As a non-member I want to put my 2 cents in- pardon my sending this as an attachment – I needed to compose off-line and pardon that this is so long. 
I do not aspire to become a Member at present. I can’t justify now the dues on the basis of my discretionary funds and and the number of m projects that I would be able to do at the shop. And I don’t see any point in becoming an Associate Member if the main perk is a sense of validation. Friendliness and an occasional thank-you go a long way. From what I have heard from the community, Synhak has a lot of goodwill and goodwill is a valuable thing. I hope there is a place at Synhak for “hangers-on” like me who look for ways that they can contribute (cleaning, cooking and recycling is apparently my lot) and then in return get advice on projects and occasional use of tools.  Some things that would make Synhak even more welcoming to the non-member public like me would be 
the posting of minimal hours (if some of the keyholders could commit to a few hours)
posting of safety check workshops 
posting of a list of members with their interests, projects, expertise, areas of Synhak that they wouldn’t mind being responsible for, anything they want to share. Photos would be nice too.    
When I first wrote down my email address at the meeting after the Maker Fair at ASCPL, I started receiving both announcement and discussion emails. That’s fine with me cause I have enjoyed the lively and intelligent discussion, but it would probably be best if folks were initially put  on the announcement list and then opt in to the discussion list. 
 It would be a shame if the organization split just after moving to a new place. I don’t see fundamental or philosophical differences, just instances of people not being excellent to each other.