Revision as of 22:21, 17 December 2008

The Info from the E-mail

Hackerspace name:
Hackerspace tagline:
Hackerspace website:
Hackerspace contact email (this might be you):

Tell the story of the beginning of the hackerspace. How did you come up with the idea? How did you choose the name of your hackerspace? What was your original vision? Answered

What are some obstacles that you had to overcome at the beginning of your hackerspace when you were just getting started? Answered

Describe your hackerspace. What do visitors to the space notice that is special about the space? What kind of tools and resources do you have at the space?

How often do you meet? What happens at these meetings? Answered

Describe a disaster that occurred in your hackerspace. (flood, lightning, accident or some such thing)

What are some things that have come out of your hackerspace that you are most proud of?

Was there anything that you did that was essential to the start of your hackerspace? Do you have any advice for people who might be thinking of starting a hackerspace?

BONUS POINTS

If you get this all done and feel like going an extra mile you could do one of the following. Don't do these if they will put you over the deadline.

1. Get members to tell a story or recount an adventure associated with the beginning of your hackerspace.
2. Draw a floor diagram.
3. Include a manifesto.

We will be releasing the PDF of the book under a creative commons license and we may get this published as an actual paper book. By responding to this email you are giving us the right to publish your text and photos in any way in all possible universes and dimensions.

Ok, so hopefully you've read through this and responded to all the questions. Here's a checklist to make sure you've submitted everything we need for this book.

Info: The basics filled in above.
Text: About 500 words answering the questions above.
Photos: 5 or more photos of your hackerspace.
Logo: The logo of your hackerspace.

Thanks! Please send all of this back to bre@hackerspaces.org and astera@hackerspaces.org and book@hackerspaces.org

Our info

Makers Local 256
Exploring Creativity, Ingenuity, and Resourcefulness.
http://256.makerslocal.org
chairman@makerslocal.org

In July of 2005 a group of friends, over dinner, decided it would be a cool idea if they ran a guerilla drive-in. The idea quickly fell to the way side as at the time they didn't have the means to run one. A year later one of the friends, having newly obtained a projector, remembered the idea and within two weeks it was started. It was at this time that a wiki was setup to begin cataloging their ideas so that they didn't fall to the wayside as before. Later in 2006 TechShop was created in San Francisco, this inspired the friends and got them thinking about setting up their own hackerspace to work on their projects. On October 28th, 2006 the first meeting was held to discuss projects and finding a space. Work continued from there on projects and finding a location by meeting at someone's apartment every weekend. A major breakthrough came from just sitting everyone down and having them pledge an amount they'd be willing to put forward monthly and in March 2008 we found a place that fell withing our budget. At 1100sqft it isn't the biggest place in the world, but it's a start to great things. Currently troubles we're having with the space are that it's become rather small for the amount of members we have, lacks a formal kitchen area, and has no hot water. The name Makers Local 256 came from lengthy discussion before finally settling on something that described what we were, where we were, and was vaguely union sounding. Our initial goals for the hackerspace haven't changed from it's beginning, provide a place where like minded individuals can work in an environment that inspires creativity, ingenuity, and resourcefulness and utilizes the collected skill sets to get things done. We went with the non-profit route because we believe in open source and open community and we're not in it for making a quick buck, just helping people do amazing things. As a non-profit, we're required to have a board which meets once a month to discuss problems and solutions for the daily operation of the hackerspace. Our board consists of the original ten members, all of whom contribute different monetary amounts toward making sure the space stays open. We carried over this varying dues system to new members in an effort to not exclude anyone who wants to participate.