[Noisebridge-discuss] Who do we want to exclude? [Drama]

[Robert Fletcher]

You know, when discussing why people do or don't inhabit the space, I don't
think it's terribly productive to categorically exclude the views of the
people who choose not to be part of it anymore. Moreso to deride them with
ad hominem attacks on their mental fortitude for their unwillingness to
spend time in an environment where they don't feel safe or supported.
Being one of the aforementioned myself I kind of doubt there's any benefit
to my speaking up, so I'm not sure why I feel the need.

I spent a couple of years as a relatively active participant at
Noisebridge, including teaching a class there for nearly a year, before
deciding it wasn't for me, and have since been lurking on the list and
seeing it go through the same cycles time and again. New people enter the
community, work hard to make it better, speak up, get shouted down, and
then quietly disappear again.

Teaching my class was a pain because every time I would come in I had to
rearrange the classroom, kick out whatever surly creatures happened to be
sleeping there, wipe the gunk of the tables, scrounge for a working
projector, and then teach between shrieks of the wood shop equipment.
Students didn't have a very long shelf life either, as they often didn't
feel comfortable being in the space, especially the women. And I've
encountered a wide array of disillusioned former Noisebridgers since. One
fellow I met had built out a full on electronics workshop in his bedroom to
fill the void.

All of this is sort of a roundabout way of getting to this point: *Anarchy
is a form of entropy*. As long as there are no rules, consequences or
governance in the space these things are not going to change. As long as
you're willing to unconditionally open your doors to everybody, the worst
will come in, use up the resources, and drive out many of the best. This
isn't to disparage all of you who are still there, as I know there are
still a number of very excellent people who frequent Noisebridge, but you
have a much greater tolerance for conflict and chaos than myself or many of
the others I've talked to. It surprises me that in a space that is so
focused on programming, where you write rules for how computers should
behave, that people think they can somehow take a "monkeys bashing at
keyboards" approach to culture and expect anything but white noise to come
from it.

Anyway, I guess that's about all I've got for now.

- Robert
On Apr 13, 2013 11:49 AM, "Tony Longshanks LeTigre" <
anthonyletigre at gmail.com> wrote:

> Fucking annoying to hear all these people who never come around
> Noisebridge whining about all the problems it has, if ya ask me. Oh really?
> I spend a lot of time here, & don't see all the problems you're describing.
> Well, I do see some of them, but what I see is the people who have the
> fortitude to deal with conflict & care enough to really invest themselves
> in the space deal with those problems, & the problem people who cause them,
> rather than just giving up & pissing off.
>
> +11+
>
> On Sat, Apr 13, 2013 at 10:35 AM, <name1355 at tormail.org> wrote:
>
>> If by, "transients", you mean homeless people, why is it a, "problem"?
>> Perhaps if they were embraced instead of avoided, you might find they can
>> make valid contributions to Noisebridge.
>>
>> > You were a n00b once too. How do we get hackers? By allowing curious
>> n00bs
>> > to learn stuff.   I agree with the other stuff though.
>> > On Apr 13, 2013 4:54 AM, "Eric W. Rasmussen" <ewr at majortek.com> wrote:
>> >
>> >> I have been excluded. I have very serious issues with NB that are being
>> >> discussed NOW.
>> >>
>> >> I may not be the best Linux teacher in the world, but I tried. When the
>> >> doorbell rang, I answered it. I cleaned. I dropped money in the box.
>> >>
>> >> NB has a very serious sexual harassment problem. NB has a problem with
>> >> transients. NB has a problem with n00bs. Ultimately, NB has
>> >> interpersonal
>> >> problems.
>> >>
>> >> Please fix this. I would like to return.
>> >>
>> >> Thank you
>> >>
>> >> ewr
>> >> ______________________________**_________________
>> >> Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
>> >> Noisebridge-discuss at lists.**noisebridge.net<
>> Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net>
>> >> https://www.noisebridge.net/**mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-**discuss<
>> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss>
>> >>
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
>> > Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
>> > https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
>> >
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
>> Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
>> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
>>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
> Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.noisebridge.net/pipermail/noisebridge-discuss/attachments/20130413/b0f96461/attachment.html>