[hackerspaces] Discuss Digest, Vol 33, Issue 12

[Danozano]

I think it really boils down to, are these people going to be fun, interesting, and useful to hang out with?  Business geeks who aren't hackerly in their ways fail this test, at least for me.  

I will call them when I want to have flex office space away from my home area, or if I want business-related stuff that they'd be best at -- networking, who's got good printing prices, recommendations of a place to eat on a conference trip, or whatever -- and if they suck at that I might not call them for it again.  I won't call them looking for a piece of electronics gear, or for a hand figuring out a technical detail of a project, just like i wouldn't contact noninterested members of our own space for that kind of stuff.  They serve a different purpose in the toolbox.  

And if they had a mystery piece of hardware I hope they could remember 23b shop is good for some things like that, and to call us to find who or what is next in their chain of actions or contacts.  It's a purely functional definition for me.  If they can help, I hope to call them; if not, no call.  Know they're around, don't bother them with details unrelated to their strong points.  Non-geeks might benefit in their way from rubbing against our groups. And we might benefit in turn from their contacts, whether they are a knowledgeable party or just a connector for us. 

To win is to use tools for a useful purpose.  Reviews and subjective impressions support this well.  The more subjective and analytical, the better.	

Danozano


On May 6, 2011, at 10:36 AM, discuss-request at lists.hackerspaces.org wrote:

IMO, companies that don't self identify as hackerspaces or makerspaces that
are using the list are just spammers. They might be nice spammers who we can
work with in the real world, but they're still spammers.

This isn't about pushing one definition of hackerspace on the world, it's
about, um, actually using the definitions people give themselves.

Ratings does seem like a reasonable way to deal with this.

I don't know. This is all a discussion about the feel of a space and what
makes it a hackerspace. This is the sort of thing that's probably impossible
to define and difficult to discuss, though I think it's worth having at
least a discussion about the geography of what's out there.

Instead of hijacking this thread, I think I'll start a new one :)