[Noisebridge-discuss] theftiness and donation bins

[Danny O'Brien]

On Sat, Oct 6, 2012 at 7:51 PM, Danny O'Brien <danny at spesh.com> wrote:
> So, I'm personally pretty sure at this point that there's been an
> uptick in "things missing" reports, as well as money disappearing from
> the donation bins (and not going to Noisebridge).

Oh so it also always turns out when somebody says they're "sure" on
nb-discuss, that there's some other reason! I'm going to ask around a
bit more widely about the donation bins, and make sure I haven't
missed something.

d.

>
> Usually when we go through a spate of this, it turns out to be some
> individual or two who we have to ensure doesn't come back, either by
> freezing them in carbonite, or placing their head on a pike outside
> the grocery next door.
>
> However there's always the risk though that Noisebridge itself gets an
> increasing reputation for being an easy place to lift stuff,
> especially money, and that spreads to more than just one person. I
> worry a bit that the increase in big things migrating means that it's
> a bit more deliberate this time rather than just an opportunistic grab
> and run.
>
> The general consensus at the last meeting is that a lot of the sketchy
> stuff that happens goes on very late at night. I'm happy to restart
> the long-running conversation about dealing with Night Noisebridge,
> better guarding at the door,entry systems,  and so on, but I'd like to
> propose a few more concrete actions before that:
>
> 1) We need to set up a more regular pick-up for the donation bins,
> including the t-shirt and plastic box. Usually people do it when the
> bins look a bit full. That doesn't work if someone else is liberating
> the money. It's not hard to do (you basically just pick up the money,
> put it into the account in the bank, ideally record  it on the wiki,
> or just paypal it).
>
> Please volunteer to do this. reply to this mail if you want to help so
> I can gauge interest.
>
> 2) We need to fix the lock and security etc, on the donations box, and
> maybe have a better one for the t-shirt donations. Would the fab
> people consider thinking about this?
> 3) We need better warning systems when this is happening. I think we
> have a general breakdown in reporting stuff that's been building for a
> while -- people really don't know who to tell, and less people get
> their Noisebridge info from nb-discuss or use the wiki, so it's much
> harder for this stuff to percolate to the meeting or wider audience. I
> think we would have spotted this earlier had we been tracking
> inventory and our financials more closely.
>
> I'd also really like some people (whether you're members or not) to
> start thinking about taking a more direct role in helping out
> noisebridge itself. We have a huge and really vibrant community at the
> moment (lots of big events, lots of busy meetings), but I think many
> of us assume someone else is doing the Noisebridgey stuff while
> working on our own projects. And the people who *do* Noisebridgey
> stuff need to find others who can help them -- I'm trying to widen out
> the secretarial work, Kelly is working with Tom and mct to distribute
> the treasuring load, and so on. But there's loads of brilliant people
> at Noisebridge right now who could do more of the background stuff,
> and don't yet have the knowledge or confidence to do it. If you'd like
> to do more, ask. If you're doing too much, ask new people to help you.
>
> Finally, I think we need to start keeping an eye out for this sort of
> thing, and being a bit more pro-actively sceptical of people's good
> intentions for a while, especially with new people coming in late at
> night. It's okay to challenge people. If they are outraged, ask them
> to come back on Tuesday meeting, and discuss it more then. If you need
> help, get on IRC and ask for help there.
>
> d.