[Noisebridge-discuss] [Noisebridge-announce] Noisebridge: Death and Taxes

Wed Dec 22 03:19:43 UTC 2010

I am an older member no longer active. 

But I am struck that nowhere in this discussion have I heard of an end of the year Noisebridge push for year end donations (especially from members whose companies do matching donations). 

As a non-profit, during the peak end of year/holiday donation period this seems shortsighted. 

Surely there are a few members who work for corporations? 

Or who just could use a year end tax write-off?

Shannon

Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 21, 2010, at 6:47 PM, Sai <noisebridge at saizai.com> wrote:

> I think doing this would require also changing the hypothetical rules
> from "everyone has a veto"* to some sort of voting situation.
> 
> * Yeah yeah, I know the whole consensus spiel. It's nice in theory,
> for smaller groups. But be honest, it's hypothetical at best; honest
> consensus/negotiation/deescalation ain't how it actually works here.
> 
> I also think that there are enough die-hards, with vetos in the
> current system, that there is no way in hell it will ever happen. I
> don't see a solution to that, other than to completely deprecate
> membership, which I think is a poor "solution".
> 
> 
> preemptive 'cause if I don't I'll get jumped on: No I don't think that
> everything should be done by the rules. In fact I think they're barely
> relevant.
> 
> But I also think that they represent the culture - in this case a
> confrontational perversion of consensus - and are the primary reason
> that I am the only person to ever have been denied membership.
> (Because people had ideas about what I might veto, and thus that
> allowing me to have it [by being a member] would endanger the
> functionality of process. Which I find terribly ironic/amusing/sad.)
> 
> - Sai
> 
> On Tue, Dec 21, 2010 at 7:56 PM, aditya bhargava
> <bluemangroupie at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I agree that Noisebridge has a high bar for entry, and I have heard of many
>> people being put off by the exclusivity that we portray. It's unfortunate
>> because AFAIK we want the exact opposite effect; Noisebridge is supposed to
>> be friendly and open to newcomers. I think Hacker Dojo charges $100 per
>> month. I would be willing to pay that to transform NB to a more cooperative,
>> more orderly, lower-drama space. But I also think that would require a
>> drastic change in how we operate, and the anarchy at NB would make that
>> tough (ironically).
>> 
>> Adit
>> 
>> On Tue, Dec 21, 2010 at 4:58 PM, - <noisebridge at splattercast.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi All,
>>> Please consider reading and re-reading Patrick Keys' apparently-prescient
>>> note from Yesterday on the subject of Noisebridge (non)-management and money
>>> matters generally.
>>> I've tried to belong. I want to. There is no entry vector other than sheer
>>> force and willpower.
>>> This may work for some die-hards. I don't want to work that hard to fit
>>> in, and i think many others do not, either.
>>> Anarchy is fun as long as someone else is paying the bills, but a little
>>> bit of order and organization can be extremely useful, at least in reducing
>>> the amount of thinking and re-thinking that seem to go on here.
>>> I've had some exposure to the Hacker Dojo in Mountain View. It costs money
>>> to get in the door there. But it costs way less than most other comparable
>>> "spaces" and it's not run by some nasty corporate thingy. In exchange for
>>> that, the members seem to spend all or most of their time there, doing their
>>> own projects, not fussing about "managing" the place.
>>> As an outsider (and now probably, outcast), it appears that noisebridge
>>> spends a lot of time managing noisebridge...
>>> You want to kill that burn rate, make a few policies that stick, and
>>> create a coherent and actually-operating means of joining. I think i wrote
>>> my name on a piece of paper in a little binder three or more months ago...
>>> then what? I have no clue.
>>> - jim
>>> 
>>> On Dec 20, 2010, at 5:39 PM, Shannon Lee wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi All,
>>> 
>>> We have a problem.
>>> Actually, I think we have several problems, but we have one major
>>> manifestation of our problem:  We are broke.  We are not going to be able to
>>> pay February's rent at the current rate of input/output.  We're currently
>>> taking in about $2500/month in dues & donations, and we're spending about
>>> $5000 in rent and utilities and whatnot.  This is a dramatic drop-off from
>>> this summer, when we were doing a little better than breaking even.
>>> So, no joke, Noisebridge may close its doors in February, unless we can
>>> solve our problem.  This is way past the time for "let's have a party and
>>> charge money!" -- the thing we need is for people who don't want Noisebridge
>>> to close to reach into their wallets and shell out some cash.  Some of you
>>> will have noticed the new donation box with a sign that says "It costs $165
>>> per day to keep us open" -- this is true, $165 per day is our burn rate;
>>> this means we need roughly two full members, or four "starving hacker"
>>> members, to pay for every day we're open; this works out to 60 "full"
>>> members or 120 "starving hacker" members, or some combination thereof.
>>> Ways to donate are spelled out on the wiki here:
>>> https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Donate_or_Pay_Dues
>>> They come down to: we take cash, checks, paypal and straight up
>>> bank-transfer.
>>> If you are not sure about having a committed relationship with Noisebridge
>>> (I know, commitment is scary) consider sponsoring a day:
>>> https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/SponsorADay
>>> For those of you who are confused about the membership process -- being a
>>> member of Noisebridge costs $80 per month.  If you're a regular user of the
>>> space, you should become a member.  Membership can be either formal (in
>>> which case you have a voice in political processes) or informal (wherein you
>>> simply donate money to the space, but don't participate in decision making);
>>> if you are only interested in supporting the space, simply start donating
>>> $80 per month; if you want to be a formal member, ask a member for details,
>>> or attend a Tuesday meeting.
>>> Please support us or we will be gone, and soon.
>>> Thanks for your time,
>>> --S
>>> --
>>> Shannon Lee
>>> (503) 539-3700
>>> 
>>> "Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> Noisebridge-announce at lists.noisebridge.net
>>> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-announce
>>> 
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
>>> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
>>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> wefoundland.com
>> 
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>> 
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