[Noisebridge-discuss] nycresistor doc

[Noah Balmer]

Hello noisebridge folks.
Good to meet some of you in the park today.
Raphael (of nycresistor <http://www.nycresistor.com>) asked me to forward
this to the list.  It's a rough plan of how the resistors do stuff.  Its not
a final document, but it might have a few good ideas to consider for
noisebridge.



We are a group of dedicated people who learn, share, and make things.


I. Create a community of Hackers/Geeks where they can:

   1.

   Work on projects.
   2.

   Get help on projects they are working on.
   3.

   Hangout with one another.
   4.

   And most importantly teach one another.
   1.

      Hackers teaching Hackers
      2.

      Flow of Knowledge
      5.

   Has no formalized leader but rather
   1.

      Completely run by the community with a core group of people who
      act as a support system and assume more responsibility.
      2.

      Jobs are delegated to people who want to/are best at doing it
      3.

      The goal here is to be a self governing collaborative group
      6.

   Has manageable drama!


II. Create a Space that facilitates the above that also

   1.

   Has tools to work on projects
   1.

      Especially those that are too expensive/big for people to own
      themselves.  If we get something like a laser cutter, we're
going to have to
      have a group of people who are qualified to use it so that it doesn't get
      broken or abused.
      2.

      I hope that our biggest problem is overuse and we'll have to
      cross that bridge when we get to it.
      2.

   Has multiple rooms so people can work on many projects, without
   interfering with one another.
   3.

   Has a large main room for public meetings
   4.

   Is completely own or rented by the llc.
   1.

      Is paid for my the members and not by sponsorships of any sort.
      2.

      This is important so that we can be sustainable.
      3.

      Das Labor got a grant for helping young people learn
      electronics... there may be something like that for us to raise funds for
      equipment.
      4.

      Someone who is willing to write grants would be a great addition
      to our group!
      5.

   Be open to the public while maintaining control and preventing theft
   1.

      This is also very hard in America, not to mention NYC.
      2.

      We will probably be semi-public as this idea really isn't tested
      here.
      3.

      In order to come in, a person must be either a member or invited
      to come in by a member. Parties and such things are exceptions
to be dealt
      with on a case by case basis.



III. Connect with other communities and spaces.

   1.

   Develop infrastructure for connecting with other hacker spaces.
   2.

   Have events.
   3.

   Learn from other communities.


IV. Fund Raising (no order) (please expand/collapse on all of these)

   1.

   Classes
   2.

   Drinks
   1.

      Hacker Beverages
      1.

         Club-Mate
         2.

         Bawls
         3.

         Jolt
         4.

         Sorry, no beer.
         3. Custom Printed candies idea
      1. Use reprap to print chocolate or other candy in custom shapes
      and images
   4.

   Vending Machines
   1.

      Provides Snacks (possibly NYCresistor branded)
      2.

      Small Electronics Kits and parts
      3.
      5.

   Work Shops
   6.

   Advertisements? (google adwords)
   7.

   Events (Conferences, parties)
   8.

   Donations
   9.

   Membership Fees
   1.

      $40 ($42 makes you a cool cat)
      10.

   Grants
   1.

      We need to file as a non-profit to be applicable to most grants

V. Membership Structure

   1.

   Core Members
   1. Definition:  Core Members (Managing Members if required to be
      called as such by law) are ultimately responsible, as a group,
for the key
      management duties of the space, such as (but not limited to):
         - Determining standards of conduct to be followed by the
         members and those using the physical location of NYC Resistor
(hereafter
         "the space")
         - Managing the finances of the group and responsibly
         administering the financial obligations associated with the
space, including
         ordering supplies, etc.
         - Ensuring the availability of the space and its resources
         for the convenience of the members
         - Fostering a positive, inclusive environment and
         encouraging public interaction and service
         - Conflict resolution between members, the immediate
         community and the public at large
         1.

      Core Members are elevated to Core Membership Status by:
      1. Nomination by petition of at least 50% of the Membership
         2. Elevation by unanimous consensus of the Core members OR
         by written, signed petition of at least 80% of ALL the members
      2. Core Members lose Core Membership Status by:
         1. Resigning from their position as a Core Member
         2. Two, consecutive unanimous vote of ALL other Core
         Members.  Both votes to dismiss a Core Member must be held
with 24 hours
         notice to ALL members in order to provide ALL members a
chance to comment
         before the Core Membership.  Votes must also be held at least 48 hours
         apart.  (So it takes a minimum of three days to remove a Core
Member.)
         3. Written, signed petition of at least 90% of ALL the
         members
         4. Failing to fulfill all the obligations of a Regular
         Member for two consecutive months
         3.

      The Core Membership, by unanimous consensus, determines the
      roles, duties and titles of each of the Core Members.
      1.

         These roles and duties shall be publicly posted on the
         Internet and in a conspicuous place in the group's physical location.
         2.

         The Core Membership must advise all members when changes
         in duties are being contemplated and invite comment from all
the members.
         While the Core Membership may reassign duties as needed on an
emergency
         basis, such as in the event of the resignation or dismissal of a Core
         Member, changes in permanent duties must be posted for at
least seven days
         before becoming effective.  ALL members must be allowed to
comment on said
         changes before the Core Membership before they become effective.
         3. The Core Membership must reassign the roles, duties and
         titles of each of the Core Members upon election, dismissal
or resignation
         of a Core Member.
         4.

      These members do not have complete control of the group, they
      are merely a guiding hand, and people who have devoted themselves to the
      cause.
      2.

   Regular Members - membership fee + duties
   1. Members can be invited by any other member (Key thing to remember
      here: You have to enable the public to interface with the
members, provide
      plenty of opportunity for "someone off the street" to get
involved with the
      group.  You might want to consider a mandatory public membership meeting
      where members are required to show off what they're doing...kind
of like a
      monthly Maker Faire sort of a thing.  It should be easy as hell
to nominate
      a cool person for membership.)
      2. Members are required to pay monthly dues, set annually by the
      membership at their Annual Meeting
         1. Members who fall one month behind in dues shall be
         issued a notice by the relevant Core Member.
         2. Members who fall two months behind in dues (without a
         waiver) are automatically considered "inactive".  The Core
Membership shall
         maintain an "inactive" members list publicly available for
viewing by ALL
         members.
         3. Members who are "inactive" for one month and remain a
         resident of the NYC area may have their membership terminated
for nonpayment
         by majority vote of the Core Membership.
         4. Waivers of dues may be considered for those who fall on
         economic hardship or leave the NYC area for an extended
period of time.
         Such waivers may be approved by unanimous consent of the Core
Membership or
         written, signed petition by 80% of ALL members.
         3. Has almost all the same rights as a core member
         1. Just can't hold a management level position
      4. Duties
         1. Cleaning up the space
         2. Keeping the order
         3. Creating Super Kick Ass Projects -- I think they should
         also have the right to head project/study groups. (provided
they have the
         knowledge and ability to do so)
         4. Spreading the word of NYC Resistor.
         5. Promoting hacker spaces creation in the US
         6. Help Raise money
         7. and above all else, BE HELPFUL TO OTHERS
      5. Privileges (Privileges, specifically defined ones, should
      come with applicable duties.  WHO GETS KEYS is really important here.  At
      first, you will only want Core Members to have keys, but a
process in place
      for allowing a person to get a key should be implemented.)
      3. Resistor Alumni & Honorary Members (Optional Membership Fee)
   - Probably best to call those who were members and leave NYC to go somewhere
   else for work, etc. as "Alumni" and those like Nick Farr/Eliot Philips, etc.
   "Honorary Members" unless we pay dues, etc.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.noisebridge.net/pipermail/noisebridge-discuss/attachments/20080427/6fa57b2c/attachment-0002.html>