Candidate Questions
Nate Caine
Below are some of the topics I've raised with prospective Board Members that I've had to pleasure to chat with around the lab. Rather than have the candidates endlessly repeating themselves, I figure why not post these topics and encourage candidates to select a few and respond to them. We can always follow up at the Candidate Forum just before the voting.
Time Commitment. Being a Board Member takes a lot of time. Will your outside commitments (work, school, etc.) allow you to meet your board obligations?
Attendance. Over the past six-months, how often have you been at the hackerspace? That is, how many times per month or week are your around? What sort of activities are you mostly involved in?
Facility. What are the challenges and opportunities at the current location. Our lease is up in 8 months. What are your views on staying at the current location versus finding a new home?
Bylaws. Are there areas of our current Bylaws that need amending? How would you fix them? Have you read the Bylaws?
Growth. How do you see us moving forward over the next year? Specifically in terms of facilities, programs, mission, hours, amenities, equipment, etc.?
Board Meetings. How many Board Meeting have you attended in the past year? Do you think we have the proper number or should there be fewer or more? Should the current format be changed? How? (Content? Conduct? Preparation?)
Role. How do you see your role on the board evolving. For the specific seat you are running for, what areas would you improve upon? How?
Hack-Your-Hackerspace. Do you participate in HYH? How often do you attend? What areas would you improve (not as a Board member, but as a HeatSync member). Are you satisfied with our Card-Access voting procedure? How do other Hackerspaces address such things?
Will Bradley
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Will Bradley
Chad Stearns
Paul Hickey
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Paul Hickey
Brian Aday
Time Commitment. Being a Board Member takes a lot of time. Will your outside commitments (work, school, etc.) allow you to meet your board obligations?
At the end of the month I will be a full time HeatSync day person. My company is shutting down my division in December and I will be working independently on whatever work I can scare up for the next year. That leaves a lot of time for my 'HeatSync Job'. The change in job situation opened the door for me to run for Champion.
Attendance. Over the past six-months, how often have you been at the hackerspace? That is, how many times per month or week are your around? What sort of activities are you mostly involved in?
On average, a couple of times a week over the last year. Looking back, I would say I come in to build personal projects when the space is lightly populated and I come in when it is busy to see what everyone else is doing and help out on their projects. I hadn't thought about it, but the majority of projects I have done are for the community. I have spent most of my project time with other members. We built the hardware area back by the laser, the workbenches, the overhead rack in the machine area, the board where we keep the safety glasses.
Facility. What are the challenges and opportunities at the current location. Our lease is up in 8 months. What are your views on staying at the current location versus finding a new home?
I believe we need a bigger space with better infrastructure, specifically power and plumbing. I think our location on Main in Mesa has been key in our success There are other larger spaces available downtown, so when the time comes I will advocate for staying in the area. It is however, a community decision and I will go with what best supports the community.
Bylaws. Are there areas of our current Bylaws that need amending? How would you fix them? Have you read the Bylaws?
I don't have any strong opinion on the Bylaws, they have brought us to where we are. I believe there is merit in making them more formal. They are a legal document, and while references to zombification are entertaining they create legal ambiguity that could hurt us in the long run. There is only one thing in the Bylaws I would advocate to change, and that is the ability for board members to appoint other board members. Appointment of board members should be reserved exclusively for the membership.
Growth. How do you see us moving forward over the next year? Specifically in terms of facilities, programs, mission, hours, amenities, equipment, etc.?
I believe HeatSync could grow significantly over the next year without losing 'Who we are'. I would like us to grow to a size that the valley could maintain long term. How big is that? Who knows? It will take careful planning and study in the coming year and beyond. The primary benefit of a larger membership is the additional resources we will have available. With a larger membership comes more teachers, more creative people, and more/better equipment.
Board Meetings. How many Board Meeting have you attended in the past year? Do you think we have the proper number or should there be fewer or more? Should the current format be changed? How? (Content? Conduct? Preparation?)
IIRC, one in my very early days at HeatSync. Nothing stands out in my memory I would change. I think most of the boards business could be rolled into HYH, leaving only the formal meeting required by the state.
Role. How do you see your role on the board evolving. For the specific seat you are running for, what areas would you improve upon? How?
I covered a lot of this in my self nomination, but here are some specifics. I will operate as a representative of the community. I have my own opinions and I am not shy about communicating them, but in the end the board should be doing what the community has asked it to do. I am interested in setting up a road map for the next year built from the communities wishes and presenting it to the membership for discussion and approval. Then I will work with the rest of the board to put that plan into action. I will keep you updated on the boards progress, ask for your help when needed, and do the things no one is interested in doing.
To sum it all up, I will organize the effort to grow and improve the space.
Hack-Your-Hackerspace. Do you participate in HYH? How often do you attend? What areas would you improve (not as a Board member, but as a HeatSync member). Are you satisfied with our Card-Access voting procedure? How do other Hackerspaces address such things?
Yes, I participate in HYH! On our current process for access, I don't like what we have. I would like to see the system changed and have been discussing the details with people over the last year. The best idea I have heard from several people is to shift it to a combination of a minimum time requirement and a requirement to have a short meeting and orientation with each of the station leads. (electronics, Laser, etc.) This gets them in the space and gets them up to speed with our capabilities and let's them get to know a few people before the commit to membership. I think this will work well, because it builds the HeatSync community rather than just setting up a tool or project space rental.
Ryan Mcdermott
Attendance - I'm in the lab almost every day.
Facility - The major benefit of our current space is its location. I'm not sure how many of you have visited or looked into other spaces, but ours is *world class*. It's wide open, and well lit, and the "flow" is perfect (from clean to dirty), and it's in a heavily trafficed, non-industrial part of town. There are people walking by poking their heads in all the time, and this is a good thing. It's also in a safe area, which is important. The limitations that I do see are the "dirty" areas in the back. There are shortcomings that we have with our power infrastructure, and space constraints. This, however, is a minor shortcoming, and hasn't prevented me from working on largeish-scale projects in the lab.
Bylaws - The only area of our bylaws that seems to need amending is part 6 under "Membership". This seems to imply that non-members can't use tools. I actually like the "silliness" in the bylaws, and would like to also see it specifically outlined that VIM is vastly superior to emacs.
Growth - I think that what we're doing is great. We're on the right trajectory and should continue with the culture and values we've set up.
Board Meetings. I have attended 1 board meeting in the past year, and do not think that we need to have more of them. Any issues that need to be dealt with can be dealt with at HYH. This is the "bottom up" member-run model that has been working for us, and will continue to work for us.
Role - Again, I don't think much needs to be changed here. I'll continue to champion the space, as I have been.
Hack-Your-Hackerspace. I do participate in HYH. As for card access, I believe that only card-members should be able to approve other new card members.
Tim G
arizonamarita
Time Commitment. Other than work, all of my other time commitments will take a back seat to being a board member. I have considered the amount of time it will take. This is why I am glad we came up with the third option to have both Chad and I as treasurers. There is a large work load and we were committed to work together after the election no matter who won. This way we will be on equal footing with each other.
Attendance. I am usually at the space once or twice a week.
Facility. A new home would depend on our financial situation, but we certainly need to start considering it. We need to determine how much our budget will allow and present the options to the community. I think that power is our biggest issue where we are now. I like the downtown location and would like to stay in the area. Other than power and space, it would be nice to have an area with a shop sink. Currently the only water in the space is in the bathroom.
Bylaws. I think we should look at how the board members elected and how we increase or decrease the number of board members. I think we should consider requiring two treasurers. It provides redundancy and accountability.
Growth. Currently we are open M-F 7 to 10. I would like to look to see if there is a demand to open the space one or two Saturdays a month.
Board Meetings. I have attended one board meeting. There was little business because the board is in constant contact with each other and the community has resolved most of the issues through HYH. This is a testament to our active community.
Role. I see the treasurer as mostly an administrative position to ensure the bills are paid and any government required forms and reports are completed in a timely manner. I would like as much automation as possible in reports and in the books. I think the membership should be updated at least bi monthly on the financial status of HeatSync. I like the bottom up structure and the do-acracy attitude of the lab. I think the role of the board is to do those things that individual members would find difficult to do on their own and to deal with situations that are time critical. We have a very passionate and active community. This is one of our strengths. I would like to see it continue. I am running for the board to serve the community where my strengths are. While I am not proud of it, this happens to be in the paperwork area.
Hack-Your-Hackerspace. I participate in a few HYH. I usually have a class on Thursday nights. If I am treasurer I have no problem skipping classes on HYH nights. One thing I would like to see changed is allowing a way for members to vote who are not in attendance. I think we should have a box for ballots. If you are willing to print out a proposal from the forum, write your name on it along with a yes or no vote and drop it off the day of or the day before the vote, your vote should count. We could have a place for ballots and pull them out during the vote. Most of the proposals have been discussed by this time. There are many people who just can't make it on Thursday nights. I don't think this method will burden anyone except the person who wants their vote counted.
Jeremy Leung
Time Commitment. Being a Board Member takes a lot of time. Will your outside commitments (work, school, etc.) allow you to meet your board obligations?
Attendance. Over the past six-months, how often have you been at the hackerspace? That is, how many times per month or week are your around? What sort of activities are you mostly involved in?
- touring new people around
- asking people what they are working on
- familiarizing myself with tools within the space to help others and also add to my skill sets for future projects
- connecting people within and outside of the space
- building out the space itself
- working on my own personal projects --> creating.
Facility. What are the challenges and opportunities at the current location. Our lease is up in 8 months. What are your views on staying at the current location versus finding a new home?
Opportunities:
- Unique local businesses in walking distance
- Main street foot traffic
- Food locations in walking distance
- Center for geek culture in the valley
- Hands off land lord and forgiving zoning
- Within our budget
- Creative community --> arts center, mcc, east valley institute of technology, etc
Challenges:
- A lot of businesses close early --> 7-8pm...or sometimes earlier
- Power Limitations --> Try to TIG Weld, Laser Cut, Lathe, or Vacuform at the same time.
- Shortage of shop space for future large tools(shop bot, cnc mill, more?) or build out of larger projects
I still feel that we have room to grow within the space, and with our hacker mindset, we will make do if something prevents us from moving to a new location. At the same time, my eyes and ears are open looking for opportunities that are out there and yours should be too. If a larger space that accommodates our needs comes up, our community will find a way to get into that space.
Bylaws. Are there areas of our current Bylaws that need amending? How would you fix them? Have you read the Bylaws?
Unfortunately, the more rules that are made, even with the best intentions, can sometimes end up preventing productive actions from happening. My hope is that the Bylaws never turn into some hundred page document paralyzing us but instead be a concise framework that allows us to fulfill our mission. As organizations grow, however, what worked for them in their infancy sometimes needs slight adjustments later on. This is why the Bylaws have articles allowing for amendments to the document.
Growth. How do you see us moving forward over the next year? Specifically in terms of facilities, programs, mission, hours, amenities, equipment, etc.?
Board Meetings. How many Board Meeting have you attended in the past year? Do you think we have the proper number or should there be fewer or more? Should the current format be changed? How? (Content? Conduct? Preparation?)
- Operational tasks that were formerly taken up by only the board have successfully been taken up by the community.
- Legally the membership can compel the board to call a meeting anytime during the year to decide on important issues.
- As the above transition happened we found that the amount of board level decisions was minimal compared to the day to day decisions. This led to less proposals for board meetings and near zero attendance from membership at the meetings.
I feel that this model has allowed for us to get a lot more done as an organization.
Role. How do you see your role on the board evolving. For the specific seat you are running for, what areas would you improve upon? How?
- Tools
- Space
- Like minded individuals and volunteers
And hope that others do the same. This ground up approach is what makes the community so strong and provides for the longevity of the space. Ask someone what they can do in the next 5 minutes that will make their idea a reality? How can you help with that?
Hack-Your-Hackerspace. Do you participate in HYH? How often do you attend?
What areas would you improve (not as a Board member, but as a HeatSync member).
Are you satisfied with our Card-Access voting procedure? How do other Hackerspaces address such things?
Some places are more closed off and only include their closest friends. Some are completely open and just let everyone come in. Other spaces that have tried to fall somewhere in the middle like ours have tried things like:
- A form where you get a certain number of signatures from people in the space that will vouch for you.
- A list of people that intend to get access is read at a certain amount of meetings to encourage current members to meet them.
- Some ensure that the members show up for a certain number of meetings before getting access as well.
I really would want the community to decide what they feel would be necessary to allow them to feel comfortable giving 24/7 access to new members. I feel that the best way to do this is to work beside people within the space and build that trust.
-Jeremy
Austin Kipp
Time Commitment. School does come first, but I consider HeatSync to be a very close second. I have planned and organized my schedule to the point that I will be able to dedicate the right amount of time to this position.
Attendance. My attendance over the past since months, up to about eight weeks ago, was about four to five times per week. As of a week ago I am averaging 3 times per week.
Facility. One of the major constraints of our current location is our power situation. Nate and I, and several other members, have worked hard to make what we have work; but the truth is, we really need to figure out a better solution for our power. I think the solution is that when our lease is up we should move to a larger location that can accommodate our power needs. However, I believe that the decision for stay or move should be decided by the membership as a whole, and is greatly dependent on our financial situation.
Bylaws. I’ve read through the by-laws and I think they served their purpose in the infancy of HeatSync. But, as we’ve grown and changed the by-laws should grow with us. There are several aspects that need to be reevaluated to ensure that they best reflect our current and future growth.
Growth. As I stated above, I believe we are outgrowing our facilities, and look forward to exploring other options. I would like to see the amount of equipment we have increase as our membership grows. But, I also think that we need to be very budget minded and plan for unforeseen upkeep costs in our facility and equipment.
Board Meetings. I have attended all but one of the board meetings in the past year. I believe that we should increase the number of board meetings, at least since we are going to have quite a few new faces on the board, regardless of the way the election comes out.
Role. I’d like to see a change in how we process new members and keep in contact with existing members.
Hack-Your-Hackerspace. I attend most if not all H-Y-H meetings. There are a few things about the meetings that I’d like to see the members consider changing, one of which is the possibility of anonymous voting for key card access. I feel this would allow the membership to give a more honest vote when they don’t have to worry about who they are upsetting, or the social repercussions of their vote.
Will Bradley
I've been drafting this for a few days, sorry for the last minute response :)
Time Commitment. I disagree that being a Board Member takes a lot of time. It took a lot of time and effort to be a founder, and certainly volunteering is important, but you should not elect a person to the board because they promise to volunteer more. You should elect someone because they're trustworthy and have a vision for the future you agree with.
It feels good at first to be a martyr, working for members as though they were your customer, but this actually hurts the community and isn't sustainable. There's little incentive for a member to lead an event, champion a new tool, or even clean up after themselves if they think someone else will take care of it, and I think each member knows this. We've spent the past 3 years inspiring everyone to "be the change they want to see" and it's been truly amazing to see the organic growth lately! Let's continue that.
It's a hard balance to achieve, but we're using the tried-and-true "do-ocracy" model out of necessity: there is simply too much work to be done to rely on a small group of unpaid volunteers to "take care of it." By encouraging and empowering everyone to make the improvements they see fit, we can achieve so much more than in a centralized "hold the board member's feet to the fire" model.
To use the sign example: so what if we don't have a sign? Very few people have ever seemed concerned about it, especially considering the $500-800 price tag. Our community has always been surprisingly pragmatic. Which would you rather throw $100 at: a foam sign out front, or a CNC mill, or electrical upgrades? Every member I've talked to is enthusiastic about tools and infrastructure, and only mildly interested in signage. (Thanks to Paul for spearheading the folding sign proposal!) If it's not a priority for members or HeatSync's mission, then it's not a priority for me.
My goal is to put as much in the hands of the community as possible this next year; the big one being financial info, and I'm excited to see Chad and Marita bringing new energy to that effort; using technology to get you the info you need without the board members being a bottleneck to Getting Stuff Done. I don't want Chad or Marita to spend their free time locked away being accountants, I want to help streamline their work so they can spend their free time making amazing things while empowering you with the financial info you need. Nobody on the board should be carving time out of their life to serve.
Facility. In order for us to scale to the nicer facilities I've seen, we'd need to double our income. That kind of growth might not be healthy to achieve in only 8 months, but I'd love to be proven wrong :)
Bylaws. We drafted these bylaws back when we had zero members, as a framework to define this new mix between open, closed, and charitable. It's evolved since day one and should continue to evolve. I'm happy to see a renewed focus on the bylaws and new questions these last few weeks, and am eager to keep the conversation going and vote for the community's consensus, but all the bylaws in the world won't protect you from the need to be vigilant against untrustworthy people.
Growth. Sewing, music, metal casting, welding, and even agriculture have arisen organically at the space this year! We were worried about cleanliness in 2011, but the vast majority of members have shouldered community responsibility for keeping the lab usable instead of thinking volunteers or the Board would take care of it for them. This attitude is what will let us grow, and I'm positive if we keep this momentum going we can double or triple in size with only minor tweaks.
Board Meetings. I've attended all board meetings this year and nearly every meeting since we began in 2009. I agree that yearly or quarterly is a good frequency. We need a board because we're a 501(c)3 corporation, but to be a healthy co-op we need that board to be as hands-off as possible.
Role. Board members' primary job is to inspire the community. I was a founding member so I was responsible for getting a lot of stuff running, but now as a board member I mostly need to make it easier for volunteers to keep the space running. In order to scale without charging TechShop prices, we've gotta be self-sustaining and our progress towards this goal has been amazing.
Hack-Your-Hackerspace. Not only do I participate in HYH, I helped create it as part of the board's goal to empower the community to self-manage :) I attend almost every single one. Some communities get held hostage by "bike-shedding," a hacker term for back-seat driving, but I think we've done a pretty good job of empowering the people willing to do the work with the authority to do the work; you don't need to ask anyone permission to make the lab better. If the wood shop lays dormant for a year, it'll turn into a project workspace. If the HAM shack goes unused, it'll turn into a music space. If someone raises a serious issue, we'll discuss it. This is the hackerspace philosophy.
HeatSync is an experiment in whether or not we can have an open, community-driven, nonprofit hackerspace literally on Main Street. Many respectable people told us it couldn't be done, that we were childish for holding to our ideals, even that they'd crush us with a "superior" capitalistic business model. We just wanted to make things, and help others make things, without the BS found in other institutions.
HeatSync isn't perfect, but I feel that the grassroots hackerspace do-ocracy model has proven itself to be one of the best ways of bringing creative, passionate minds together regardless of income or credentials. We can and do complement the universities, TechShops, and other places out there: use them if you can! But HeatSync is different: it's for hackers, by hackers.
Brian Aday
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Ryan Mcdermott
-Ryan
--
Nate Plamondon
- Will's post didn't strike me as a personal attack against you.
- The revised bylaws were brought to the community, albeit not very visibly. As they're hosted on github [1], this is not something the board needs to do.
- Our lack of a full wood shop says less to me about your effort than about the community's desire for a wood shop. The benches are great, by the way!
- I'm perplexed by your complaint of HYH rearranging the benches immediately followed by "consensus is better."
- I don't see the difficulty in volunteering at HSL; Come in, do great things. If your story is truly not unique, which it may not be, and you want that to change, encourage the others who have complaints to speak up and/or fix it. (This goes for everyone complaining about anything. Speak up, step up, or shut up.) Nothing is accomplished by whispering, and this sort of thing isn't something the board can fix.
[1] https://github.com/heatsynclabs/administration
--
Nate Plamondon
Sent from a tiny on-screen keyboard
--
Brian Aday
--
Brian Aday
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Jasper Nance
thread, Ryan. Saying another candidate scares you is a form of mud
slinging.
Also, if you want to be an ass
"what does that say about what you're philosophy is?"
> ended. Volunteer once, do the task once, no further obligation. I believe
> this approach will explode the volunteerism at HeatSync if we just make it
> easier. I am willing to facilitate.
>
> No one is advocating turning HeatSync into a TechShop. They really are a
> different thing altogether and legally we would have to dissolve HeatSync
> to turn it into a for-profit venture. Trust me, if things start to go that
> way I will be sitting in that garage Will described! TechShop is a tool
> rental and prototyping shop, and HeatSync is a community.
>
> Our Attorney worked with our current board to create new Bylaws, to expand
> the number of board seats and bring them more in line with standard 501c
> formation. They were done much earlier in the year, and never brought to
> the membership for discussion. Regardless of who the board turns out to be,
> Nate has me motivated. I am going to champion getting these in front of the
> community.
>
> Growth
>
> I have stated my position on growth. Membership isn't our only growth
> option, there are grants out there. This is a job that must be done by the
> board, the sponsors demand it. I would consider this a priority since we
> lost the sponsor back in the summer. $1000 (or was it $1500?) a month is a
> real loss.
>
> Hack-Your-Hackerspace
>
> After a year the wood shop lays dormant, it is true. I am the third person
> to take on the task. The reason it has lain dormant is because I am
> completely discouraged with the project. There was a plan to build out the
> space, and a team of us were working on it. There were three incidents that
> were discouraging, the final came in early summer. When the workbenches
> this is how things work here why bother. I am not alone in my expierence,
> my story is not unique. There is a lot of frustration with the difficulty
> of volunteering time at HeatSync. I would like to see us shift to a place
> where we actually work with each other, rather than just destroying someone
> else's work. I believe a consensus is better than conflict even if the
> consensus goes against you.
>
>> group of unpaid volunteers to "take care of it." By encouraging and
>> to
>> the fire" model.
>>
>>
>> To use the sign example: so what if we don't have a sign? Very few people
>> have ever seemed concerned about it, especially considering the $500-800
>> price
>> people
>> willing to do the work with the authority to do the work; you don't need
>> to
>> ask anyone permission to make the lab better. If the wood shop lays
>> dormant
>> for a year, it'll turn into a project workspace. If the HAM shack goes
>> unused, it'll turn into a music space. If someone raises a serious issue,
>> we'll discuss it. This is the hackerspace philosophy.
>>
>>
>>
>> HeatSync is an experiment in whether or not we can have an open,
>> community-driven, nonprofit hackerspace literally on Main Street. Many
>> respectable people told us it couldn't be done, that we were childish for
>> holding to our ideals, even that they'd crush us with a "superior"
>> capitalistic business model. We just wanted to make things, and help
>> others
>> make things, without the BS found in other institutions.
>>
>>
>> HeatSync isn't perfect, but I feel that the grassroots hackerspace
>> do-ocracy model has proven itself to be one of the best ways of bringing
>> creative, passionate minds together regardless of income or credentials.
>> We
>> can and do complement the universities, TechShops, and other places out
>> there: use them if you can! But HeatSync is different: it's for hackers,
>> by
>>
>> --
>>
>>
>>
>
> --
>
> --
>
>
>
--
----------------------------------------------
Jasper Nance - KE7PHI
Creative and Scientific Imagery
http://www.nebarnix.com/
Nate Plamondon
> No, the little comments about the wood shop were the direct attack.
observation of what's happened in that space: It was dormant, now it's
project workspace.
> It got back to me that members of the board has been complaining about the wood
> shop for a while, but no board member ever asked me about it. Know everyone
> knows what transpired.
members who happen to be on the board wanted change, they should have
been louder or done something.
> I brought up the sign, so it was fair for Will to
> respond even though I don't think it was his responsibility. Nate tried to
> get this done, I tried to get it done, but you need to interact with the
> landlord and permitting at the city to get a sign. That required a board
> member.
discussion in the past regarding signage [1] [2], and it's been pretty
clear that changing the building sign is not a priority for the
community. If you want a sign, make it happen. Yes, you need approval
and permits from the landlord and city. Yes those require board
interaction. That doesn't mean it's the board's job to make it happen.
<snip>
> There is a lot in Will's post I agree with also. HYH, organic growth, etc. I
> think I talk about that in the Hack-A-Day video, it is one of our strong
> points. I even read the definition Will posted of Hacker, and can't disagree
> with it.
>Drudgery is boring, but someone still has to pay the bills and sweep the floor.
> There was no [Proposal] at a HYH to move the tables, it was a unilateral decision by a board member and one other member who has since apologized. A consensus was not formed in the community, and I didn't even get a text message or an email. Would that have been unreasonable?
need proposals to move furniture? There was discussion about layout
and I didn't hear much dissent at the time.
> I am glad you have had a better experience than some of the rest of us, perhaps it is a function of what you are volunteering to do.
the best hackerspace around, and will continue doing what I can to
push that agenda.
> I find that volunteering to give tours and clean up at HYH works pretty well. It is when you have to get multiple people together with board support you start to have issues. It has improved over the last few months, I must admit.
board member to take the next action.
> I think having contested board positions has been good for us. I am hoping this level of involvement continues.
[1] https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups=#!searchin/heatsynclabs/sign$20lissa/heatsynclabs/MY7jYaN50Y4/xIFdgpYI9OUJ
[2] https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups=#!searchin/heatsynclabs/sign$20lissa/heatsynclabs/gR7LYxl4en4/zJHL4MsrNuIJ
Ryan Mcdermott
>
>
Jasper Nance
Will Bradley
Brian, I just bought up wood shop as something visible whose status is in flux; it can sit unused for any number of reasons, just like the HAM shack or anything else, no fault of yours. But I'm surprised by your complaints, because this is the first I'm hearing about them.
Yes, Spiritual Leader is much closer to the ideal board member than Project Manager or Volunteer Coordinator. In fact you've running for Champion, whose very definition is to motivate people with your vision. We've been moving to reduce the board's role in daily operations since last election and have talked about these grassroots values in public a lot (though apparently not enough.) I don't think organizing volunteers and clearly defining their tasks is something the board, especially champion, should be doing. In a corporation, the board hires the CEO and trusts them to run things, it doesn't run things directly. The board is definitely the spiritual leadership of a corporation (which, unfortunately, we have to be for 501c3.)
One thing that concerns me a lot is that many of the issues you've raised lately, in a somewhat political setting, are totally new to me and I'm sure many other members. Major community issues like microphone recording, kids welding in flip flops, community involvement in the bylaws, and your workbenches, all seem to flip between "not important enough to speak up about" and "examples behind why I should be a board member." I feel like you're saving those issues up to score political points with them instead of addressing them fully, in good faith, at the time. I might be wrong, but that's my perspective.
I haven't bugged you about the wood shop because I figured you were busy, not because I knew anything about some kind of bench allocation grudge. It's all very surreal. If moving or fixing a bench will get us closer to a wood shop, I'll drive over and do it right now!
The bylaws were discussed extensively at the community meeting where Jose presented them. I think Nate C. and Byron did more work on them than anyone, which is, nothing actionable happened.
The flip flop welding incident happened when I was in Japan in March, and I'm first hearing about it in October; apparently the issue was raised to only a couple people there at the time but apparently it ended there, resolved or not.
Microphones in the space were a serious legal/moral issue you were concerned with a few weeks ago, (aside: why didn't it get voted on on the 27th? Should we vote on it tonight?) but when I got a few minutes to stick electrical tape over them and chatted with you about hacking on them together, you hadn't thought about it recently.
Now I'm not the only community member here, but you're running against Tim, Ryan, and Jeremy. I'll wager they've been less involved in these situations you've brought up than I have, yet somehow these are examples of things that would presumably run better when you're a board member; better than the competition?
I've got infinite respect for the time and energy you've put into the community. Your casting group is one of the more amazing things I share with people. But between the talk of undoing the "do-ocracy" philosophy, clearly defining tasks for volunteers, and these concerning issues that apparently aren't concerning enough to let more than a couple people know about, I'm sincerely worried about serving on a board with you.
Believe me, the issues you've raised are important to me and I plan to help address them; but I thought we were on the same team until a few weeks ago and now during an election you've suddenly brought up what amounts to a list of my failings as the Operations board member. So please forgive me if I'd rather work through them together with you, Austin, and every other amazing person in this community, instead of working for you on the board, to fix them and improve HeatSync.
--
Ben Humpherys
- To Guide the Community in the fulfillment of our mission and goals.
- To Represent the Will of the Community where an official representation is necessary to interface with other organizations and to fulfil the Law of the land.
- To Empower the Individuals that make up the Community of HeatSync Labs to take Action towards the ends of fulfilling our goals and mission.
Will Bradley
As a co-founder, I don't think anyone has ever said it better. You've got a way with words!
--
JR
I think this is a nice start, but I think it would benefit from something along the lines of "coordinates member visions to ensure they align with community goals and helps resolve conflicts between member visions".
IOW, part of the reason to have champion(s) is to have a final arbiter, who can decide *now*- even if their decision is to stop both visions pending a vote.
Jerry Davis
The role of the Board of HeatSync Labs has three parts:
- To Guide the Community in the fulfillment of our mission and goals.
- To Represent the Will of the Community where an official representation is necessary to interface with other organizations and to fulfil the Law of the land.
- To Empower the Individuals that make up the Community of HeatSync Labs to take Action towards the ends of fulfilling our goals and mission.
--
Licensed Amateur Radio Operator: K7AZJ
Registered Linux User: 275424
Arduino programmer
Recursion: (noun):
see: Recursion
Brian Aday
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Will Bradley
You've always had permission to disable the mics, and you don't need to ask. I even disabled one myself, it was just a huge hassle.
My argument about listening in wasn't that we EVER have or will or could, simply that existing laws carve some exemptions for owners of a business, so hopefully nobody will sue us for having cameras with microphones. There's no law about audio recording in a hackerspace, so we have to interpret based on laws regarding businesses, private clubs, "public space," etc. A lot of your concerns seem to revolve around worries of getting sued, so I'm using my legal knowledge here.
Morally, I would be outraged to find someone using the lab's technology to stalk or spy on someone. We're walking a fine, brand new line here. The moral and legal territory are up to us to explore. I'm somewhat disappointed that more community members don't care either way.
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Will Bradley
I'm also sorry if my message appeared to say I wasn't running. I had no idea Austin was running and was planning to run at 5pm Wednesday for a week, in case nobody had posted anything by then. In any case, that's not the reason for my "team" comment.
Ryan Rix
I'm really glad that we can step in to a new year of HeatSync's administration
dripping with anger and drama. Drama which has apparently been brewing for
months, but we were all being passive aggressive to each other instead of
bringing it up to one another. This attitude and other things which have come
to light in the last few weeks have made me feel like my time as a board
member was wasted and that our community actually doesn't feel like the
current administation represents them? Is that true?
I am so proud of everyone. These dramathreads make me want to show up and make
SO MANY COOL THINGS.</sarcasm>
Do you really have such a big problem with the current administation that you
read everything they say as a personal attack against you? Are we really your
enemies or are you just being paranoid? Tell us how you feel, Brian, since you
so obviously have feelings about how the current administration has handled
things. Or at least have the respect to tell me how you feel.
Unrelated, the nice thing about not having to propose every things and
sometimes make "unilateral" decisions is that, hey, those things are easily
un-doable. It's like we're a community of different people with different
beliefs or something! We can start proposing everything if you'd rather see
that though.
r.
On Thu 11 October 2012 12:04:31 Brian Aday wrote:
> I am stepping up Nate. :)
>
> >> open ended. Volunteer once, do the task once, no further obligation. I
> >> believe this approach will explode the volunteerism at HeatSync if we
> >> just
> >> make it easier. I am willing to facilitate.
> >>
> >> No one is advocating turning HeatSync into a TechShop. They really are a
> >> different thing altogether and legally we would have to dissolve HeatSync
> >> to turn it into a for-profit venture. Trust me, if things start to go
> >> that
> >> way I will be sitting in that garage Will described! TechShop is a tool
> >> rental and prototyping shop, and HeatSync is a community.
> >>
> >> this is how things work here why bother. I am not alone in my expierence,
> >> my story is not unique. There is a lot of frustration with the difficulty
> >> of volunteering time at HeatSync. I would like to see us shift to a place
> >> where we actually work with each other, rather than just destroying
> >> someone
> >> else's work. I believe a consensus is better than conflict even if the
> >> consensus goes against you.
> >>
> >>> group of unpaid volunteers to "take care of it." By encouraging and
> >>> to
> >>> the fire" model.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> To use the sign example: so what if we don't have a sign? Very few
> >>> people have ever seemed concerned about it, especially considering the
> >>> $500-800 price
> >>> /signage/heatsynclabs/MY7jYaN50Y4/NNZzObjvTUwJ>. Our community has
> >>> empowering
> >>> the people willing to do the work with the authority to do the work; you
> >>> don't need to ask anyone permission to make the lab better. If the wood
> >>> shop lays dormant for a year, it'll turn into a project workspace. If
> >>> the
> >>> HAM shack goes unused, it'll turn into a music space. If someone raises
> >>> a
> >>> serious issue, we'll discuss it. This is the hackerspace philosophy.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> HeatSync is an experiment in whether or not we can have an open,
> >>> community-driven, nonprofit hackerspace literally on Main Street. Many
> >>> respectable people told us it couldn't be done, that we were childish
> >>> for
> >>> holding to our ideals, even that they'd crush us with a "superior"
> >>> capitalistic business model. We just wanted to make things, and help
> >>> others
> >>> make things, without the BS found in other institutions.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> HeatSync isn't perfect, but I feel that the grassroots hackerspace
> >>> do-ocracy model has proven itself to be one of the best ways of bringing
> >>> creative, passionate minds together regardless of income or credentials.
> >>> We
> >>> can and do complement the universities, TechShops, and other places out
> >>> there: use them if you can! But HeatSync is different: it's for hackers,
> >>> by
> >>>
> >>> --
> >>>
> >> --
> >
> > --
>
> --
--
http://rix.si
