[Noisebridge-discuss] Access control and the DJ booth

madhatter m4dh4tt3r at gmail.com
Wed Sep 30 22:03:54 UTC 2009


Monkey knife fight!

On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 14:15, Christie Dudley <longobord at gmail.com> wrote:
> I think we need some anarchist violence in the space to spark off a heated
> debate next time.
>
> Christie
> ---
> Pigs can fly given sufficient thrust.
>     - RFC 1925
>
>
> On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 2:13 PM, Ani Niow <v at oneletterwonder.com> wrote:
>>
>> Is it just me or do we seem to have a lot of mailing list drama right
>> before a big event that introduces a lot of new people to Noisebridge? The
>> thread about kids happened right before Maker Faire and this is happening
>> right before Arse and our anniversary. It's almost like we want people to
>> see us at our most argumentative.
>> Any ideas on how to top this for the next time a big Noisebridge related
>> event happens?
>>
>> -Ani
>>
>>
>> 2009/9/30 Dr. Jesus <j at hug.gs>
>>>
>>> There was some discussion earlier tonight about putting a gate on the
>>> DJ booth. Although I wasn't planning on doing it anytime soon, I
>>> thought I'd write up my thoughts to prompt some discussion because I'm
>>> not sure I covered all the details earlier tonight.
>>>
>>> Basically, I thought it would be nice if we repurposed one of the
>>> gates and installed it in front of an enclosed area, probably the DJ
>>> booth.  I don't know whether I should install a lock or not, but if I
>>> did it would be keyed to the same key used for the rest of the locks
>>> at Noisebridge.  Door access would be audited by timestamp only, so
>>> anonymity concerns would only apply to the same degree they did with
>>> noisedoor (and no one has complained to me so far.)
>>>
>>> Locks in the space are a touchy subject, which is why I mention using
>>> the door keys.  This requires people who want access to the resources
>>> in there to participate in the existing web of trust model we use for
>>> access to the rest of the space.  It's not strong security by any
>>> means: I'm sure someone's going to program the makerbot to spit out
>>> keys in the near future.  Think of it more as an IQ test.  I honestly
>>> don't know whether the idea of installing a lock keyed to the door
>>> keys is offensive, so apologies in advance if it is.  The alternative
>>> is using an unlocked doorknob set and that's nearly as good, since the
>>> main thing about the gate is it provides a fixture on which a magnetic
>>> access sensor can be installed.
>>>
>>> There are several justifications for doing this.  First of all, it
>>> allows the computers hosted there to be troubleshot more effectively
>>> because the door access can be correlated with system failures.
>>> Today, it is not possible to reliably tell the difference between a
>>> hardware problem and someone using the machines for self education.
>>> There have already been two such situations at 2169: the DSL modem
>>> resetting and storage problems on pony.
>>>
>>> Second, it allows people who want to temporarily store expensive or
>>> medically related things at Noisebridge to have a some level of
>>> assurance that access to the gear is mostly limited to people included
>>> in the existing web of trust built out of the physical key
>>> distribution.  For example, when we host an event there will sometimes
>>> be objects present in the space which cannot comply with our general
>>> policy of being available for hacking.  Again, this is not so much
>>> about securing the gear as making sure that there's a mechanism for
>>> knowing -- possibly in real time -- when someone's been in there.  If
>>> what I heard about the last party is true, I think our average
>>> gathering might be pretty chaotic and it might be a good idea to have
>>> some island of stability where we can put things without worrying
>>> about drunken partygoers.
>>>
>>> Third, I think it would be a good idea to have a backup fire
>>> extinguisher, flashlight, and first aid kit in an area with access
>>> logging just in case the ones in the space are tampered with.  Sure,
>>> there's no guarantee that someone's not going to screw with the
>>> backups too, but I think it's less likely to happen accidentally due
>>> to chair hockey.  I also think it would be nice if the safety critical
>>> controllers like the fire and flood alarms are access audited so that
>>> when access is logged unexpectedly someone can go check them out to
>>> make sure a rat didn't get in there and eat them.  Being able to trust
>>> the integrity of those controllers isn't just nice, it has real world
>>> financial consequences.  I don't want to give an adjuster an excuse to
>>> bone us on a claim because we don't have reliable safety equipment in
>>> the space.  This is doubly important if we get that laser cutter that
>>> was discussed recently.
>>>
>>> Fourth, I found myself needing to have a private conversation earlier
>>> tonight on my netbook and I couldn't find a place at 2169 where there
>>> was reliable Internet, privacy, and distance from the noise being made
>>> on the far side of the space.  In my case the bathroom would have
>>> raised some uncomfortable questions since it was a video chat.  I'm
>>> sure other people might find it convenient to have a place to have
>>> less than public conversations as well.
>>>
>>> The bottom line is, do you care and if you do, do you want the gate to
>>> be lockable or not?  Please vote along with your (civil) comments.  If
>>> this rubs you the wrong way and you'd like to tell me to eat a dick,
>>> let's keep that off the mailing list.  I can send you my mailing
>>> address for cock-related packages privately.
>>>
>>> To preempt some points I think might come up:
>>>
>>>  - Yes, I have been treating parts of the DJ booth as my personal
>>> shelf, mainly because I had to store a few bulky and easy to lose
>>> items I'm using for working with the locks and controllers.  Most of
>>> those will go away in the near future because they're going to be
>>> bolted to a wall somewhere.  I'm planning on continuing to keep the
>>> remaining items (lock rekeying set, repair kit, glassware) out of the
>>> way in the DJ booth and have any personal projects on a regular shelf
>>> elsewhere.
>>>
>>>  - I am in no way married to the idea of enclosing the DJ booth in
>>> particular for satisfying the use cases above.  Any other area would
>>> be fine.
>>>
>>>  - Yes, even without locking the gate, adding access logging could be
>>> interpreted as a lack of mutual trust between members and our guests
>>> and this could have a chilling effect on our interactions.  I'm not
>>> going to rebut this because that interpretation is an opinion.
>>> However, I should point out that we did basically the same thing at
>>> 83c on a coarser scale with noisedoor and as far as I know that
>>> chilling effect didn't occur.
>>>
>>>  - Yes, I know the current staircase is mechanically incompatible with
>>> the available gates.
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
>>> Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
>>> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
>>
>>
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-- 
Christopher Nielsen
"They who can give up essential liberty for temporary
safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin



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