[RangerScience]

Maybe it’s a semantics thing (if we have different definitions for “gate keeping”)… but, I’ll fight you on that hill:

Gate keeping is one of the primary means by which a community defines itself; it both requires that the community have some idea of “us/not us”, either deliberately and explicitly, or incidentally; and it is a primary means of implementing that identity.

It can also be a means for induction; the “gate” is one of the best places to introduce someone to the cultural norms, etc, of the community they’re entering. Related, it can also be a way to catch people who’ll have a bad time in that community, even if they’d otherwise be welcomed.

It can be done well and it can be done poorly.

Positive examples that come to mind:

- New Zealand has aggressive biological border control

- Costume parties that turn you away at the door if you’re not in costume

- Men’s and women’s circles - Everyone on the boat has to know how to sail

- Everyone on the ski trip has to WANT to be in winter weather