[Noisebridge-discuss] personal computers at Noisebridge (was Re: Missing Green Bike /w Red Grips.)

[Patrick Keys]

The distinction is that Quagga is a public computer that belongs to 
Noisebridge. Isky's computer is Isky's personal computer to exercise 
"owners priority" over.  Nobody should have to ask permission to use a 
public computer in a public hackerspace.  To repeat what Ruben and 
several others told me before: you don't loan stuff to Noisebridge.  You 
either donate it or put it away when you're not using it.

If it were a laptop that could be easily moved, that'd be one thing. 
Many people leave their laptops and netbooks at Noisebridge all the 
time.  When they are in the way, people just move them aside.

But what Isky's done is put his personal gaming computer on a desk, 
accompanied by a note that it belongs to him, effectively declaring that 
space as his personal territory.  It's not Isky's personal office.  It's 
public Noisebridge space.  Same deal with the bike: he leaves his 
personal bike up at Noisebridge, taking up public space, and then gets 
upset when somebody moves it.

Regardless of his intent - and I don't necessarily think Isky has bad 
intentions... that Isky only posts messages about his own personal 
immediate needs indirectly says to others that the only person Isky 
really cares about is himself. And that's less than excellent, to say 
the least.  But I repeat: I don't necessarily think Isky intends to come 
across that way.

On a positive note, on seldom occasion I see Isky with his netbook 
actually sitting outside the Turing classroom with everybody else.  If 
he took the gaming computer home or donated it, and spent more time 
communicating with everybody else in the common areas, that would be 
more excellent.

(This is my hopefully my final post on this matter.  To respect others, 
based on the traffic this list generates, I now keep myself on a 
personal quota for messages I post in a given 24-hour period.  I've damn 
near reached it.)


Patrick



On 2/3/2011 5:33 AM, Jake wrote:
> if a computer is set up at noisebridge, and is available to be used by
> anyone at any time, unless someone else is already using it, it is a
> de-facto "public computer".
>
> if Isky has not exercised "owners priority" over other people who are
> using the computer when he shows up, the computer is being used in a
> public way.
>
> It is my understanding that the computer is not password-protected against
> use by the public, and Isky does not ask people to Step Aside any more
> than Miloh does so on Quagga (near the spectrum monitor) so the only
> issues I can identify are as follows:
>
> 1. some people apparently have personal differences with Isky
> 2. some people may be chaffed by Isky being set up in Turing
> 3. some people may wish they could spend as much time at Noisebridge.
>
> I think we should all ask ourselves if we could be spending our energy
> more productively and interestingly than even talking about this.
>
> For example - the wheelchair robot needs a Kinect for a head, so it can
> tell what it's about to run over.  Who will be its next programmer?
>
> -jake
>
> ---- someone wrote ----
>
>
>       isky shares his computer with others, and seems to
> me pretty freely.
>
>       maybe define "the issue": i'm guessing something
> like "some of us are pissed off that you've been
> keeping your personal computer in that spot for so
> long." (is that right?)
>       whatever the issue definition, thence a
> discussion. i don't mind these long, boring email
> storms because they seem part of being here and with
> each other, one way to work things out.
>
>
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