[HN Gopher] Building a Hacker Space (2007) [pdf]
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Building a Hacker Space (2007) [pdf]
Author : Tomte
Score : 84 points
Date : 2022-04-17 11:08 UTC (1 days ago)
(HTM) web link (fahrplan.events.ccc.de)
(TXT) w3m dump (fahrplan.events.ccc.de)
| [deleted]
| RealityVoid wrote:
| I once visited a hacker space in Prague, I think it was brmlab.
| It left such a lasting impression on me, it's hard to qualify. I
| always wanted to set up a hacker space in my city but never quite
| felt up to the task.
| myself248 wrote:
| Find the others.
| Animats wrote:
| That sounds so retro now. In Silicon Valley, TechShop and
| TheShop.build went bust. The gym pay-by-the-month model didn't
| work. I was a member through most of the life of both of those.
| Hacker Dojo turned into something like WeWork, then had a staffer
| ripoff problem, then closed, then reopened recently. The local
| public library is opening a "maker space", but it's heavy on
| sewing machines and crafting.
|
| Maker spaces don't seem to work well in high-rent areas. For
| software-only projects, they aren't really necessary.
| teddyh wrote:
| Related links:
|
| * https://runningahackerspace.tumblr.com/
|
| * https://wiki.hackerspaces.org/Theory
| dang wrote:
| Related:
|
| _Building a Hacker Space (2007) [pdf]_ -
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15998894 - Dec 2017 (10
| comments)
|
| _Building a Hacker Space (2007) [pdf]_ -
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12961105 - Nov 2016 (2
| comments)
| PragmaticPulp wrote:
| > Guest are fine, but don't let anyone live there. Kick them out
| if necessary.
|
| My friends spent years bootstrapping and maintaining a local
| hackerspace.
|
| Most of their problems could be traced back to people trying to
| live at the hackerspace. 95% of people were trying to use it as a
| hackerspace, but 5% saw it as an opportunity to do some
| combination of sleep, shower, eat, and relax among interesting
| people for significantly less than it would cost to rent
| somewhere. It gets even harder when the person in question is
| friends with so-and-so, who will try to defend having them live
| at the space while they're down on their luck.
|
| I was never heavily involved with the space, but having watched
| their struggles I would agree: Nobody lives there, nobody stays
| overnight, no exceptions. Maintain a hard line against this and
| enforce it early.
| ja27 wrote:
| We had one van-dweller (who was otherwise homeless) that tried
| to live at our space. We tried to let it work for a while and
| added rules to deal with issues he created but he'd find a new
| way to antagonize other members every couple of days. Finally
| crossed some line and he took us up on an offer to refund his
| membership dues and go away. Bonus: he was working on a
| perpetual motion machine the whole time.
| stryan wrote:
| I've been intrigued by the concept of a co-living space
| combined with a hacker-space/co-working space (something
| similar to a boarding house with attached hacker/maker space)
| but it does sound like you would definitely have to have a hard
| separation between the "living" space and the "working" space.
|
| I wonder if its something that could feasibly be organized or
| if hackerspaces should just stay hackerspaces.
| georgyo wrote:
| This presentation was originally given in August 2007 for Hackers
| on a Plane.
|
| It inspired many, including me, to open a hackerspace and to this
| day is the document I refer people to when they want to start
| one.
|
| What is amazing is that even after almost 15 years, these design
| patterns still matches how my hackerspace runs. This isn't
| because we follow them religiously, just that they are natural
| and very effective.
|
| I would encourage anyone wanting to create a hackerspace, or any
| other social space for that matter, read these over.
|
| It is also important to know that these are patterns and
| guidelines, not rules. If something doesn't fit with your
| community, your community should be empowered to change things
| that fit them better.
| ericskiff wrote:
| Hi Georgyo! :)
|
| I was jumping on here to say the same thing - we shared these
| guidelines with new folks regularly, and they helped us avoid
| some mistakes along the way. We've iterated on them of course,
| but it was wonderful to have a sane starting place
| myself248 wrote:
| I wish I could've gotten the time off work for Hackers on a
| Plane. I helped Nick publicize it but couldn't myself
| participate. Only in wildest dreams would it have succeeded as
| it has.
|
| Looking back at these patterns and stories, now 13 years into
| the i3Detroit hackerspace, is wild. They are not a strict
| prophecy, but they foretell a lot of the things we've
| encountered along the way. (Never had anyone try to live at the
| space, but pretty much everything else and so much more...)
|
| I think the hardest problem has been shaking new members of the
| idea that they're just passengers. Obviously the founders and
| early members knew they were shaping things as they went along.
| But later members perceive the group as "fully formed" and
| don't seem as comfortable taking the reins.
| thesaintlives wrote:
| I missed the slide where it tells you what to do when your hacker
| space is taken over by militant communists who are more
| interested in organizing demonstrations about third toilets and
| the evil of leather shoes. German 'hacker' spaces are infested
| with people like this. Heaven forbid you just want to make
| something or are simply interested in experimenting with
| technology and don't follow the same political dogma. German
| hacker space? No thanks...
| giraffe_lady wrote:
| If they succeeded in taking it over then it's theirs now, so
| you just go on with your life as you see fit! hth!
| hemloc_io wrote:
| Always wanted to start a hackerspace!
|
| What's interesting to me about this is that I used to run a
| student org, and the same principals apply. Was a great learning
| experience for me, and I think if you're interested in leadership
| and building social spaces like this it's something you should
| take if you get the opportunity.
| adbachman wrote:
| ayyy, I started here when co-founding Baltimore Node
| (https://baltimorenode.org).
|
| was very heavily involved in the birth and first few locations,
| say 2009 - 2012. tailed off as my family and work
| responsibilities grew. happy that it's still a going concern and
| that the maker scene in town has grown, shrunk, grown again, and
| stabilized.
|
| they even have a law just waiting on the governor's signature
| establishing a fund to support more makerspaces:
| https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/s...
| nanidin wrote:
| This is reminding me a lot of participating in and running the
| ACM chapter at my university. I miss those days of being
| surrounded by bright, interested people working on whatever
| sounded fun at the time.
| gernb wrote:
| most important line
|
| > Have fridges for Club-Mate
|
| Yes please! (So sad that it seems no one outside of Germany likes
| Club-Mate) (pg: 30, 80-81)
|
| Club-Mate: Mate tea soda with less sugar than most sodas but more
| caffine. (pronounced Klube (rhymes with Tube), Mah-tay)
| thamer wrote:
| The wiki page seems outdated now, but at some point Noisebridge
| in SF spent an estimated $700/month on Club-Mate (compare to
| "other snacks" for $900):
| https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Finances
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