[hackerspaces] A little talk about hackerspaces and travel

[Arclight]

Hi Thiago,

Our space is in Southern California, and we welcome visitors from
other hackerspaces all the time.  There are spaces that are more
"startup office space" and less about community, but I think you'll
find that the 3 local ones in SoCal are not like that.  Some may be
able to accommodate a guest for a night or two, or they'll tell you
where the nearest hostel or cheap hotel is.

Whether staying is allowed depends a lot on the landlord of the
building (some are very particular about this issue) and whether the
space has been burned before by someone that tried to stay forever.

When I travel, I always try to look up the local hackerspaces and come
by.  It helps if you notify them a week or more in advance, as some of
them are shut down on days when nobody has volunteered to open or hold
a class.  Some spaces also let members reserve the place privately at
certain times also.

I have met many nice people going around to hackerspaces.  Bring
photos and artifacts from other spaces if you can.  Stickers are
always good, and showing up with food when people are around is also a
good way to make friends.

Cheers,

Arclight
23b Shop
Fullerton, CA

On Wed, May 23, 2018 at 5:46 PM, Alex Porto <alex.itajuba at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello, Thiago.
>
> I've been to some spaces and noticed that there is a lot of different
> conceptions on what a "hackerspace" is, and this reflects on how friendly
> people will receive you. In Brazil we had just a few spaces, and all of them
> shared a common ground as a community, visitors were always very well
> received, so I thought it would be the same all around the world. But mostly
> in US I saw that there are some spaces that are more business spaces that
> community spaces, so the reception was a little bit colder there.
>
> But I'm not telling this to discourage you. On the contrary! Look, I spent 3
> months in Melbourne, Florida last year. I knew they had a space there, and I
> had some opportunities to go there, but I just didn't go. Simply because of
> these previous bad experiences with other US spaces. And now I saw Joshua's
> answer above and I'm felling bad for losing those opportunities.
>
> So, I'd recommend trying to contact the members in advance (website,
> Facebook page, etc), so you will have an idea on how approachable the
> members are, and can also arrange to schedule the best opportunity for your
> visit. For example, an open-night, when the members would not be busy with
> their projects and could spend some time chatting with you.
>
> Regards,
>
> Alex
>
> On Wed, May 23, 2018 at 8:58 AM, Lars-Magnus Skog <ralphtheninja at riseup.net>
> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Thiago,
>>
>> It's a splendid idea and captures a lot of the common hackerspace
>> mentality (my opinion) of sharing and collaboration. If you put some
>> work into it and do your research I'm sure you will find plenty of
>> places to visit that will welcome you and even give you a place to stay.
>>
>> One suggestion could be to create a https://cryptpad.fr (or similar) to
>> share your trip/plans
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>>
>> On 05/23/2018 01:18 PM, zeh at posteo.de wrote:
>> > Hi there!
>> >
>> > I'm new to the hackerspace culture and I want to introduce myself
>> > before I ask
>> > you how welcome this idea I have might sound like.
>> >
>> > My name is Thiago and I used to work as a developer but I quit my job
>> > and I had
>> > a time off from computers.
>> >
>> > Not long ago I went to an opensource meeting in Peru and I had so much
>> > fun. So
>> > I decided to start studying again. A bit later I heard about the
>> > hackerspaces
>> > for the first time.
>> >
>> > Since I want to keep traveling I've got myself a laptop and though
>> > about change
>> > my idea of travel. Instead of visiting monuments or going to different
>> > cities I
>> > thouhgt about going around visiting hackerspaces, meeting hackers from
>> > all
>> > around, learning and helping on projects, having fun and getting
>> > better as
>> > a developer.
>> >
>> > Wondering how this might sound to all of you. I mean...is a
>> > hackerspace a place
>> > to receive travelers looking for knowlogment and people to meet?
>> >
>> > Right now, it is just an idea but I'm looking forward to hearing your
>> > ideas and
>> > thoughts about it.
>> >
>> > I had a problem with my mail client so I'm not sure if this email ever
>> > left my mailbox.
>> > I apologize in case you've got it for the secont time.
>> >
>> > I hope to hear from all of you soon
>> >
>> >  Cheers,
>> > Thiago
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
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>>
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