[hackerspaces] Hackers, feminism, and bullying

[Mark Janssen]

On Fri, Jan 18, 2013 at 11:40 AM,  <quemener.yves at free.fr> wrote:
> Ok, I think I identified something that tend to annoy me in these discussions. The question of the kind of member we want to attract made it clearer for me.
>
> First, the kind of people I want to see in a hacker/makerspace are hackers and makers. Anyone able to use tools to do cool stuff is welcomed. However some people are not welcomed, those that just want to talk, do politics, hang out like it is a cool bar and contribute nothing.
>
> I think there is an instinct amongst geek to steer away from drama. Some here see that as a bad instinct, yet I am not sure it is so. Dramas do end up solving themselves, sometimes in a less than ideal way, but I am not convinced that throwing more people at it helps it solve in a better way.

This is a great point.  Really the h/mspaces are somewhat a refuge
against the drama and conflict out in the world -- those sensitive
types who are creative and need a non-judgmental, supported place to
explore and create.  That's how I see it anyway.

Mark
(was sf_x in Santa Fe, NM)