<div dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">You know, when discussing why people do or don't inhabit the space, I don't think it's terribly productive to categorically exclude the views of the people who choose not to be part of it anymore. Moreso to deride them with ad hominem attacks on their mental fortitude for their unwillingness to spend time in an environment where they don't feel safe or supported. Being one of the aforementioned myself I kind of doubt there's any benefit to my speaking up, so I'm not sure why I feel the need. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I spent a couple of years as a relatively active participant at Noisebridge, including teaching a class there for nearly a year, before deciding it wasn't for me, and have since been lurking on the list and seeing it go through the same cycles time and again. New people enter the community, work hard to make it better, speak up, get shouted down, and then quietly disappear again.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Teaching my class was a pain because every time I would come in I had to rearrange the classroom, kick out whatever surly creatures happened to be sleeping there, wipe the gunk of the tables, scrounge for a working projector, and then teach between shrieks of the wood shop equipment. Students didn't have a very long shelf life either, as they often didn't feel comfortable being in the space, especially the women. And I've encountered a wide array of disillusioned former Noisebridgers since. One fellow I met had built out a full on electronics workshop in his bedroom to fill the void.</p>
<p>All of this is sort of a roundabout way of getting to this point: <b>Anarchy is a form of entropy</b>. As long as there are no rules, consequences or governance in the space these things are not going to change. As long as you're willing to unconditionally open your doors to everybody, the worst will come in, use up the resources, and drive out many of the best. This isn't to disparage all of you who are still there, as I know there are still a number of very excellent people who frequent Noisebridge, but you have a much greater tolerance for conflict and chaos than myself or many of the others I've talked to. It surprises me that in a space that is so focused on programming, where you write rules for how computers should behave, that people think they can somehow take a "monkeys bashing at keyboards" approach to culture and expect anything but white noise to come from it.</p>
<p>Anyway, I guess that's about all I've got for now.</p><p>- Robert<br></p>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Apr 13, 2013 11:49 AM, "Tony Longshanks LeTigre" <<a href="mailto:anthonyletigre@gmail.com" target="_blank">anthonyletigre@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br type="attribution"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
Fucking annoying to hear all these people who never come around Noisebridge whining about all the problems it has, if ya ask me. Oh really? I spend a lot of time here, & don't see all the problems you're describing. Well, I do see some of them, but what I see is the people who have the fortitude to deal with conflict & care enough to really invest themselves in the space deal with those problems, & the problem people who cause them, rather than just giving up & pissing off.<br>
<br>+11+<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Apr 13, 2013 at 10:35 AM, <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:name1355@tormail.org" target="_blank">name1355@tormail.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
If by, "transients", you mean homeless people, why is it a, "problem"?<br>
Perhaps if they were embraced instead of avoided, you might find they can<br>
make valid contributions to Noisebridge.<br>
<div><br>
> You were a n00b once too. How do we get hackers? By allowing curious n00bs<br>
> to learn stuff. I agree with the other stuff though.<br>
> On Apr 13, 2013 4:54 AM, "Eric W. Rasmussen" <<a href="mailto:ewr@majortek.com" target="_blank">ewr@majortek.com</a>> wrote:<br>
><br>
>> I have been excluded. I have very serious issues with NB that are being<br>
>> discussed NOW.<br>
>><br>
>> I may not be the best Linux teacher in the world, but I tried. When the<br>
>> doorbell rang, I answered it. I cleaned. I dropped money in the box.<br>
>><br>
>> NB has a very serious sexual harassment problem. NB has a problem with<br>
>> transients. NB has a problem with n00bs. Ultimately, NB has<br>
>> interpersonal<br>
>> problems.<br>
>><br>
>> Please fix this. I would like to return.<br>
>><br>
>> Thank you<br>
>><br>
>> ewr<br>
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