Is it just me or do we seem to have a lot of mailing list drama right before a big event that introduces a lot of new people to Noisebridge? The thread about kids happened right before Maker Faire and this is happening right before Arse and our anniversary. It's almost like we <i>want</i> people to see us at our most argumentative.<div>
<br></div><div>Any ideas on how to top this for the next time a big Noisebridge related event happens?</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>-Ani</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote">2009/9/30 Dr. Jesus <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:j@hug.gs">j@hug.gs</a>></span><br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">There was some discussion earlier tonight about putting a gate on the<br>
DJ booth. Although I wasn't planning on doing it anytime soon, I<br>
thought I'd write up my thoughts to prompt some discussion because I'm<br>
not sure I covered all the details earlier tonight.<br>
<br>
Basically, I thought it would be nice if we repurposed one of the<br>
gates and installed it in front of an enclosed area, probably the DJ<br>
booth. I don't know whether I should install a lock or not, but if I<br>
did it would be keyed to the same key used for the rest of the locks<br>
at Noisebridge. Door access would be audited by timestamp only, so<br>
anonymity concerns would only apply to the same degree they did with<br>
noisedoor (and no one has complained to me so far.)<br>
<br>
Locks in the space are a touchy subject, which is why I mention using<br>
the door keys. This requires people who want access to the resources<br>
in there to participate in the existing web of trust model we use for<br>
access to the rest of the space. It's not strong security by any<br>
means: I'm sure someone's going to program the makerbot to spit out<br>
keys in the near future. Think of it more as an IQ test. I honestly<br>
don't know whether the idea of installing a lock keyed to the door<br>
keys is offensive, so apologies in advance if it is. The alternative<br>
is using an unlocked doorknob set and that's nearly as good, since the<br>
main thing about the gate is it provides a fixture on which a magnetic<br>
access sensor can be installed.<br>
<br>
There are several justifications for doing this. First of all, it<br>
allows the computers hosted there to be troubleshot more effectively<br>
because the door access can be correlated with system failures.<br>
Today, it is not possible to reliably tell the difference between a<br>
hardware problem and someone using the machines for self education.<br>
There have already been two such situations at 2169: the DSL modem<br>
resetting and storage problems on pony.<br>
<br>
Second, it allows people who want to temporarily store expensive or<br>
medically related things at Noisebridge to have a some level of<br>
assurance that access to the gear is mostly limited to people included<br>
in the existing web of trust built out of the physical key<br>
distribution. For example, when we host an event there will sometimes<br>
be objects present in the space which cannot comply with our general<br>
policy of being available for hacking. Again, this is not so much<br>
about securing the gear as making sure that there's a mechanism for<br>
knowing -- possibly in real time -- when someone's been in there. If<br>
what I heard about the last party is true, I think our average<br>
gathering might be pretty chaotic and it might be a good idea to have<br>
some island of stability where we can put things without worrying<br>
about drunken partygoers.<br>
<br>
Third, I think it would be a good idea to have a backup fire<br>
extinguisher, flashlight, and first aid kit in an area with access<br>
logging just in case the ones in the space are tampered with. Sure,<br>
there's no guarantee that someone's not going to screw with the<br>
backups too, but I think it's less likely to happen accidentally due<br>
to chair hockey. I also think it would be nice if the safety critical<br>
controllers like the fire and flood alarms are access audited so that<br>
when access is logged unexpectedly someone can go check them out to<br>
make sure a rat didn't get in there and eat them. Being able to trust<br>
the integrity of those controllers isn't just nice, it has real world<br>
financial consequences. I don't want to give an adjuster an excuse to<br>
bone us on a claim because we don't have reliable safety equipment in<br>
the space. This is doubly important if we get that laser cutter that<br>
was discussed recently.<br>
<br>
Fourth, I found myself needing to have a private conversation earlier<br>
tonight on my netbook and I couldn't find a place at 2169 where there<br>
was reliable Internet, privacy, and distance from the noise being made<br>
on the far side of the space. In my case the bathroom would have<br>
raised some uncomfortable questions since it was a video chat. I'm<br>
sure other people might find it convenient to have a place to have<br>
less than public conversations as well.<br>
<br>
The bottom line is, do you care and if you do, do you want the gate to<br>
be lockable or not? Please vote along with your (civil) comments. If<br>
this rubs you the wrong way and you'd like to tell me to eat a dick,<br>
let's keep that off the mailing list. I can send you my mailing<br>
address for cock-related packages privately.<br>
<br>
To preempt some points I think might come up:<br>
<br>
- Yes, I have been treating parts of the DJ booth as my personal<br>
shelf, mainly because I had to store a few bulky and easy to lose<br>
items I'm using for working with the locks and controllers. Most of<br>
those will go away in the near future because they're going to be<br>
bolted to a wall somewhere. I'm planning on continuing to keep the<br>
remaining items (lock rekeying set, repair kit, glassware) out of the<br>
way in the DJ booth and have any personal projects on a regular shelf<br>
elsewhere.<br>
<br>
- I am in no way married to the idea of enclosing the DJ booth in<br>
particular for satisfying the use cases above. Any other area would<br>
be fine.<br>
<br>
- Yes, even without locking the gate, adding access logging could be<br>
interpreted as a lack of mutual trust between members and our guests<br>
and this could have a chilling effect on our interactions. I'm not<br>
going to rebut this because that interpretation is an opinion.<br>
However, I should point out that we did basically the same thing at<br>
83c on a coarser scale with noisedoor and as far as I know that<br>
chilling effect didn't occur.<br>
<br>
- Yes, I know the current staircase is mechanically incompatible with<br>
the available gates.<br>
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</blockquote></div><br></div>