[Noisebridge-discuss] tonights meeting, banning Jay

[Jake]

At last weeks' meeting, there were a number of people who were on-board 
with permanently 86ing Jay, the person who spilled beer on Kayla's 
computer and many other non-excellent actions and episodes.

I specifically and repeatedly expressed that I was proposing a permanent 
ban, and a few people stated that they would block on principle, saying 
that banning someone is a consensus item that requires a week's advance 
notice for discussion.  After the meeting, I spoke with Jason (i think) 
who agreed that a permanent ban was appropriate and walked toward the 
notetaker stating that he would make sure the weeklong process would 
begin.  I don't see my proposal mentioned anywhere in the meeting notes 
but I did make the proposal and I think people should consider that 
proposal tonight.

I will not be attending the meeting, because of something else happening. 
But I wasn't the only one who thought we had had enough of Jay, and aside 
from folks playing Devil's advocate (to a fault) i think we had consensus 
last week.  Either way, here are some things to consider:

Jay said "Last Night Duncan spilled a beer on Kayla's computer, then tried 
to blame it on me. I was nowhere near him nor was I anywhere near the 
computer."
https://www.noisebridge.net/pipermail/noisebridge-discuss/2011-September/024790.html

Kayla said "Last night at noisebridge a man known as to me as Jay was 
inebriated and spilled beer on to my $ 3000 15in Macbook Pro."
https://www.noisebridge.net/pipermail/noisebridge-discuss/2011-September/024794.html

Duncan said "Last night he was very intoxicated and, as I sat next to 
Kayla on the couch eating a burrito and enjoying the 1 beer I got with it, 
he came over to get a laptop off the table and wanted to apologize for an 
outburst he had at me earlier.  All fine and good until he decided he 
wanted a hug from me, comes over into me sitting down after I'd verbally 
thanked but declined, stumbles on a power cord, and drunkenly slurs/knocks 
into me... knocking the newly opened beer in my hand and splashing it all 
into the keyboard of Kayla's Macbook Pro laptop.  Seeing it was his 
intoxication that had caused it, Kayla was furious as her computer was 
dead by appearance.
https://www.noisebridge.net/pipermail/noisebridge-discuss/2011-September/024798.html

Instead of reading Jay's long other emails denying responsibility for 
everything he's accused of, just look at the simple fact that he lied to 
everyone about his involvement with this one, very serious incident. 
There are several more people who witnessed the events that night 
including Rolf and Alex and there is no doubt about what happened.

I think this one statement alone should be enough for us to realize, as a 
community, that this person can't be trusted in the space or allowed to 
come to noisebridge ever again.

As if that weren't enough, i think it's clear at this point that Jay stole 
the Carl Zeiss microscope and sold it on Castro street.  You can read 
about the discussion in the meeting notes:
https://www.noisebridge.net/pipermail/noisebridge-discuss/2011-September/024838.html

But the crux of it is this.  A few days before the meeting Duncan had 
asked someone (RayC?) if a microscope was missing.  RayC asked around and 
Mike Kan confirmed that the black Carl Zeiss microscope was missing. 
Duncan told RayC that he had seen Jay selling a microscope along with 
other items on the street in the Castro.

I found out about this on Tuesday, and before the meeting I talked with 
Mike and Danny about it.  Danny interviewed Duncan before the meeting and 
Duncan shrank back from certainty about seeing a microscope when he saw 
Jay selling on Castro, but he gave RayC permission to repeat what he had 
told him earlier (that he had seen one).

During the meeting Jay was asked what he does for money, and he listed 
activities which included selling his artwork on the sidewalk of the 
Castro.  This confirmed that he had been selling things from where he was 
seen by Duncan.  The microscope is definitely gone:
http://www.arsmachina.com/carl_zeiss_binocular.htm

So the only possibilities are:
1. Jay stole the microscope and sold it on Castro, and Duncan saw it.
2. Duncan is a clever mastermind who stole the microscope and framed Jay 
for it, after spotting him innocently selling Artwork on the Castro and 
inserting the story about seeing a microscope there.
3. Duncan noticed that the microscope was missing and decided to chance 
that it wasn't borrowed by someone on the discuss list (as I am doing) and 
used the opportunity to frame Jay, after spotting him at the Castro and 
modifying his story only slightly to make it seem true.

Option 1 is the simplest, we already have proof that Jay is a liar and not 
responsible for his own actions or even his own words.

Options 2 and 3 are unlikely because while Duncan is known to have "seen" 
things that others think were only imagined, it would take a very 
clever and sinister imagination to integrate the missing microscope into 
an already-acknowledged true story of Jay selling items on Castro.

Options 2 and 3 are even more unlikely because if Duncan was actually a 
clever mastermind bent on framing Jay for the theft of the microscope, he 
would not have shrank back from being sure of seeing a microscope among 
Jays items for sale precisely when he was being interviewed by Danny.

All this is on top of the fact that Jay lied and said he had nothing to do 
with the beer being spilled on the computer.  He might as well say that he 
wasn't even at noisebridge that night, with five people yelling at him to 
leave for half an hour (or however long it was).

When Duncan came to RayC and asked if a microscope was missing, it was 
because he had seen it at Jays' street sale. Duncan may be a wingnut who 
says wacky things, but Jay is a thief and has done more than enough damage 
to our community to be told never to return.

-jake