Being back in HSG

[Kai Hendry]

Hi guys,

So after a hiatus from Hackerspace.sg I must comment that there are
spaces seemingly "owned" by individual members. Whole spaces are
occupied with their stuff.

Are these people paying resident membership?
https://hackerspace.sg/membership/

http://s.natalian.org/2016-05-13/shin.jpeg


As I might be working from HSG again, it really needs to be a bit less
cluttered else I think I will work elsewhere & cancel my membership.

I do see this crazy text on our homepage which I think should be
removed. http://s.natalian.org/2016-05-13/1463138769_1054x1058.png


Other random thoughts:
- Why isn't there a transparent list of paying members on the Website?

After implementing subscriptions in braintree, paypal & stripe... I
could lend my experience here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJI0WxXTvTw

- When are we getting an upgrade from 100mbit?

- Can we consider new locations maybe to freshen up the place? When does
are tenancy end?


Cheers,

[Robert Sim]

1. I don't see Shin working late into the night and into next day. Rather his hours are rather working hours like. The only stuff he leaves are the monitor and chair, and anyone can use it. Putting the photo without the timestamp is like providing information without much context. For all we know, he is just taking a quick nap from coding. Granted it might be cluttered with personal stuff elsewhere, which Luther has reached out to some of us to clear.
2. I do wish for a transparent list of paying members as well. However, not all members are paying by paypal, some through bank transfer for personal reasons. The current invoicing system is managed solely by Roland, talk to him directly.
3. 100 mbit: $148, 200mbit: $199. 1gbit: $996. https://www.m1.com.sg/Business/Promotions/FibreBroadband If 1 Gbit is what you aiming for, afaik we cannot afford it at our current collection levels. If it is 200 Mbit, talk to Luther, might be possible.
4. 4 years. The lease was just renewed. imo, no matter where we go, there will be this conversation. Ways to freshen up the place:
1. carpet cleaning. - there was a brief conversation in the space just a while ago on getting a steam vacuum machine. not sure which direction it was heading to, will have to ask again.
2. perfume the place. - i am not sure why people are resistant to this, but this is a common practice in most offices and trains. We may not know it because building/office management does it discretely with stuff like this. http://www.air-aroma.com/ecoscent
3. air the place more regularly. - this is done at least on weekends when I am in. but if a more regular frequency is need, i.e.after meetups, gatherings, etc, someone has to do it.

[Kai Hendry]

Sorry I didn't mean to point out a single person, there are at least 5
places in the space that seem to be owned by someone's stuff at least.
Back room is worse than the front room.

> not all members are paying by paypal, some through bank transfer for
> personal reasons. The current invoicing system is managed solely by

What's the "personal reason" for not using paypal/bitcoin/stripe? Bank
transfers cannot be programmatically checked easily so they really
should be cut off imo.

> what you aiming for, afaik we cannot afford it at our current
> collection
> levels. If it is 200 Mbit, talk to Luther, might be possible.

What are our current collection levels?


Thanks for your suggestions. I think Hackerspace would be nicer if it
was brighter and less cluttered. Sorry for being a jerk, though I just
want to see the space get better. I think it's in decline & something
needs to be done.


Thanks,

[Robert Sim]

Sorry I didn't mean to point out a single person, there are at least 5 
places in the space that seem to be owned by someone's stuff at least. 
Back room is worse than the front room. 

- which Luther had asked relevant persons privately to clear the desks.

- back room as you know, is hardware stuff. but yes, it is messy and i can't get to work on the laser cutter myself until relevant person(s) tidy up their project(s).

What's the "personal reason" for not using paypal/bitcoin/stripe? Bank 
transfers cannot be programmatically checked easily so they really 
should be cut off imo. 

- one of the reasons i hear is because paypal is being an ass of using existing balances, which are in different currency than SGD.

- second, people insist of not doing so, like people insist on not wanting to use Facebook, Slack, etc. Insist on switching to paypal only and, some may end up turning up in the space with cold hard cash, and what can we do about it? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

What are our current collection levels? 

- best answered by Roland/Luther.

imo, I prefer a brighter space during the day, but seems like I am in the minority.

[Robert Sim]

And oh, seems like we are sticking to paypal only because of additional administrative work needed to be done on a recurring basis, iirc. So no stripe, braintree. 

bitcoin is accepted (i think) by virtue that there is a btc wallet for the space. but personally, i don't want to count on a volatile currency as a viable alternative to payments if we are relying on such payments for monthly expenses rather than longer term payments. plus, the additional headache of doing the exchange at a viable rate.

[Roland Turner]

On 05/13/2016 07:27 PM, Kai Hendry wrote:

So after a hiatus from Hackerspace.sg I must comment that there are
spaces seemingly "owned" by individual members. Whole spaces are
occupied with their stuff.

Are these people paying resident membership?
https://hackerspace.sg/membership/

I certainly feel that anyone paying less than $512/month should be clearing whatever desk they're using every time they leave the space for more than an hour. As it stands we're making two concessions, each potentially reasonable by itself, but jointly economically unsound:

• Allowing people who are present to make use of what space is available. This is sensible when we're underutilised, except where it tends to exclude new members joining.
  
• Taking members on at a tier that they're comfortable paying, rather than one that's commensurate with the real estate that they're occupying. This is fine while we're underutilised but, combined with the above, is having the effect of fully occupying the space, while not yielding sufficient revenue to cover our rent.

The nett result is that we're still dependent financially dependent upon contributions by people (including myself) who don't use the space on a daily basis. This is worth fixing.

As I might be working from HSG again, it really needs to be a bit less
cluttered else I think I will work elsewhere & cancel my membership.

I'd hope that we're able to find sufficient space for an existing community member!

I do see this crazy text on our homepage which I think should be
removed. http://s.natalian.org/2016-05-13/1463138769_1054x1058.png

This is tricky. I'd suggest some find tuning is required, the invitation to leave stuff in the space is (a) subject to storage space availability (we have no more!), and (b) this not being used to exclude others from using the desks (which is perhaps already happening).

Other random thoughts:
- Why isn't there a transparent list of paying members on the Website?

My bad. We really will have this information available on a regular basis sometime soon.

After implementing subscriptions in braintree, paypal & stripe... I
could lend my experience here.

I would very much like some help on this. In particular, I'd like to make it easy - for as many members as are willing - to one-click subscribe to a PayPal payment on a specified day of the month (the 1st of the month), thereby materially simplifying both our paperwork and our understanding of our cashflow. Our basic limit is human book-keeping expertise, I'd suggest optimising to minimise dependence upon that.

- Can we consider new locations maybe to freshen up the place? When does
are tenancy end?

"This house is untidy, quick, buy another!"

There might be less drastic options...

- Roland

[Roland Turner]

On 05/14/2016 11:36 AM, Kai Hendry wrote:

> What's the "personal reason" for not using paypal/bitcoin/stripe? Bank
> transfers cannot be programmatically checked easily so they really
> should be cut off imo.

Please don't confuse statements of principle and direction ("ideally,
everyone should pay automatically, via PayPal, on the 1st of the month")
with iron-clad rules ("cut off anyone who isn't"). We may get to the
latter, or we may not, but until
(a) we've taken a solid shot at making the ideal approach workable and
widely used, and
(b) we've reviewed any remaining exceptions on a case-by-case basis,
taking any decision to terminate memberships because of payment
preferences is premature.

> I think Hackerspace would be nicer if it
> was brighter and less cluttered. Sorry for being a jerk, though I just
> want to see the space get better. I think it's in decline & something
> needs to be done.

I am also unhappy with the space's current state. I should say that I'm
pleased that it no longer smells like rotting meat, which presumably
means that it is getting aired regularly.

- Roland

[Roland Turner]

On 05/14/2016 03:05 PM, Robert Sim wrote:

- back room as you know, is hardware stuff. but yes, it is messy and i can't get to work on the laser cutter myself until relevant person(s) tidy up their project(s).

+1

What's the "personal reason" for not using paypal/bitcoin/stripe? Bank 
transfers cannot be programmatically checked easily so they really 
should be cut off imo. 

- one of the reasons i hear is because paypal is being an ass of using existing balances, which are in different currency than SGD.

This is an interesting problem that I've not heard about. Is the issue that PayPal is automatically converting existing non-SGD balances to make SGD payments rather than drawing fresh funds from an SGD account to do so, or that it's failing to do so?

- second, people insist of not doing so, like people insist on not wanting to use Facebook, Slack, etc. Insist on switching to paypal only and, some may end up turning up in the space with cold hard cash, and what can we do about it? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

We can decline it. Like any other person or organisation, we determine the conditions under which we're willing to enter into a transaction.

- Roland

[Roland Turner]

On 05/14/2016 03:11 PM, Robert Sim wrote:

> And oh, seems like we are sticking to paypal only because of
> additional administrative work needed to be done on a recurring basis,
> iirc. So no stripe, braintree.
>
> bitcoin is accepted (i think) by virtue that there is a btc wallet for
> the space. but personally, i don't want to count on a volatile
> currency as a viable alternative to payments if we are relying on such
> payments for monthly expenses rather than longer term payments. plus,
> the additional headache of doing the exchange at a viable rate.

+1

- Roland