[Noisebridge-discuss] Pony & membership

[John Magolske]

* Sai Emrys <noisebridge at saizai.com> [090907 12:47]:
> just to point out another resource/privilege that's currently
> members-only: shelf space.

There was an informal consensus when we began having shelves for
individuals (before we had a defined consensus process IIRC) that a
member gets to write their name on one shelf so as to have a place
to stash their tools, projects in process, etc, differentiating said
items from commonly shared tools and hackable stuff.

I do hope that we continue with this policy going forward. The new
space is larger, but it is finite. There will likely not be enough
shelves for any and all visitors who'd like one. Already there are Nb
members who don't have a shelf at 83c as there are no vacant shelves
left. An informal "homesteading" policy around this strikes me as
leading to sub-optimal dynamics where people are able to secure shelf
space based solely on their ability to grab sooner and more decisively
than others.

> Re. the new member FAQ, this line seems inaccurate from my undesrtanding:
> >     * Participation in consensus decision making about issues
> >     and matters dealing with the space during our weekly meetings.
> Doesn't everyone present participate, and it's just members can also
> block? 

I like Mitch's take that consensus is not so much about blocking,
but more about dialog and conversation between holders of differing
opinions regarding how things should be done so that we don't *need*
to block. Blocking is a last resort.

But blocking a conveniently discrete and definable action. And by now,
everyone has repeated "...the only privilege membership provides is
the ability to block" so often & with such conviction that these words
seem to carry the weight of being engraved in stone by the hand of
$deity.

Of course any member can talk to anyone else on the planet to gain
perspective on a given issue we're working through at Nb. And there
are people who've brought a lot to the community over time but haven't
gone through the actual process of becoming a member (sometimes due to
financial constraints). But is the discussion/dialog/debate portion
of our consensus process (the major portion) truly open to anyone who
happens to walk through the door Tuesday evening?

- John


-- 
John Magolske
http://B79.net/contact