Gatekeeper

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A gatekeeper is a headmate who controls switching, access to certain areas inside the headspace, or access to certain system members or memories.

In gateway systems, this can also refer to a headmate whose job it is to watch over new system members trying to enter the system and either welcome them or deny them access.

Some gatekeepers may be able to force switches.

A front keeper may only be able to control switching and no other system functions.

History
The general sense of gatekeeping, restricting access or information, has been in use since around since 1943. In the context of plurality, gatekeeper has been in use for several decades. The usage in the context of gateway systems is more recent. An example of the term being used as a role in a gateway system appeared in 2002.

Elentor was coined as a synonym to gatekeeper on October 7th, 2020 by pluralrights on Tumblr due to the negative connotations the word gatekeeper holds (primarily in online communities).

A flag for gatekeepers was coined on July 2nd, 2023, by the-silent-fellowship on Tumblr.

Related Terms
Gatekeepers can be trauma holders if they are a memory repository for a whole system.

For subterms of this archetype, see gatekeeper subterms.