Woah… I really don’t know about this. The way certain people acted toward me in particular when I was with my group and they were talking with certain musicians was off-putting. Quite simply, I don’t put it past people to be abusive with this, brandishing a red badge at someone just for nodding the head in salutation.
I described in my feedback last year how the atmosphere felt warm and welcoming, yet one person was very rude toward me in a overcrowded situation. (Ironically, I feel almost as if I’ve contributed to this being adopted.) To be blunt, I already expect that behavior to happen in this community; I can only see this system only exacerbating some people’s clique behavior or used to drive away people they have decided are unworthy.
Yet at the same time, I completely understand if someone is afraid of being suddenly approached–or, even more so, people like myself who are afraid but still willing.