Building a Hacker Space (2007) [pdf]
fahrplan.events.ccc.de
fahrplan.events.ccc.de
It inspired many, including me, to open a hackerspace and to this day is the document I refer people to when they want to start one.
What is amazing is that even after almost 15 years, these design patterns still matches how my hackerspace runs. This isn't because we follow them religiously, just that they are natural and very effective.
I would encourage anyone wanting to create a hackerspace, or any other social space for that matter, read these over.
It is also important to know that these are patterns and guidelines, not rules. If something doesn't fit with your community, your community should be empowered to change things that fit them better.
I was jumping on here to say the same thing - we shared these guidelines with new folks regularly, and they helped us avoid some mistakes along the way. We've iterated on them of course, but it was wonderful to have a sane starting place
Looking back at these patterns and stories, now 13 years into the i3Detroit hackerspace, is wild. They are not a strict prophecy, but they foretell a lot of the things we've encountered along the way. (Never had anyone try to live at the space, but pretty much everything else and so much more...)
I think the hardest problem has been shaking new members of the idea that they're just passengers. Obviously the founders and early members knew they were shaping things as they went along. But later members perceive the group as "fully formed" and don't seem as comfortable taking the reins.
Also I recommend people to read through these.
[1] https://pumpingstationone.org/
[2] https://pumpingstationone.org/equipment/
[3] https://wiki.pumpingstationone.org/Formlabs_Form_3_SLA_Print...
I wish more cities had a place like this.
Building a Hacker Space (2007) [pdf] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15998894 - Dec 2017 (10 comments)
Building a Hacker Space (2007) [pdf] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12961105 - Nov 2016 (2 comments)
Probably exacerbated if it's a "capital-strapped hackerspace in an expensive city", as the cheaper places to rent will be far-flung.
The document has a refreshingly clear antipattern/solution structure, and it is wise in saying you need at least 4 people before starting one.
> Have fridges for Club-Mate
Yes please! (So sad that it seems no one outside of Germany likes Club-Mate) (pg: 30, 80-81)
Club-Mate: Mate tea soda with less sugar than most sodas but more caffine. (pronounced Klube (rhymes with Tube), Mah-tay)
My friends spent years bootstrapping and maintaining a local hackerspace.
Most of their problems could be traced back to people trying to live at the hackerspace. 95% of people were trying to use it as a hackerspace, but 5% saw it as an opportunity to do some combination of sleep, shower, eat, and relax among interesting people for significantly less than it would cost to rent somewhere. It gets even harder when the person in question is friends with so-and-so, who will try to defend having them live at the space while they're down on their luck.
I was never heavily involved with the space, but having watched their struggles I would agree: Nobody lives there, nobody stays overnight, no exceptions. Maintain a hard line against this and enforce it early.
I wonder if its something that could feasibly be organized or if hackerspaces should just stay hackerspaces.
- Design Patterns 2.0: https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Hackerspace_Design_Patterns...
- Mitch Altman's talk on the above: https://av.tib.eu/media/38105
What's interesting to me about this is that I used to run a student org, and the same principals apply. Was a great learning experience for me, and I think if you're interested in leadership and building social spaces like this it's something you should take if you get the opportunity.
was very heavily involved in the birth and first few locations, say 2009 - 2012. tailed off as my family and work responsibilities grew. happy that it's still a going concern and that the maker scene in town has grown, shrunk, grown again, and stabilized.
they even have a law just waiting on the governor's signature establishing a fund to support more makerspaces: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/s...
Maker spaces don't seem to work well in high-rent areas. For software-only projects, they aren't really necessary.
What happened with the staffer?
+1 to the other points. It's quite an interesting challenge trying to find product-market fit for a capital-strapped hackerspace in an expensive city these days.