Culture

In a decentralized organization like the Mesh, it is difficult for new people to figure out who does what.
Scrolling through slack, seeing who's active in what channels and also just asking are good ways to learn who is working on what.

NYC Mesh also operates as a do-ocracy in a lot of aspects. Volunteers who take the lead of projects tend to be the ones making decisions on behalf of the organization. Any mesh member is welcome to contribute their suggestions and feedback, which is taken into account by decision makers. However folks who only provide feedback, while not willing to put in the effort and work to implement their changes may find that their suggestions are given less weight in decisions. 

NYC Mesh works on a system of trust. As we get to know new people we trust that they will do the right thing, and we gradually share access to locations, equipment and systems. Volunteering in person is the #1 way to gain trust in the organization as well, as knowing someone's intentions on slack / the internet is difficult without meeting them face-to-face.
Join us on a rooftop, at our weekly meetups or offer your time to assist on a project and you will slowly be given access to more resources as we trust you.

The danger of having no official structure is that there becomes an "implicit hierarchy" as certain people look after certain aspects of the organization. To avoid that we need to be welcoming to new people and share our skills and responsibilities.

If you are new to the Mesh, the best thing is to join our Slack and start participating in some particular activity, like maintaining hubs near you or helping with apartment installs. As people get to know you, they may ask you to help on other mesh projects.

For some reason most of us are softly spoken, and louder people may have trouble fitting in. (Is this the opposite of most organizations?) We particularly value people from non-technical backgrounds, so we avoid unnecessary jargon and try to answer questions in a common sense way rather than a typical tech way.