[sudoroom] separation of politics and hackerspace?

[Philip W]

I think that part of this discussion is what constitutes "limiting"
ourselves.  By having a more defined social message we're being open to that
but limiting others who may not share those beliefs, or who don't want to
participate in them.  My point in starting this discussion was in the sense
of truly not limiting things, letting broader things happen but giving
people who don't want to be a part of that aspect a place to 'hack."  I'm
not suggesting we abandon these other goals, but to me one of the important
things is being truly open to everyone, both physically and ideologically.
So there's definitely room in a space like this for both people who just
want to work on cool things and for those who want their work to contribute
to a cause.  I think this way Sudo Room would be most welcoming to all
members of the community.

-----Original Message-----
From: Jacob Shiach [mailto:kingjacob at gmail.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2012 9:42 PM
To: Patrik D'haeseleer
Cc: Phil; sudoroom at lists.hackerspaces.org
Subject: Re: [sudoroom] separation of politics and hackerspace?

I just want to say that SudoRoom was started specifically to be more than
just a space. If a space and equipment is all that someone wants, there's
Techshop. Tinkering is fun and a good way to learn, but for me at least
that's not enough. Why should we limit ourselves to making blinky things
when the world is full of challenging problems? Seems a lot more interesting
to me. Plus the small side effect of making people's lives better.

Ps social justice, digital citizenship and citizen science aren't political,
they're just good ideas.

-
Jacob Shiach


On May 9, 2012, at 10:58 PM, "Patrik D'haeseleer" <patrikd at gmail.com> wrote:

> I think the impression that SudoRoom is more about social justice than
> about "hacking" is simply due to the fact that we don't have a
> permanent space yet, and that we've been doing a lot of planning
> instead of working on projects. I'm sure we'll start seeing less talk
> and more hacking as soon as we actually get some space to spread out
> and tools to work with.
> 
> Personally, I do not think that hackerspaces necessarily need to have
> a social mission. Sometimes it's fun just to get together with friends
> to tinker with stuff, or hold a LAN party. Some hackerspaces focus
> more on social justice and alternative communities. Some focus more on
> incubating ideas to commercialize them. Some focus on art and
> technology. And some just want to play with Legos. It's all good!
> 
> That said - yes, some of the people involved in SudoRoom are very
> passionate about social justice issues, and I would expect we'll see
> some projects along those lines - whether it's designing web spaces
> for Occupy, or hacking cell phones for the homeless. But I wouldn't
> necessarily want that to *define* the space. If someone wants to work
> on some hacks for a better world - great! If someone wants to do some
> synthetic biology and create an E. coli that blinks, I think that
> should be OK too.
> 
> Patrik
> 
> On Wed, May 9, 2012 at 6:21 PM, Phil <dude8604 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I decided last week to advertise the fundraiser on Reddit, in some of the
>> local subreddits.  There was one response I got that I think is something
we
>> should discuss.
>> 
>> 
>> ----------------------
>> 
>> Also, when I think Hacker Space, I think of a big (or small) space where
>> people can come and work on projects, either by themselves but in the
>> presence of others, or with a group. There may be some tools and stuff.
You
>> pay money per month for use of the space.
>> 
>> But on Sudo Room, there is a lot about social justice and etc etc etc.
This
>> is great! But not what I guess I think about when I think about "hacker
>> space", and if I were to be honest not really what I'd be interested in
>> going to a "hacker space" for.
>> 
>> So... what is Sudo Room really?
>> 
>> --------------------
>> 
>> The rest of the thread is
>> here:
http://www.reddit.com/r/oakland/comments/t4lex/sudo_room_a_newlyforming_east
_bay_hackerspace/
>> 
>> 
>> So it seems like most of us have political interests, which I think Sudo
>> Room should definitely have room for, however I think to be inclusive
>> of everyone it should be separate from the hackerspace as an
organization.
>> Or somehow balance the two so that people like this are interested in
>> joining us.  What do you all think?
>> 
>> 
>> - Phil
>> 
>> 
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