[Noisebridge-discuss] unannounced groups of non-members at Noisebridge (esp. kids)

Tue Jun 2 02:23:48 UTC 2009

Okay just my cents:

 You guys are on crank (in a loveable way of course), we should be welcoming
the damn kids.  The issue is not that we need to be censoring ourselves or
changing the way that we are.

If a small 8 year old kid walks in noisebridge we should embrace them and
make sure they walk out with a pink mohawk, a tony the tiger eyebrow
piercing, a bad attitdue towards authority, and knowing how to solder
circuits or sling lines of ruby in their sleep.

And I am completely serious about this statement.

Further, if they are teenagers and they are already doomed to have a
horrible nerd sex life through school, then we offer them the best hope, and
they are /our/ best hope towards having a sane consensus built world and
mold paths on how to overcome the challenges ahead.  The fact that we aren't
there to shield them /is exactly/ the point.  We are here to be role models
to them in a world that otherwise will fear and shun them.

I, for one, would want to see noisebridge go ever further and reach out to
the kids in our immediate neighborhood who parents barely make rent, much
less get a laptop for their children.

Whether we can or want to have large groups at noisebridge seems orthogonal
to this issue.

In so far as 'adult' oriented charts on the wall etc... If parent's want to
bring their kids to NB, then they should deal with us on our terms :)

Cheers,
Praveen

On Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 3:01 PM, aestetix aestetix <aestetix at gmail.com>wrote:

> I think the real issue here is not that NB is "adult themed", but that it
> is NOT "kid themed". I can imagine a lot of people bringing their kids by
> with the illusion that NB is a public facing science fair exhibit, with all
> kinds of activities with a friendly nature geared towards children. After
> all, we were at the Maker Faire, right?
>
> Those same people could come to NB, expecting the same amount of
> extroversion and outgoingness that all the vendors at Maker Faire had, only
> to discover (1) there's a lot of discussion, conversation, swearing, etc
> that is not intended for children's ears (2) nobody is going to drop
> everything and gently explain what they're doing and get the kid involved.
>
> If such parents arrive with heightened expectations, they will be really
> disappointed, and even offended. I don't mind the occasional "can you tone
> it down a bit, my kid is here" from a member who brings their kid, but if
> the conversation and action turns into an expectation of targeting children,
> it will stifle a lot of what's going on. It's the same ethic that parents
> use when they mute their TV during a racy scene in a tv show because they
> don't want their kids exposed.
>
> Ultimately the fault of such conflicts is on the parents/teachers for being
> retarded. I would almost be in favor of a monthly "open house" for the
> public, but that puts pressure on people to create projects for kids to see,
> and also turns noisebridge into a museum of exhibits, which it isn't. I
> don't want to be completely xenophobic, but I also don't think we need to
> overextend ourselves to people who ultimately contribute nothing and are
> there to gawk.
>
> aestetix
>
>
> On Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 2:39 PM, Christie Dudley <longobord at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Well, the determination to keep plans, once made, might propel them into
>> our space on Weise.  Ever had a kid you told you were going to do something
>> fun and then not done it?  Besides, it's only a few hundred feet to our door
>> - barely enough distance to get nervous and turn back, especially if you
>> aren't observant.
>>
>> As for adult themes, I was thinking specifically of the Arse Technica
>> poster at the top of the stairs and the "map of kink" at the bottom of the
>> stairs.  Not a question of nudity or whatnot, so much as "what does that
>> mean?" questions that are hard to answer.  (Although it doesn't take a lot
>> of imagination to interpret the Arse Technica poster.)
>>
>> Although Kelly's comment illustrates my point pretty well.  Many of us are
>> not accustomed to having children around and don't really even notice things
>> that most parents worry about.  Many of the parents associated with our
>> space are pretty cool with their kids and the exposures they have, but this
>> doesn't translate to all parents.  I think it's an excellent thing to do to
>> give people enough information to make an informed decision for themselves
>> and any children they may be responsible for.
>>
>> Christie
>>
>> ---
>> "I want us all to think about new and creative ways to engage young people
>> in science and engineering, whether it's science festivals, robotics
>> competitions, fairs that encourage young people to create and build and
>> invent -- to be makers of things, not just consumers of things."
>>
>> - President Obama in address to National Academy of Sciences April 27,
>> 2009
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 2:25 PM, Kelly <hurtstotouchfire at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> See, here's one of the perks of our location.  If they can make it
>>> down Weiss, I'm not sure we can offend them.
>>>
>>> Incidentally, I don't particularly think that Noisebridge is "adult
>>> themed" at present, but I would welcome a decor trend in that
>>> direction.  And as to warning people on the wiki, I guess I'd say do
>>> what thou wilst.
>>>
>>> -K
>>>
>>> On Thu, May 28, 2009 at 7:41 PM, Christie Dudley <longobord at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> > It seems to me that "policy" would be the wrong word to use in a place
>>> where
>>> > the running paradigm is "do what thou wilst".  If people feel like
>>> letting
>>> > folks into the space, then that will probably happen.
>>> >
>>> > It strikes me as wise to have maybe a page on the wiki advising
>>> potential
>>> > guests of what to expect in the space.  I can see difficult situations
>>> > avoided if parents understand that we prominently display adult themed
>>> > materials as well as our "use your own judgement" safety policy.  Maybe
>>> > getting a visitor contact up there who can make arrangements to meet
>>> them
>>> > would be neat.
>>> >
>>> > Then again who reads the wiki anyway.  People will continue to come
>>> > unannounced and unprepared.
>>> >
>>> > On May 28, 2009 5:40 PM, "Josh Myer" <josh at joshisanerd.com> wrote:
>>> >
>>> > On Thu, May 28, 2009 at 05:36:40PM -0700, Seth David Schoen wrote: >
>>> > Christoph Maier writes: > > > ...
>>> >
>>> > They've clearly picked up the hope others have abandoned on the hack
>>> > shelf.
>>> >
>>> > (It's stashed behind the dead CD-ROM drives, if you've missed it)
>>> > --
>>> > Josh Myer   650.248.3796
>>> >  josh at joshisanerd.com
>>> >
>>> > _______________________________________________ Noisebridge-discuss
>>> mailing
>>> > list Noisebridge-discuss...
>>> >
>>> > _______________________________________________
>>> > Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
>>> > Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
>>> > https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
>>> >
>>> >
>>>
>>
>>
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>
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