3Becoming a Mohist

3.1 Three stages

3.1.1 Everyone who comes to the Community begins as a seeker (求学者). Seekers do not register. They may attend anything public: weekly meetings, monthly meetings, the public parts of the Assembly, and open 科技堂 sessions. Seekers may listen to and speak in 墨辩, but do not vote.

3.1.2 A seeker who registers a name and contact details in the member app and has attended four chapter meetings becomes a friend (友). Friends receive the weekly reading reminders and may take part in the chapter's reading discussions and service activities. Friends hold no assignment and have no care pair.

3.1.3 A friend may apply to become a Mohist (墨者) once all of the following are true:

• they have read Impartial Care, Against Aggression, and Exalting the Worthy (at least one of the three versions of each);
• they have made the 非攻 pledge, in the wording given in chapter 12, 12.3.1;
• they have affirmed the 节用 standard: Community resources are not spent where they benefit no one, and personal consumption is kept in check;
• two Mohists sponsor them, each having had at least one substantial conversation with the applicant;
• the chapter council decides to admit them.

3.1.4 The chapter council answers within 30 days of receiving an application. If it declines, it tells the applicant the reason in person; the applicant may reapply after 90 days. (Test: evidence)

3.1.5 At the next monthly meeting, the chapter lead gives a new Mohist a short public welcome: their name, their sponsors, and one sentence the new Mohist chooses to share. There is no ceremony and no oath.

3.2 The first year

3.2.1 On the day you are admitted, you are given a care partner, chapter 8.

3.2.2 Within 90 days of admission you take up your first assignment, chapter 7. The chapter council is responsible for offering you an assignment that fits your ability within that time.

3.2.3 Every Mohist completes a Three Tests self-review once a year, together with their care partner: what precedent I drew on this year, what I observed, what came of what I did. The content is not reported; only the date is recorded.

3.2.4 At the end of the first year the chapter lead or care coordinator has one conversation with you: whether the assignment fits, whether the care pair is working, and what the chapter could do better. That conversation is important evidence.

3.3 Youth members

3.3.1 A member's child aged 12 or over may, with written consent of a parent or guardian, be registered as a youth Mohist (少年墨者). Youth Mohists attend weekly meetings, 科技堂, and youth activities and have a care pair, but do not hold assignments involving money or records.

3.3.2 At 18 a youth Mohist may apply under 3.1.3. Reading done as a youth counts toward the requirements. A youth Mohist who does not apply becomes a friend at 18.

3.3.3 Minors who are not members' children may attend public activities as seekers with a guardian's consent. Rules for youth activities are in chapter 11.

3.4 Leaving

3.4.1 You may leave the Community at any time. The method is a one-line notice to the chapter lead or records clerk. No reason, no interview, no waiting period.

3.4.2 The record of a Mohist who leaves is marked "left" and their personal data is handled under chapter 13. No third party is told, no comment is made, and the membership of their family members is unaffected.

3.4.3 Anyone who has left may return as a seeker at any time. To become a Mohist again they apply under 3.1.3; earlier reading and sponsorships still count, and the council may shorten the process. (Test: results)

3.4.4 Leaders may not reduce their care for a member because the member intends to leave, and may not discuss the reasons after the member has left.

3.5 Transfers

3.5.1 A Mohist belongs to the chapter for their home address. When you move, you update your address in the member app and your record moves to the chapter for the new address.

3.5.2 The new chapter lead contacts you within 14 days of the record arriving, to arrange a care pair and an assignment. Your assignment and care pair in the old chapter end on the day the record transfers, and the old chapter lead thanks you.

3.5.3 If there is no chapter for the new address, the record moves to the nearest region, and the region lead either places you in an online chapter or helps you form a new chapter under chapter 5.

3.5.4 While traveling you may attend any chapter's meetings as a visitor without transferring.

3.6 Leaders' responsibilities

3.6.1 The chapter lead is responsible for this chapter: seekers are welcomed, friends are invited, applications are answered on time, and new Mohists receive a care pair and an assignment on time.

3.6.2 The time limits in this chapter — 30 days to answer, 90 days to a first assignment, 14 days to contact — bind leaders, not members. If a limit is missed, a member may go directly to the region lead.