[Noisebridge-discuss] Charging for classes at Noisebridge

[Leif Ryge]

On 07/16/2010 01:06 PM, Christie Dudley wrote:
> Historically, people have objected to charging for classes for two reasons:
> 1) There's an implied restriction on access to the class area for those who
> have not paid for the class.  Traditionally, we've maintained that the
> entire space remain open to the entire community without having to pay to
> gain access to any part.
> 2) People who have donated money and who pay dues to see Noisebridge remain
> afloat feel it's inappropriate for people to make money based on their
> donations.

My primary objection to charging for classes is neither of those two.
It is this:
Charging a fee, or even a "suggested donation", is a barrier to entry. 
I'm certain that many people have benefited from participating in 
classes at NB who would not have been able to if there was a fee. Having 
a low-income option (or even free-if-you-ask option) is much better than 
not, but having to ask someone for a discount still sucks and many 
people just won't.

I've always told people that all classes and events at Noisebridge are 
free of charge, except cost of materials. From the replies so far in 
this thread, it sounds like recently that has not been accurate and it 
may not be in the future. That saddens me.

At the same time, I know that Michael Shiloh and Josh Myer and lots of 
other people in our community are not only awesome teachers but also 
puny human beings, and as such they require food and shelter etc to 
continue living.

So, I'd like to propose an alternate method by which people can make 
money (maybe even lots) teaching classes at Noisebridge:

1) Announce a potential class you would like to teach, along with the 
minimum amount you need to get paid for it to happen and the date(s) 
you're available to teach it.

2) Solicit monetary pledges (perhaps on our wiki, or on kickstarter, or 
elsewhere) from people who want it to happen (most of these will 
probably be from potential students, but not necessarily).

3) When the pledges reach (or exceed!) your threshold, announce to the 
world that there will be a *free* class at Noisebridge open to anyone 
who would like to attend.

4) Profit! (: don't forget to donate to NB :)

~leif