Can non-members attend meetings? (Edit: Yes! But look in this issue for how to sign up.)

[jyasskin]

What is/should be this group's policy on non-members attending meetings?

[AramZS]

Thanks for this question! As long as participants agree to stay within the scope and rules laid out in the charter for this group and follow the W3C's rules and policies they can attend. I think that answers this question but I will leave it open for now so others with the same question can see the answer. @jyasskin I am sure you're familiar with all the applicable policies, but for the reference of anyone else who checks here:

• W3C rules around Community Groups
• Charter as listed in this group's website repository
• Rules pertaining to community groups.

[npdoty]

If folks are attending meetings but haven't formally joined the group, we at least need them to be clear about that and ensure that they aren't making text suggestions that would be incorporated into any reports without signing the Contributor License Agreement. (We should probably do the same with PRs or text proposals in github issues.)

[seanturner]

This nice thing about community groups is that participation is open to all and "registration" is free. More info and links can be found here:
https://www.w3.org/community/about/
For our specific CG:
https://www.w3.org/community/patcg/

[martinthomson]

Freedom here is a little less clear than that given that joining entails entering into a legal agreement, which many companies will want to get legal advice on. I'm happy that the chairs are being flexible about membership now (within very narrow bounds), but I expect that to cease at some point. We are talking about having members (who have done the right thing) being exposed to some amount of risk if we permit participation without membership. I would like to see us move fairly promptly to limiting non-members to an observing role only.

I worry less about textual contributions than I do about substantive input that might affect decisions the group makes.

[seanturner]

A fair point, if you join there policies to which you must comply. See FAQ for policies on patents, copyright, code of ethics and professional conduct among others.