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

Tue Jun 2 06:26:53 UTC 2009

I didn't want to reply to this message for a variety of reasons, including
wanting to kill this thread... But then I thought about it and realized that
this conversation will be archived and googleable, so...  No, I'm not
condoning anything of the like -- my email should be an example of why you
should always reread your message and check to make sure that you don't have
2 comically orthognal thoughts munged together in the same sentence :/

On Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 7:27 PM, Dan Moore (danielmo) <danielmo at cisco.com>wrote:

>  By offering the nerd sex life driven children the best hope.. are you
> condoning child sexual abuse? Or is that just a… unfortunate side effect. :
> )
>
>
>
> *From:* noisebridge-discuss-bounces at lists.noisebridge.net [mailto:
> noisebridge-discuss-bounces at lists.noisebridge.net] *On Behalf Of *Praveen
> Sinha
> *Sent:* Monday, June 01, 2009 7:24 PM
> *To:* aestetix aestetix
> *Cc:* Noisebridge Discuss
> *Subject:* Re: [Noisebridge-discuss] unannounced groups of non-members at
> Noisebridge (esp. kids)
>
>
>
> 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...
> >
>
> > _______________________________________________
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>
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> >
> >
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>
>
>
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