[hackerspaces] [wiki] TechShop

[Edward L Platt]

Ooh!  Another thought.  Maybe the badge could even contain a summary of the
space's profit/membership/governance structure!

-Ed

On Wed, Jan 2, 2013 at 2:18 PM, Edward L Platt <ed at elplatt.com> wrote:

> Looking at things like non-profit status, open/closed membership, and even
> community governance, you will find plenty of bona fide hackerspaces that
> fall on either side.
>
> +1 For providing a better view of where a particular space falls on these
> spectra, rather than quibbling about whether or not to label them as a
> hackerspace.
>
> Also, the last time this dead horse received a thorough beating, I recall
> someone suggesting self-identification as a reasonable requirement.  So I
> propose the following: we create a hackerspaces.org website badge (or
> maybe one already exists) and if a space doesn't display the badge on their
> homepage, they're fair game for removal (or not, do-ocracy style).
>
> Happy hacking,
> -Ed
>
>
> On Wed, Jan 2, 2013 at 1:59 PM, Matt Joyce <matt at nycresistor.com> wrote:
>
>> maybe the correct answer here is not "exclusion" but a better view of
>> the data we have?
>>
>> if we could sort based on key values, such as the tax structure of the
>> group, ownership, rental, or squat.  business?  club?  hardware vs
>> software?  genetic? burners or other creatives?  academic institution?
>>  research oriented lab?
>>
>> there are many different groups in the world and many ways to apply
>> ones self to their community.  Maybe the right answer is to take this
>> wealth of data and provide a better visualization of that data.
>>
>> -Matt
>>
>> On Wed, Jan 2, 2013 at 10:50 AM, David Powell <davepow16 at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> > I have not problem with TechShop being called a hackerspace. There are
>> a lot
>> > of "Hackerspaces" on the list that could IMO be questionable but not
>> because
>> > of their profit status.I don't think profit status has anything to do
>> with
>> > it. Do they provide a space for like minded individuals to share
>> knowledge
>> > about whatever it is those people may be interested in?
>> >
>> > One thing that people need to keep in mind is that most hackerspaces
>> need to
>> > make money in order to keep their doors open. It some communities it's
>> as
>> > simple as getting everyone to pitch in some money. In other communities
>> > people are cheap and feel like they are entitled to everything for free
>> and
>> > they want the members of the hackerspace to also deliver service with a
>> > smile. It really depends on what works for the area each space is in.
>> >
>> > We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) but we have plans for selling our
>> knowledge in
>> > order to keep the doors open. It's a lot of work and most of our members
>> > don't want to put in extra effort to make things run smoothly. So the
>> few of
>> > us who do feel we need to charge people coming through the door because
>> the
>> > freeloading is not paying the bills. Being a non-profit has a lot of
>> down
>> > sides including making sure we are not breaking laws when we sell
>> something.
>> > If I had to do it all over again I would not have setup our space as a
>> > 501(c)(3). I would have started a for profit business and ran it like I
>> > owned it.
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Discuss mailing list
>> > Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
>> > http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>> >
>> _______________________________________________
>> Discuss mailing list
>> Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
>> http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Edward L. Platt
> http://elplatt.com
> 248.320.5061
>



-- 
Edward L. Platt
http://elplatt.com
248.320.5061
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