[Noisebridge-discuss] Charging for classes at Noisebridge

[Tymm Twillman]

Just some thoughts from the peanut gallery...

It might be worth looking at how other spaces that have successful & really good classes do things... (i'm familiar with NYC Resistor, and classes there from what I've seen are done very well, though admittedly they're targeted towards a different community)

also, to satisfy the wish to have things benefit the community as a whole, (maybe?) want to consider as a requirement for paid classes that all class notes / handouts be licensed CC-sharealike or similar and uploaded to the wiki...  possibly with exceptions in remarkable, agreed-on circumstances... this might discourage some really good folks from teaching classes @ Noisebridge, but it could be a worthwhile tradeoff, depending on community expectations.  that could also provide opportunities for those who can't afford or are otherwise unable to attend the classes to benefit.

On Jul 16, 2010, at 4:13 PM, Albert Sweigart wrote:

> I see your point. I only recommended the secretary handle setting the
> fees & scheduling the rooms etc. as a matter of expediency rather than
> go through the consensus process. Basically, someone who would be on
> point for handling the logistics, and bringing any matters up to the
> weekly meeting as they came up (and handling the rest of the small
> stuff by himself.) This wouldn't be for all classes of course, but
> whenever a regularly occurring class is held with the aim of
> generating more-than-the-costs profit for the instructor. (Which I
> don't even think has ever happened at NB to date.)
> 
> There's a lot of wiggle room for basic judgment calls and common
> sense, and I think the secretary would be the person to make any calls
> when needed, or delegate to the weekly meeting when needed. Basically
> an informal responsibility rather than establishing a process.
> 
> -Al
> 
> On Fri, Jul 16, 2010 at 1:04 PM, Josh Myer <josh at joshisanerd.com> wrote:
>> On Fri, Jul 16, 2010 at 12:25 PM, Albert Sweigart <asweigart at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> I'm for for-pay classes at Noisebridge where they are to get people
>>> invested in the close and/or cover the classes expenses. Though I like
>>> and encourage free and open workshops, I also support (for lack of a
>>> better word) more commercial classes at Noisebridge (though in that
>>> case Noisebridge should be getting money for providing a venue.)
>>> 
>>> Either way, I think this is something that the secretary should
>>> coordinate and make decisions on.
>>> 
>> 
>> I agree with you that all classes should cover the cost of their consumables
>> somehow, and ideally donate more.  We should make some suggestions about
>> this, and make sure people understand the need.  If we as class organizers
>> don't cover the costs, Noisebridge becomes unsustainable.  That said, a
>> for-pay class is no different than any other event in the space, and follows
>> the same one rule: be excellent.  This includes not being a drain on NB
>> resources, nor feeling entitled to resources any more than any workshop or
>> class is.  Our community is smart enough to appreciate and avoid the tragedy
>> of the commons, but we may need to remind people of that.
>> I strongly disagree that making requirements for classes is the secretary's
>> purview.  The issue of whether or not to regulate what happens in the space
>> is clearly a consensus item, as it's not (to my knowledge) in the bylaws to
>> regulate, it would affect the space as a whole, and would affect the
>> finances of the organization.
>> I also believe that regulating it preemptively is solving a problem we don't
>> have yet, so we should hold off on that.  Moreover, this is a social
>> problem, and I would remind those of us who were around for the epic "How do
>> we kick people out?" meetings at 83C remember how difficult it was to design
>> rules to regulate social norms.  It's far better that we continue to
>> regulate the norms the way we have been: discuss what we believe them to be,
>> set expectations with each other, and then make it clear to individuals that
>> they have the power to step in when situations warrant.  This model has
>> served us pretty well for the past year and a half, though all sorts of
>> situations a set of rules would have been hard-pressed to capture.
>> The one for-pay class we've had at Noisebridge was clearly a net-win for the
>> space, entirely on the instructor's (my) own recognizance.  It's quite
>> reasonable to believe anyone serious enough to organize and run a for-pay
>> class at the space will be similarly responsible.  If they're not, there are
>> plenty of opportunities for people to have a chat with them, understand the
>> overall situation, and then bring it up to the membership for action if it's
>> warranted.  We're going to have to go through that process whether or not we
>> make rules, and anything the rules would enumerate are already covered by
>> the fuzzy judgements people would have.
>> --
>> Josh Myer 650.248.3796
>> josh at joshisanerd.com
>> 
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