I am doing this where I am! It’s difficult work, but really rewarding when the group starts to gel and the meetings start to feel productive and approach the vision.
A big part of what’s difficult in my experience is walking the private/public line. The vibe can be fragile, and public events can go off the rails. But starting something like this without evangelizing it can be demotivating because there’s just not enough people to feel like a real community.
it’s hard, emotional labor – especially in america. i was really inspired by my time in germany, where hacking revolves around community & love, not money and careerism.
our hackerspace (layer zero) has a “no corporate anything” policy, which has been rather effective - https://layerze.ro/
I have been thinking about how to further communicate the a-professional, a-corporate (or anti-corporate) aspects of the club I’m building. Gotta think some more about it!
Another basis for a computer-ish club you might be able to establish is a simple reading day club. Quite a lot of people have difficult CS textbooks they own and aspirationally would like to read, although never get around to it (sometimes for years on end). Just setting aside an entire day for quiet study from 10 am - 4 pm some place has proven attractive to people in my friend group. I usually provide a light lunch of dal & rice and chain-brew loose-leaf tea throughout the day. Do one of these a week and you chew through textbooks at a decent clip!
this is something that I have been starting about doing recently. most of the hacker/computer that i have been to have all just really seem to be more about networking/corporate feeling which i do not really know how to prevent. places like cyberia.club give me something to aim for tho
The recurse center’s social guidelines are a really good call out. If you ever intend to run any kind of event or community, I would highly recommend at least reading them over to inform what your own guidelines should be. They reflect on the kinds of emotional/social failures that can so easily happen in nerd spaces.
I am doing this where I am! It’s difficult work, but really rewarding when the group starts to gel and the meetings start to feel productive and approach the vision.
A big part of what’s difficult in my experience is walking the private/public line. The vibe can be fragile, and public events can go off the rails. But starting something like this without evangelizing it can be demotivating because there’s just not enough people to feel like a real community.
it’s hard, emotional labor – especially in america. i was really inspired by my time in germany, where hacking revolves around community & love, not money and careerism.
our hackerspace (layer zero) has a “no corporate anything” policy, which has been rather effective - https://layerze.ro/
also, hai henderson :)
Hey j3s :)
I have been thinking about how to further communicate the a-professional, a-corporate (or anti-corporate) aspects of the club I’m building. Gotta think some more about it!
Another basis for a computer-ish club you might be able to establish is a simple reading day club. Quite a lot of people have difficult CS textbooks they own and aspirationally would like to read, although never get around to it (sometimes for years on end). Just setting aside an entire day for quiet study from 10 am - 4 pm some place has proven attractive to people in my friend group. I usually provide a light lunch of dal & rice and chain-brew loose-leaf tea throughout the day. Do one of these a week and you chew through textbooks at a decent clip!
this is something that I have been starting about doing recently. most of the hacker/computer that i have been to have all just really seem to be more about networking/corporate feeling which i do not really know how to prevent. places like cyberia.club give me something to aim for tho
The recurse center’s social guidelines are a really good call out. If you ever intend to run any kind of event or community, I would highly recommend at least reading them over to inform what your own guidelines should be. They reflect on the kinds of emotional/social failures that can so easily happen in nerd spaces.
esperanto spotted
subtaksita komento; mi deziras pli da homoj parolus esperanton…