Second Life is soon being upgraded, but no mention has been made about upgrading the features that the groups have available to them.
Jake Linden has said specifically that the Lindens do not want to get involved in the internal affairs of a group, so why not give the groups the additional features needed so they can better manage themselves and internally deal with their own problem members? That way, some of us wouldn't have to call for a Linden any time someone causes a problem within a group!
For example:
1) Three levels of membership
Something like this would allow groups, who have a closed membership, to allow for individuals to join for a probationary period, which would last for the time that the group officers specify. It would give a great way for them to evaluate the individual, to see if they are someone they want within the group.
The individual, when they attempt to join a group with a probationary level, would get a message that specifically said that their membership in the group will be evaluated for X amount of time. During that time, they could participate in group IMs, but not in any kind of a vote; nor, could they initiate a recall against an officer.
At the end of the probationary period, an officer would either have to accept the individual as a full member, or reject their application.
2) A "black list"
Yes, I've suggested it before, and I still think this is a great idea. If there is a member harassing or causing problems within the group, in much the same way as that of a griefer, they will constantly try to rejoin and continue to cause problems - even after they've been ejected numerous times.
By adding a "black list" to the group, those who have caused problems would be prevented from attempting to join that group again. It would be like blocking someone from IMing you on AIM, Yahoo, etc.
This would be ideal for groups that maintain an open membership, but could also work for thsoe who choose to use a probationary (open) membership as suggested above.
3) Abuse
If someone abuses their position as an officer in the group (ejecting everyone without warning, etc), I feel that the founder or another officer who has been in the position for over 6 months should be able to have the ability to remove the officer from that status without having to wait for a recall.
That way, it would stop the abuse before it gets out of hand and completely destroys a group.