Conflict Resolution

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We do our best to be excellent to each other and follow excellence guidelines and standards at Noisebridge.

When we have trouble getting along we follow some Conflict Resolution processes including our Ask To Disengage policy for de-escalating conflicts and Asked To Leave Policy which states that anyone who feels unsafe at Noisebridge can ask someone to leave and anyone asked to leave should be excellent by agreeing to leave without further incident.

Getting Along Steps[edit | edit source]

Potential conflicts can be avoided with excellence or resolved using conflict resolution methods:

  1. Start by trying to be excellent and encourage each other to strive for that goal.
  2. Try to resolve potential conflicts that arise using Restorative Communication.
  3. Try to de-escalate with Conflict Resolution if things aren't going well.
  4. Ask To Disengage to separate people in an argument that is escalating if you would like to end an interaction before it gets out of hand.
  5. Continued unwanted behavior directed toward another person is Harassment.
  6. Ask to leave if someone refuses to disengage or is doing something that makes people feel unsafe.
  7. Ask for Mediation if you don't seem to be able to resolve issues with someone in the space directly.

Getting along[edit | edit source]

  • FractalWorkingGroup - Our pattern for getting things done without dragging it to the Tuesday Meeting
  • Community Standards - How to not fuck up at Noisebridge
    • Excellence - Our prime rule is to strive to be excellent to each other.
    • Restorative Communication - Communicate observations, feelings, needs, offers and requests to reach mutual understandings.
    • Conflict Resolution - What to do if you fuck up at Noisebridge
    • Ask To Disengage - How to ask people to disengage from a heated situation.
    • AskedToLeave - How to ask people to leave the space for a while till Conflict Resolution happens.
    • Mediation - People within the community who have offered their time, tears, and sweat to keep us all together.
    • 86 - People who have fucked up and are not welcome at Noisebridge at all
    • FERT - Harassers, predators, and the like who everyone should keep an eye out for
  • CommunityWorkingGroup - Bringing the Noisebridge community together to create a better space for all.


Practice Restorative Communication[edit | edit source]

We encourageRestorative Communication as a way of communicating our needs to each other in respectful ways.

Noisebridge has partnered with the Global Kindness Intitiative (GKI) to teach workshops here in an effort to create a community that honors differences while working together to solve potentially difficult and uncomfortable social situations.

We can get in touch with them to teach more workshops in the future.

Personal Communication[edit | edit source]

Is someone bothering you? Talk to them about it -- and be excellent while doing so.
This is a pretty important step, and it usually has the desired effect. It should not be skipped if at all possible.

Get Support[edit | edit source]

Did that not work? Or are you afraid to approach the other person? Ask someone else around the space who you like and/or trust. Maybe they can come along with you to talk to them, or talk to them as your proxy.

Mediation[edit | edit source]

Did that not work? We have a Mediation page, where people can sign up to act as mediators. You should ask one of the people on it to help you mediate your conflict. They can actively mediate a discussion between you and the person with whom you are having conflict, or, if you prefer, the mediator can talk to that individual as your proxy.

Mindfulness towards Escalation[edit | edit source]

If it seems appropriate, after talking with the original parties, the mediator (and/or anyone involved) should start to tactfully ask around and find out if this is an isolated conflict or a more generalized problem in the community.

Most personal problems at Noisebridge can be resolved through a 15 minute meditation*, series of calm one-on-one talks, and almost all of the rest can be solved by a series of mediated discussions.

If mediation is unsuccessful, or if what is going on appears to be part of a larger pattern, the mediator may suggest that you bring your problem to a Safe Space Working Group for discussion. See here for more info on deescalation.



  • applicable to both parties, but mandatory to the most vociferous.

Advocate[edit | edit source]

Discussing personal conflicts at the larger group level is not really considered all that excellent. On the other hand, a small supportive group environment more specifically committed to calm discussion and de-escalation can help defuse a problematic situation. If the parties involved cannot reach a resolution by talking with each other, or with the help of a mediator, the mediator can suggest calling a meeting of the Safe Space Working Group to involve other people to help resolve the conflict. If you try to follow these suggestions, that would be totally excellent.

Before a problem with an individual is brought to the level of calling a meeting of the Safe Space Working Group, someone must step forward to act as an advocate for the individual, even if that individual happens to be widely disliked. It is all too easy for conflict to make people act in ways that they later regret. There are sufficient people around the Space who are willing to act as advocates at the group level (see list of mediator volunteers on the Mediation wiki page).

Reporting Misbehavior[edit | edit source]

If you wish to report harassment anonymously or privately, you can send a message to secretary@noisebridge.net (or contact one of the people who have volunteered as a mediator on the Mediation page).

Safespace Reporting Tool: https://safespace.noisebridge.net/