[hackerspaces] RANT!: SO VERY frustrated with lack of local activity :( Warning: some negative energy present - sorry

[Will Bradley]

You do want to really minimize the potential for unfriendly forking though.
"It's just business" and "if you just did it my way everything would be
fine" are two attitudes that can really set up an unfriendly atmosphere.
Even unintentionally excluding a space from something can set people's
teeth on edge.
On Nov 27, 2011 4:19 PM, "Far McKon" <farmckon at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hey Frustrated fo sho,
> I have two thoughts for you, based on my own experience in
> not-dissimilar situations.*
>
> 1) Forking is OK, and friendly forking can work out better for
> everyone. It's a great Open Source tradition to say, 'hey, I see where
> you are going, and is not where I want to go. Goodluck, keep in touch,
> but I'm leaving."  I've been through the process, and although it can
> be painful in the process (especially if you are biting your tongue a
> lot), a friendly fork can work out extremely well  in the end.
> Especially if some friendly competition and 'hey, we can do that too'
> attitude gets started.
>
> 2) You also might just be burnt out, and need a break.  Community
> wrangling of any and all kinds, from hackerspace to food-drives, can
> burn people out.  Especially people with big dreams, and people who
> are energetic.  There is a long history in hackerspaces, art
> collectives, nonprofits, neighborhood associations (the list goes on
> and on) of founders burning out in the first 1-3 years of being
> involved.
>
> Mayhaps  all that effort on the space has gotten in the way of
> projects or getting things done, and some hand-on project time will
> even things out.   Try searching the web for 'leader burnout' or
> 'organizer burnout'. There is a lot of good info there, and you might
> find something else helpful among those links.
>
>  In the end hackerspaces are groups of humans (myself included) ,  and
> will have all of the flaws, weirdness, and problems any kind of social
> organization has. I don't know much good advice particular to your
> situation, but I know a lot of hackerspace organizers have been in a
> similar situation, and even if they tend to take a break, most of them
> return to being active in the community.
>
> Good luck, and I hope things work out. Hack on,
> - Far McKon
>
> http://www.FarMcKon.net "Creatively Maladjusted"
>
> * The first hackerspace I co-founded (The Hacktory) was under the
> umbrealla of a nonprofit. Due to some incompetence of a board member,
> there were some false accusations, and I was forced to leave. I
> started another hackerspace (Hive76) a few months later, and some
> folks joined me in that 'Fork'.   About a year after that I got an
> apology from the first space, and a correction about the mistake they
> made.   Both spaces are still in operation today, and I'm still on the
> email list  and in contact with both groups.
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