[hackerspaces] A New Hacker Has Joined Your Party!

[Koen Martens]

On Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 07:22:38AM -0500, Ron Bean wrote:
> Matt Joyce <matt at nycresistor.com> writes:
> 
> >Ron, I'd say that while NYCResistor seems largely "maker" space.  They house
> >a pretty close to equal distribution of hackers ( maybe not infosec but soft
> >engineers ) makers and crafters.  In that regard... they are a single org.
> >And while balancing concerns between the three is hard, the point is not the
> >capabilities of the space, but the community it fosters.  Cross pollination
> >is a good thing.
>  
> We also have a lot of electronics guys, and I think we'll have a good
> mix eventually. My concern at this point is finding enough "core"
> members to pay the rent (which we don't have yet). I think we need to
> concentrate on that now, and think about other activities later. My
> point was that a "makerspace" needs a larger core than a "hackerspace"
> to get started, because it requires more space (=$).

I don't agree with that at all. Especially since you're making such a hard
division between 'hackerspace' and 'makerspace'. That's an arbitrary line
you're drawing there. When does hacking turn into making, when does
making turn into hacking?? 

A hackerspace, for me, is way more than just a place where you can open
your laptop. You don't need a space for that anyway, just open your laptop
at home and communicate online.

And what about opening up appliances, getting the soldering iron in there,
modifying existing stuff. Surely you need space for that. Is that hacking,
is that making?

I don't think there is any point in trying to make classifications on
those matters. Why the need to label something? And then put requirements
or other consequences on that label. Free yourself from those boxes :)

The size of the core you need only depends on your specific needs and
ambitions, not on what label you put on the space.

I see a large overlap between makerspaces and hackerspaces. Both terms
are almost arbitrarily used to name spaces that are very much the same.
I don't really care, I can have fun and learn at both.

Gr,

Koen