[Noisebridge-discuss] non-excellent couch behavior

Kelly hurtstotouchfire at gmail.com
Fri Nov 13 15:30:09 UTC 2009


At some point last week, some people moved one of the couches up on
top of the darkroom.  Haha, do-ocracy prevails, we all appreciate you
taking initiative.

However, the darkroom is not totally light-tight yet and we still need
to do construction on the ceiling, so this is highly inconvenient.
Additionally, even once the darkroom is completed, this isn't a great
idea.  We certainly feel that some of that space can be used for
storage, but anything that would involve people climbing up there
frequently will probably shift the ceiling and create light leaks.
We've currently been working on caulking the cracks between the boards
to eliminate the remaining light leaks, but if people are going up
there all of the time, this could be a never-ending problem.
Furthermore, we need to install a ventilation duct up there, and that
will be even harder to keep light-tight.

More furthermore, would any of those involved in the construction of
the ceiling care to comment on the safety of this venture?  I'm not
actually informed about that myself.  Several non-darkroom people
expressed concern about this, and discomfort with the couch being up
there.

So, last night Andy, Jason, Meredith, Sai (?) and I took the couch
back down and returned it to the couch circle.  Many people expressed
gratitude at its return.  And thus do-ocracy prevailed again.

Apparently sometime last night the couch was returned to the roof of
the darkroom, and... screwed into place? (I'm in disbelief)

If you feel that none of our concerns about having the couch up there
are valid, then please discuss them with us before manifesting your
will again, because it's clear that not everyone is in agreement.
Furthermore, we could use some reasons why the couch needs to be up
there at all.  And if in the end, a significant contingent of people
still feels that your arguments for the couch's belonging on the
darkroom are not sufficient then you need to take one for the team.
Sometimes we have to not get our way so that people will feel safe and
welcome in the space.

At this point I'm having serious doubts about my ability to be
involved in Noisebridge long term.  There's a lot that I enjoy about
it, and I've actually been getting more involved lately, and trying to
make a point of contributing to welcoming new people and peacemaking
during various episodes of douchebaggery.  But it seems, often, like
our one rule "Be excellent to each other" is too vague for some
members (or space-goers) to understand.  I'm not threatening to quit,
but this really upsets me.  This kind of behavior is turning
Noisebridge into the kind of place that lots of really productive,
contributing members feel the need to distance themselves from,
because a few people seem to think that the rules apply to them
differently.

To be fair, we all know that some of our membership doesn't always see
the opportunity to be excellent on the first try.  Or, apparently, the
second.  I encourage whoever was involved to take the opportunity now,
and I think that they also owe the space reparation for their
persistently thoughtless behavior.  For instance, you could take the
couch back down and bring this up for discussion in a meeting.

-Kelly



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