Community Standards

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Excellence Guidelines are suggestions based on what has and hasn't worked in the past. They aren't strict rules and may change over time.
Access to Noisebridge spaces and community is a privilege, not a right The Noisebridge community habitually enjoys extending this privilege as widely as feasible, to almost everyone who walks through the door. However, if other participants in the Noisebridge community find your presence or actions threatening or excessively disruptive, as assessed in accordance with these Community Standards and Anti-Harassment Policy, or your actions not in keeping with the stated purpose of Noisebridge, they may ask the community to revoke your privilege to access the physical or online spaces of Noisebridge.


General Guidelines

Interacting with people

  • Talk to people and make friends. Part of the point of Noisebridge is interpersonal interaction, and we want to meet you and learn about whatever cool project you're working on. It's amazing how often random discussions between people at Noisebridge have turned into things that show up on the world stage.
  • On the other hand, do be sensitive to people's desire to stop talking and start hacking. If someone starts looking away, returning to their laptop or project, or begins walking away, consider that you might be the Nth person to strike up a conversation with them, and they may want to actually get something done.
  • On the third hand we must recognize that some groups are constantly talked over, ignored or dismissed. We need to be conscious of everyone’s potential contribution to the conversation and remember to be excellent and resist the urge to interject and instead be respectful.
  • If you see someone being awesome or something which is awesome, it's awesome in turn to sing its praises. Motivation is a rare commodity among us and a compliment here and there can work wonders in terms of creating more of it. We have a Noticeboard of Excellence by the door which is a good place to leave a semi-permanent thank you.
  • Don't talk about politics or religion in a way that may be considered trolling within the community. If you push peoples' buttons, it is considered very excellent to consider that you, at least in part, responsible.
  • Try to keep infodumps to new acquaintances to under a few minutes. Many people at Noisebridge are walking libraries on their field of expertise, but people rarely like being fed a textbook through their ears.

Being loud

  • Please ask before playing music through the public audio systems, especially if people are quietly enjoying the space.
  • If there are classes or meetings ongoing in the space, be extra cautious about using loud power tools. Ask the class if you are unsure whether it will be disruptive.

Respect shared stuff

  • Taking stuff from the space, even very temporarily is a surefire way to cause problems. Taking stuff permanently is definitely unexcellent, and violates the trust the community has in you as a noisebridger.

  • Everything in Noisebridge is hackable. If you don't want something taken apart and turned into a giant robot the moment your back is turned, leave it on your shelf, or mark it clearly with your name, a way to contact you, the date, and what you're doing. Even then there are no guarantees -- it's just mildly rude to hack on a labelled thing unannounced, as opposed to positively encouraged.

Respect shared space

  • Space is shared and limited. Do not store a project, large or small, for more than three months (some guilds clear projects shelves every month). Do not use noisebridge to store personal effects. Outside of specific, short term projects, do not use more than one locker.

  • Keep personal things either: in a locker, or out of the space. Although Noisebridge appears to have open corners, putting non-community items there is a surefire way to see them: thrown out, a cause for arguments, or a cause for banning.

  • If you have a project that will produce a lot of waste material, consider what you will do with that trash before proceeding. Ask yourself, “is this scrap useful to someone else?” If not, please find a way to dispose of it outside of Noisebridge, as trash collection is very expensive. Do not leave bulky trash in the space for someone else to dispose of.



No Nos

  • Noisebridge is your hackerspace, not your home. Living here is definitely an anti-pattern, so don't even try to do this! If money is a problem, have a look at our page of starving hacker resources for ways to get around and crash if you're short on cash.
  • Pull your own weight. We don't have housekeeping service, so clean up after yourself and put things away when you're done. In fact, you're going to get a lot of good karma by tidying up twice the amount of space you use on a regular basis.
  • If you are drinking at Noisebridge, it is expected that you do so responsibly. It is excellent to avoid areas with dangerous tools while drinking.

  • Don’t behave in ways that can create a hostile environment that can make individuals or groups feel threatened, marginalized or unsafe.
  • Please limit access to adult content in the space, even if it is on a personal device and you are the only person around. Not only are children frequently present, but doing so can create a hostile atmosphere, making the space less welcoming to all.
  • Do not use BitTorrent or cause problems for others using the network. If engaging in potentially harmful or legally questionable activities, use a VPN or other forms of digital protection. We've gotten DMCA notices about people snarfing copyrighted content using our links, and it is unexcellent to make other noisebridgers clean up the consequences of your actions. Please don't download copyrighted content illegally using our Internet links.

Making things better

  • If you find yourself having to explain something in the space more than once, you should probably label it.
  • If you can't throw something away in a full garbage can, you should probably empty it.

Who to bring

  • People of all ages are welcome at Noisebridge. But, please know that bringing minors to Noisebridge might result in them being exposed to ideas outside of your control. This is worth considering before deciding to bring minors (or anyone) to Noisebridge.
  • Bringing pets hasn't historically been a serious problem, but it not always considered excellent. If you bring a pet to Noisebridge, please ask others in the space if it is OK with them. Don’t leave them unattended and please do not stay in the space with your pet if anyone objects. Bringing pets is not a presumed right.
  • “Bringing” someone to Noisebridge also includes introducing them to our online spaces. Do not harass people online from the space.

No Smoking

  • If you're going to smoke or vape, do it on the sidewalk, away from our doorway. This includes all substances, including tobacco and marijuana. Do not smoke on the back patio-- it affects everyone in the space.

Off Limits

  • Going on the roof is, except in narrow conditions that you almost certainly aren't covered by, a violation of our lease agreement. It also causes leaks, and in the past a leak destroyed some irreplaceable artwork belonging to a member. Don't go up there without talking to someone who knows about the lease details.

501c3

  • Noisebridge must not be involved in any activities which could affect legislation or political campaigns, with certain limited exemptions. While not illegal, these activities may be grounds for the IRS to revoke our tax exempt status. Talk to the officers of the corporation for guidance if you are unsure whether your proposed activities will be exempt or not.


Noisebridge | About | Visit | 272 | Manual | Contact | Guilds | Resources | Events | Projects | 5MoF | Meetings | Donate | (Edit)
Manual | Visitors | Participation | Excellence | Do-ocracy | Consensus | Standards | Outreach | Operations | Cleaning | (Edit) | Category