[Noisebridge-discuss] hear ye hear ye, Noisebridge board elections

[miloh]

I rescinded my membership when I was put on the noiseboard about three
years ago. I thought it was important to reinforce the idea that the
board wouldn't have power in the consensus process at Noisebridge.
Also, it made noisebridge free for me. Free as in beer.  Interesting
experiment, but not much came of it, as there's a lot of free beer
everytime Noisebridge consents on a new member.*

Since that first year on the noiseboard, I returned to paying member
status at Noisebridge AND got approvalvoted to stay on the board. Are
you READING the WORDS COMING OUT OF YOUR WEBMAIL?!?! I got consent
from current members to REjoin the Noisebridge member rolls in a great
celebration of delicious COInsensus.**  The principled ones had their
chance to block or talk me to death just then, and they missed it!

:-)

I'm imagining a great and powerful noiseboard, one that could wreck
your puny consensus with just a tiny pinky. But actual board duties
are sehr langweilig. Not much is explicitly tasked to the board, but
we end up performing duties on the board that I don't see others
jumping up to do. In addition, I feel a personal connection and
responsability for the space (it's sick, I know). I don't want to see
it fail or cease while I have any ability to prevent it with my
double-vesture of hallowed membership + hallowed noiseboard seat. It
was a busy year keeping Rubin from dancing in the ashes of
Noisebridge.  Perhaps as a result of just worrying about these
distractions, or because you are all lucky, the culture of the
noiseboard hasn't been about manipulating people to steer Noisebridge
by cabal.***

In fact, you might be suprised to find out Noiseboard barely meets
IRL. And when we communicate online, it's about bills. Instead of
investing any undue powers in the board, there's an unwritten
expectation that the we continue the commitments Noisebridge (that's
you!) made to maintain a 501c3(cross your fingers!), to pay the
landlord, SFPUC, PG&E, Recology, Sonic, MonkeyBrains, our insurance
provider, our accountant, and last but not least to deal with
commitments to donors(you again!).****

So far, the board isn't expected to wield life-changing bolts of power
or weave webs of intrigue and deceit, it's expected to pay the bills,
move lettes & boxes from A to B, and it's officially supposed to
organize an election and membership meeting (or something, sorry about
not being all up on that!).

I'm all for changing the bylaws to mesh these realities with, well,
with real-eality! I'm also curious who thinks board members who are
also members of Noisebridge should give up consensus when that
happens. Changing the bylaws is going to be a big deal, why shouldn't
we try to get *more* people involved and not less?  How about trying
to get more people who are quiet members to regularly participate in
the consensus process?  Oh well, I'm imagining a few quiet members
will come of the woodwork anyways when they hear about opportunities
for hijacking Noisebridge, err I mean, changing the bylaws.

Seriously though, about these approvalections: when looking for a new
noiseboard, why not find a board committed to finding new members that
we can consent to, starting new events and groups at Noisebridge, and
working on improving the space? Why don't we make this moment the time
when we find the people that excite *everyone* to take these tasks on.

So what if these people don't exist, this is /my/ utopia of
Noisebridge, I think it's okay to try asking more of people, instead
of less!

that said:
PLEASE DONT ELECT TOM TO THE BOARD  :-)
Noisebridge needs people committed to participate, not evacuate!

While you are at it, don't approval-vote for me either!  Don't elect a
board!  Reject the board, free yourself from the chains of 501crocacy
and just do your thing! IT WILL ALL BE FINE.  CONSENSO TOLD ME.



--Learning Noisebridge detachment since 2009,
   Ronald Miloh Alexander



* I suggest: elect a board that will abstain from free beer for the
duration of their membership.

** does anyone remember that night?  It was free, as in free ice cream
sandwiches. Can't use the 'drank too much for consensus' excuse there.

***hey you!  empower yourself!
[board]
<mailing list>
Join the noiseboard mailing list!  Low Volume and cut-rate Hacks!
https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/board
<archive>
Read the noiseboard archives!  Your Not-quite Daily Cabal!
https://www.noisebridge.net/pipermail/board/

****and then, in the end, most of the noiseboard work gets transmuted
to Treasurer work, who has always had the hardest job at Noisebridge.
The equation is something like [Treasurer work] = [Noiseboard
work][avg. age of noiseboard]