Meeting Notes 2023 05 02

These are the notes from the The 722th Meeting of Noisebridge.

Date: 2023_05_02

Previous Meeting

Next Meeting

Note-takers: Loren, Max, Shahzoda

Moderators: Mark

Meeting Summary

Main discussion focused on Antiharassment policy updates, with a few things on specific guilds (python, ceramics)

TLDR what happened at the meeting:

• Fundraising Update: none
• Announcements: none
• Finances: $4000 deficit last month
• New members:
• New philanthropists:

   - Collin is an associate member
   - Michelle is an associate member
   - Joe is an associate member

• Consensus Items: Antiharassment policy changes
• Discussion Items: Ceramics guild, new fundraising email, python class

Introductions

Mark - Moderate meetings, video game stuff
Tilde - from south bay
Ken - been coming to NB for a couple months, woodworking and sewing area
Sean - been coming for like 3 weeks. lazer cutting and 3d printing afficianado
John - woodshop
JD - lazer cutter teacher, power tool safety, CNC
Collin - been around since December. programmaer, use the lazer
Julian - doing work with quilting
Michelle - helping w/ sewing guild. Doing stuff mixing quilting and AI
Loren - help out with Rack stuff
Max - 3D printing and Wood
Travis (tmoney) - software, trying to teach Python
Farley - Hosting meetup for programming beginners once a month on sundays
Shahzoda - software stuff, trying to get more into woodwork
Ben - lazer cutter, CNC
Joe - Game dev, lazer cutting
Sam (online) - CNC, Unreal Engine class Thursdays
Elan (online) - Wiki extraordinaire
Dana(online) - CHM, other random tasks

Short announcements and events

• Python class starting in earnest next Monday May 8th!

• We're importing a computerized knitting machine. More details coming soon. Should arrive in mid-June. Make scarves and more from images! Questions? Ask Dana & Emeline.

• No Gamebridge this Wednesday - feel free to use the VR Booth anyway tag yourself @games role in discord

• The locker audit is still going on. If you have a locker and haven't yet claimed it (look inside your locker for a piece of paper). Roughly ending next week

Excellence

(What does that mean? Please see our page on excellence https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Excellence!

Everyone is expected to follow the Anti-Harassment Policy, please familiarize yourself with it.)

Be respectful of others' use of the space.

Make others feel acknowledged and welcome. Respect peoples' time and attention.

Guilds

Sub-organizations within NB. Interest groups. Channels exist in Discord. Start and revive guilds as you can/see interest for.

New Members/Associate Members

What are they? Is anyone trying to become a Member or Associate Member? If not move on. No long discussions. Processing membership applications during the meeting.

• Joe: why do you wanna be a member? Encouraged to be more involved as he continues to use the space. Initially got involved during Global Game Jams.

To be a member you have to be a sponsor by a current member. Mark is sponsoring him. Wants to make puzzles and boardgames! [Approved]

• Michelle - being sponsored by Emily and Matt.

 - likes to work on quilting, AI quilts, collaborating with different groups. An academic, interested in looking at and recording noisebridge history. At least interested in something like that.

• Mark: What outside of sewing interests you at Noisebridge?
• Michelle: interested in anarchist process. First space she's found where it's being done in practice.
• Mark: wants to talk more about that. That could fall under some other existing groups. Any final questions about Michelle?
• Mark: Does anyone block or have any concerns. *crickets

 - Michelle is now an associate member!

• Mark: Third person applying for membership is Collin
• Collin: Already donating since January, Sam G is his sponsor. Happy to have access to a laser cutter without having to make that investment himself. Really likes working at the space because he feels like he's able to get more done. He's very grateful for the space, and he hopes to be a good member. The primary project he's working on is a bunch of drawer organizers for himself and others
• Mark: Likes organizing things as well. Wants to talk more about drawers
• Collin: I want to be a part of the laser guild. I've talked to JD about that a couple times. Interested in working and maintaining the tool. Still a lot to learn.
• Mark: Any other questions for Collin? I've talked to Collin and he seems genuinely interesting. I have no problem. Any blockers? Silence

 - Collin is now an associate member!

• John applied for membership - sponsored by Sam. Couldn't find his application at first. Been using the space for a while, finally want to join and be a part of the community.
• Does mainly workshop. Wants to pick up coding again.
• Mark: Are you ready to take more responsibilty for the space?
• John: yes I have more time and theres nothing better for me to put the time in for.

(Question: what is associate member (philanthropist) and how does it differ from member?)

• Loren: Philanthropists, associate members, agree to be responsible for the space. Members also agree to be responsible for the community.

• Mark: Anyone block John's application for associate membership?

 - No one blocks. John is an associate member!
 - sam and mark will look over the checklist with him later tn. 

Financial Report

(temporarily skipped 19:53)

• Net Deposits: 8,717.31
• Net Withdrawals: 12,651.05

• Funds in bank:
• Noisetor (See the bulletpoints at the bottom of http://noisetor.net/finances/#summary):
• Any other details by those participating in handling our financials
• The latest financial reports from the treasurer are available at https://noisebridge.net/wiki/Finances

Spending Needs

• Mark: skipping. I don't like this section
• Loren: Finance working group (finance-wg on slack) discusses this more

Fundraising Update

How's it all going Have you done any? Do we need to do any? John: Made contact with a related space: dont have a shop but are working on a very nice official venue. Called: Faight We might have access to a nice venue where we can do fundraising event.

Max: Some people came from a space called Studio 45 to use the 3D printers for a hackathon. They donated some cash to NB. Collabs are good and should be done more in the future.

Ken: we should consider doing an open house to get more people interested in the space

Mark: Sunday Streets exists. they do events in sf every month, first one is this month for this month. This month it is [neighborhood]. Our Mission neighborhood one is in July 30th. We should do something for it! Join the dicord channel #sunday-streets to be a part of it.

Shahzoda: https://www.vibrantsf.org/ - giving grants from 3-8k for pop-up shops in SoMa

• Some back and forth on this topic. Mark says its worth opening the conversation about

• Elan: If you are interested in sunday streets, there is a discord rank you can join.

Big C Consensus Items

Anti Harassment Policy Update

https://docs.google.com/document/d/14BlMYh-i1CbzUGj_AaqaF-YI2sL4WNokhJxEbev0G-U/edit

• JD: A lot has happened since 2013 when the ANTI-harassment policy was created. Particularly the Me Too movement. Not everyone is comfortable walking in to what is like a frat-house at times. If you want I can read what we got, and I'll point out the new stuff. Most of it is inherited from the old policy
• JD: \*reads the policy (check link above)
• TLDR:
  • Update some language for new space, for specific observed behavior concerns,
• Mark: So we have some language to change and clarify some things
• JD: specifically talking about how some people were feeling marginalized or uncomfortable in the space. There was language around porn put in originally to accommodate the large group of individuals working in the sex industry that came here (for example, the armory, which housed kink.com)
• Mark: We can discuss this tonight if you would like, but feel free to take your time. People can take the chance to read it and comment on any thoughts.
• Travis: it sounds like you are for keeping some of the porn language, just for clarity are you shifting that language away from the anti-harassment policy and into community standards?
• Travis: one more question: I'm looking at the wiki, and it says the reporting of the harassment - isn't that an important part of it? If there is no one responsible... I'm just wondering if any of that needs to be updated?
• JD: It absolutely needs to get updated
• Loren: Safe Spaces is a tool noisebridge uses
• John: is "ask to leave" a part of this, or is that something separate?
• JD: that's a mediation thing, not part of AHP - Mark agrees
• Elan: Ask to leave is a mechanism for addressing an AHP thing, but it is separate. Closely related, but separate. You can do physical damage to the space and get asked to leave, but that's not harassment.
• Mark: is not respecting an ask to leave a violation of this policy or some other policy
• Travis: there is value in brevity too.
• Loren: it might be good to document the ways things do get handled, just so we know, and have some precedent.
• John: One really strong reason to be more specific about our policy is in making clear what to do in certain situations, for example, one of like physical violence/etc.

• Ken: I think "ask to leave" should be under disengagement. It is when there are no moderators around, disengagement is kind of the best possible solution.
• Travis: This seems to already be documented

• John: Early on, the AHP proposal uses the word "genuine" discrimmination and harassment. I think that word should be removed
• Will continue adding to the document asynchronously

We are going to defer consensus on this till the next meeting so people have more of a chance to read it and decide if they have any objections.

Discussion

Discussion Item 1

Fundraising Email Address

Basically a request for people who manage Rack. We want a noisebridge email adress we can colectively use for fundraising communications. Please help us Rack people!

Q: What has been NB fundraising campaigns and events in the past?

Various events and donations of machines/money from companies.

Discussion Item 2

finance update. email fundraising@noisebridge.net, and/or business cards. grant finding & applying — there are services.

Discussion Item 3

Python class

• Travis: I came here a couple months ago to get more involved because there was a meetup link for a python class. Mohammed said it was a python class or whatever but no one was there. I'm trying to run the class, got access to meetup, people RSVP'ed no one showed up. In the past 5 weeks of running the python class on Mondays, only 2 people have shown up. I'm asking for some opinions on how we could get more interest, if possible at all. How can I raise awareness?

Suggestions:

   - be specific on the meeting level beginners
   - have a baseline knowledge 
   - make it less often
   - add some signage around the place 
   - central place where people can see all the classes: meetup + noisebridge.net
   - specific themes
   - emailing a professor and bootcamps!
   - doing it regularly!
   - do it even without the students

Discussion Item 4

Ceramics

Noisebridge has a ceramics Guild! Equipment by the powerpanel (near the doorway) Some discussion + possibly alarm around this. It will be slowburn guild formation. It's complicated and we will not rush it. Physically, its complicated. We are also gathering equipment and determing what are needs are. We also need more volunteers. In month or two! Very open to people. No proposal just yet. Talk in #ceramics on Discord.

Do-ocratic Task Board

Participation also means doing stuff to contribute to the space. Propose new tasks or pick some tasks from Github, from what needs to be done around you, or whatever, and see if someone will sign up to work on that task. Anyone can sign up and it's a great way to show you are contributing!