On Friday, December 06, 2013 14:54:16 Philip P. Patnode wrote: > *Suggestions for consideration by SYNHAK members -* > > *To avoid confusion, disappointment, and wasting time on projects that will > never happen, I suggest that the JUNK PILE (clearly marked with a sign, > usage policy established) be separated from the RECENT DONATIONS PILE (not > marked, no policy) and I suggest **a formal SH policy be established for > donations.* > > *In my opinion, two things need to happen at SYNHAK regarding future > donations.* > > *One*, *the SH policy* on all donations - from any source, of any kind - > needs to be clearly stated and communicated to all members and non-members, > in print or by email or as added text on the SH webpage or all three.
Yeah, totes. We need to figure out something we can all agree on as a protocol for receiving donations at the space. > > *Two*,* the physical location* at SH for recent hardware donations needs to > be clearly marked with a sign/appropriate comments. For example, "Don't > Take" or "Not Available" or "Death by Laser" or "To Be Evaluated" might be > used to convey the message. Huh? Thats a bit restricting. Given time, I think the recent donations pile would quickly become a second junk pile, but with people staying away from it because hacking is not allowed. I know that I don't usually sort through new donations that show up because I'm not really sure where things would fit in the space. See also: my mail earlier this week to encourage more funds for a bigger space > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > -------------- > > Here is the back story behind the suggestions. My apologies for the length > and details necessary to tell the story. > > At about 7.15pm last night, because of the delay over the turkey cooking > experiment, I spent some time taking a casual look at the contents of the > hardware junk pile near the entrance to the main room. Looked at and dug > through lots of boxes and shelves full of stuff, all under a sign > indicating that all of it was in the correct place - the Junk Pile. > > Much to my surprise, I found a HP g7 series laptop that was very similar to > the HP g7-1019wm that I had brought with me to SH last night, in the hope > of finding someone to help me diagnose/identify the problems and guide me > through the repair process. The HP I brought is a personal laptop and not > an item I plan to sell on eBay or Craigslist. It has a bad cooling fan > (does not rotate - ever), a glitchy on/off switch, and two keys damaged - > the K and the L, and maybe other problems. > > A long-time full member of SH (not to be named) stopped by to chat and > discuss the situation with me. During the conversation, he made it very > clear that I could "claim" the donated item I found in the junk pile and > use parts from it to fix my laptop. He was aware that I am not a sponsored > member of SH, only a recent interested person who likes the concept of SH > and has made an effort to swim with the rolling tide. As the turkey frying > situation was still developing out on the loading deck, I spent the next 45 > minutes doing some online research about the specs for both HP laptops and > going through the HP support forums to read the comments about similar > problems. I was on page two of my notes when a dark cloud appeared on the > horizon. > > My joy of finding a possible solution to my laptop problem turned to > serious disappointment and frustration when another long-time full member > of SH (again, not to be named) approached and summarily declared that the > donated item was not available to me or anyone else, but would be retained > by SH to be diagnosed and possibly repaired and used by SH or sold for > cash. There was no room allowed for any further discussion about the > donated laptop. Do'ocracy in action? Wowzers. That is highly unexcellent. Whoever did that should've heard your claim to it and understood that they can't just take things from others. The junk pile isn't the exclusive property of SYNHAK members. It never has been. > > As a non-member, with no power, no influence, no ace-in-the-hole, and > definitely no say about anything regarding anything at SH, I tried to > minimize my comments and watched as the member picked up the laptop off the > work area where I had it and proceeded to disassemble it on another bench, > check out a few items, and put it back together again. He then moved to a > back room, out of sight and out of reach, as if he was concerned that it > would find a way back to the junk pile, or worse, out to someone's car and > disappear forever. The series of actions by the member almost appeared as > if he was worried I would run off with the donated HP moment he turned his > back on it, although I might be entirely in error about his thoughts on the > matter. Nah, the back room is our member storage closet. If someone finds a donation to be useful, they'll pick it up and start hacking on it. If they've got plans for it, it goes into the storage room or gets a Do Not Hack sticker. Still though, they have no right to take it away from someone who has laid claim to it, regardless of membership status. There are only four benefits to SYNHAK membership: 1. You can participate in our self governance 2. You get to use the member storage room 3. An option to have a lock on a member bin in the storage room 4. Apply for a key I'm still a bit shocked that the laptop was just taken without any discussion, *especially* for an impromptu donation that nobody else knew about unless they happened to be in the space in the last two days or were particularly observant. I would appreciate it if the person in question contacted Philip and discussed a solution. > > The names of the SH members who were involved are not essential to the > issue and are not the basis for the suggestions. Personalities play no > part in my suggestion to take action on the matter of donations to SH. > Only turkey feathers should be ruffled, as I am not making this an issue > about any particular member. > > On a final note, I would consider buying the donated HP g7 series laptop > from SH at a reasonable price to use for parts or repair, if it is > available now or becomes available in the near future. > > In the meantime, I will avoid even looking at anything within 10ft of the > combo donations/junk pile. I don't want to get my hope up and then have it > dashed again. > > Philip _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] https://synhak.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
