Information on fraternal organizations

after reading the thread on decline of membership in fraternal organizations i began to wonder, how one would go about finding information on said groups?

googling the masons can be a scaaary endevour. where could i find legitamite information on what they do, require of thier members, how to join, and what kind of time being a member would take out of my day? or any other organizations for that matter.

when I started getting interested in Freemasonry (decided not to join) URL=http://web.mit.edu/dryfoo/www/Masons/]this is the web site I went to, to find info. You can follow links from there and spend days finding out everything you would ever want to know about Masonry (from the pro mason perspective. I like the masons so you have to go somewhere else if you want to know the anti mason side). Masonry is interesting, but I think it is more interesting to read about than it is to participate in. I wasn’t able to find a lodge in my area that had any members under the age of 40, and while I don’t mind hanging with older folk, it would be nice if there were a few people my own age.

Any dopers masons? Or for that matter, any of y’all elks or eagles or lions

I am a Moose member, you can find all things pertaining to the Loyal Order of the Moose here..

I’m a mason. I’m also an elk, a communist, I’m the president of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance for some reason…