had many of the same questions and many if the same answers through some PM and chat interactions...probably with many of those participating in this thread.

I know my experience is unhelpful in resolving the question...but probably helps in conveying the sentiment that you are not alone in your reactions or concerns at all.

Arisaig wrote: From my understanding the membership application was introduced before SW Ep. VII was released to cut down the workload for the membership team and to find those that were willing to wait 7 days... to separate the wheat from the chaff so to speak.

Actually, this sort of brings me around to what was going to be one of my original questions/points in this thread. Isn't there some way to automate new member emails and stuff? I mean, it's great that Brick sent me a PM, but I would be none the wiser if that was a site-automated message and not something Brick had probably mostly copy/pasted.

You can also have your larger groups of people, like Novices or Apprentices, be the primary welcoming committee, to take some of the pressure off those higher-ups who already have a ton on their plates.

I had ideas about a lot of this written out but got sidetracked by the app question of jaw-droppingness and started with that instead.

SamThift wrote: Quite honestly, I balked pretty hard at the questions on the application as well...and hesitated for several weeks before submitting mine, for much of the same reasons you have raised here Asakura Shoko.

Still not quite sure what the tipping point was that convinced me to take the risk...but I had many of the same questions and many if the same answers through some PM and chat interactions...probably with many of those participating in this thread.

I know my experience is unhelpful in resolving the question...but probably helps in conveying the sentiment that you are not alone in your reactions or concerns at all.

Thank you for this. I was, indeed, feeling a little lonely.

That having been said, I'm kind of always the person who points out the big elephant in the room that people are trying to avoid talking about, or who mentions the emperor is not wearing any clothes, so feeling that way is nothing new. It's rare, but so very nice, when someone else also says, "You know, you're not entirely crazy..."

Slightly off-topic, but I forgot to say...

Atticus wrote: As a public defender...

That's an insanely difficult job in so many ways. It's also one of the most Jedi kind of jobs, at least how I define being a Jedi. Hats off to you.

I more or less ignored the membership question until I achieved a comfort with the place, and found my expected gain to be greater than the implied risk.

I was still somewhat uneasy though.

If anything, it may be worth it to review the question in whole, and see what the law actually requires alongside what best practices are in general.