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<font face="Gill Sans">It’s apparently not so easy to get a group
bank account without a tax ID. Even our friendly credit union down
the block, Patelco, requires such a group to link that account
with an existing credit union member’s account (which, in turn,
requires their social security number).<br>
<br>
After some further investigation with bank representatives at
Community Bank of the Bay (@ 19th & Broadway), I think I've
finally hacked it. I explained to the new accounts manager that we
are currently an unincorporated association, that we don't yet
have By-laws but intend to, but we have already agreed on a
process by which we will draft and ratify our by-laws. According
to their business account set up form (attached), tax ID seems to
be required even in all the Other categories. So it took a couple
calls to some managers on the second floor, who apparently had to
check with some other folks higher-up that this could conceivably
be possible within their Non-Profit Checking account option
(<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.communitybankbay.com/business/checking">http://www.communitybankbay.com/business/checking</a>). (see second
attachment for Set-Up form details).<br>
<br>
In order to open up a bank account as an unincorporated
association at Community Bank of the Bay, there are two
requirements: (1) a copy of the By-Laws (or Articles of
Association or Manifesto of Power, etc.); and (2) “proof of
existence” (<i>bank representatives words, not mine</i>). Since
our Articles of Assocation are now scheduled to be ratified by
compact, currently being developed at
(<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Sudo_room/Compact">http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Sudo_room/Compact</a>), all we need to
do is to prove we exist. <br>
<br>
<br>
Proof of Existence --<br>
<br>
As a recovering philosophy major, I of course immediately thought
of St. Anselm's 11th century ontological proof of the existence of
God: "that, than which nothing greater can be conceived." Even
after Gaunilo of Marmoutier's "Lost Island" refutation
(<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaunilo_of_Marmoutiers">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaunilo_of_Marmoutiers</a>), I consider
the ontological proof of existence valid if modified slightly,
without the hubris, to be: "nothing more or less than that, than
which nothing greater be conceived." Albeit having satisfied
myself by this ontological proof of the existence of Sudo Room, I
nevertheless thought it wise to ask her what she meant by "proof
of existence." <br>
<br>
Apparently, this second prong requirement (as confirmed by the
higher-ups) in addition to the Articles of Association can be
satisfied with a copy of meeting minutes, a listing of the board
of director or membership directory, indication of a place of
business, or some such thing. Our meeting minutes have been
thankfully curated by the founding founders and are available at
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Sudo_room#Meeting_Minutes">http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Sudo_room#Meeting_Minutes</a>. I did
start thinking though about how we could satisfy some of the other
optional requirements to prove our existence. In furtherance of
this objective, I would like to propose three actions (modular and
granular) that could help us pass this threshold of existence. <br>
<br>
<br>
1. Sudo Square<br>
<br>
Since we have not yet transferred the lease from my name to Sudo
Room, there is not yet proof that Sudo Room exists at 2135
Broadway. But I think that in the age of checking in, that kind of
geographic proof of existence could also be accomplished by
coordinated crowd in-checking as ontological proof. So just before
the meeting yesterday, I set up a location at Foursquare for "Sudo
Square," located on that plaza at the intersection of Broadway,
19th, and Franklin.
(<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://foursquare.com/v/sudo-square/50074796e4b092cb5fe8c83d">https://foursquare.com/v/sudo-square/50074796e4b092cb5fe8c83d</a>.) <br>
<br>
I'm glad that several others have already checked in, but was
hoping to get some Sudo help to name the square. So when you're
passing by 22nd & Broadway and you're itching to check in on
Facebook or Foursquare, or Yelp, or however it is you go about
telling the world instantaneously where you are - please check in
at Sudo Square - often and tell your friends about it too. I've
listed it as an historic site on Foursquare, and invite others to
add pictures (there's apparently already one up from inside the
classroom from our meeting last night).<br>
<br>
<br>
2. Box Office Maximum Occupancy<br>
<br>
There were unfortunately not enough people at the meeting before
last to really test out how many hackers you could fit inside our
100 sq. ft. box office room facing Broadway. I was thinking we
could schedule a ceremony to figure this out, perhaps at the next
Art Murmur (<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://oaklandartmurmur.org/">http://oaklandartmurmur.org/</a>) on August 3. <br>
<br>
Since this would take place presumably after we plan to ratify the
Articles of Association, I thought we could make it ceremonious by
calling each signatory up to sign a parchment print of the
Articles of Association before entering the box office Sudo Room
for the maximum occupancy test. We could combine it with a
ceremonial blowing up the 8.5 ft. inflatable Stay Puft Marshmallow
Men in honor of Ghostbusters being shown at the Paramount Theatre
next door at 8pm (<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.paramounttheatre.com/schedule.html">http://www.paramounttheatre.com/schedule.html</a>).<br>
<br>
<br>
3. Flash Conference<br>
<br>
In the spirit of our open invitation to the general public to take
part in or be made aware of our existence, I thought it would be
appropriate to hold a press conference. That could also take place
during Art Murmur or at the recent ancillary creation Saturday
Stroll (<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://oaklandartmurmur.org/calendar/saturday-stroll">http://oaklandartmurmur.org/calendar/saturday-stroll</a>). If
anyone knows of reporters who would be interested in covering this
momentous event, we could put together a press release announcing
our intention to publicly declare the existence of Sudo Room. I
thought it might be more fun to have a "flash conference." We can
coordinate for some people to show up and crowd around the
entrance at 2135 Broadway with their camera phones and/or pocket
camcorders about 15 minutes before when we intend to start. If you
don't have one, I have a bunch, some of which even work, in a bin
in our Orange Closet. If the flash mob phenomenon has taught us
anything, it's that the mobilization of social media masses at the
lowest common denominator does not even require any particular
purpose or cause.<br>
<br>
If someone has contacts in her office, I thought it would be nice
invite our mayor Jean Quan. We can present her with some Sudo
token of our appreciation for her leadership as "boss of the
city". I've already asked the Psychic downstairs whether or not he
would be willing to say a few words about his intuition for our
future success, but he politely declined according to some vague
self-regulatory psychic agreement not to appear on camera. Any
other ideas, if not yet explicitly clear, would of course be
welcomed.</font>
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