On Friday, February 21, 2014 21:11:31 a l wrote: > *I'm not happy with SYNHAK's image and our interpersonal communication. I > feel that some members of the community are trying to treat SYNHAK as a > faceless corporation that caters to people who pay dues. I often hear of > strong delineations between Members and non-members, where Members have > first pickings for certain things or other rights that are not given to > non-Members. Over the weekend, I saw someone say "SYNHAK is starting an > ISP!". SYNHAK, Inc has a handful of tax exempt accounts at various local > establishments with no clear rules on how to use them. We're sacrificing > hacking space to one person through a real lease, with legalese and > everything. I can't count how many times I've heard the phrase "SYNHAK is > going to do X" as if it were some official statement that everyone is > obliged to follow.* > > > > SynHak, Inc. Does indeed have tax exempt accounts at a number of retailers > and while we have not explicitly stated how these accounts are to be used > there are explicit rules, with penalties for non-compliance. The summary is > that they are to -only- be used in furthering the mission statement of > Syn/Hak, inc. > > > http://www.tax.ohio.gov/faq/tabid/6315/Default.aspx?QuestionID=433&AFMID=113 > 54 > > The point about us being an event center is an important one. While members > may use the space for events it must be explicit that SynHak, inc. is not a > host of events unless they are educational in nature or otherwise further > our goal as defined in the articles of incorporation. This is very > important when it comes to retaining our tax exempt status.
I wholly agree. Too many people are thinking that because something is being done at SYNHAK, it is suddenly something sanctioned by SYNHAK, Inc. > * My last full day of Champion is 6 days away, on February 27th. I'm not > running for the Board or re-running for Champion. I'm not doing those > because I want to finally step back and enjoy the fruits of my labor as a > member. I'm lately finding it hard to enjoy, as I feel that the > collaborative culture of SYNHAK is being slowly eroded away in favor of > behind-the-back communication channels, assumptions that others who > disagree with you are acting in bad faith, and "Professionalism". * > > There have been a number of disagreements and arguments that could have > been avoided simply by talking about what people are doing. Some of this > was simply because there had been discussion with sub-groups of people > about a given decision but never a discussion with the body whole. This > results in surprise and confusion as people think there is consensus when > there is not. Further there has been a rise in people using 'do-ocracy' > as a cover for unilateral action. There is a fine line between doing > something because it needs to be done and no one is stepping up, implicit > approval, and doing things that an individual wants done while no one is > around to tell them no. This line is often blurrier than we care for and > people may not realize they have run afoul until there is public outcry > seemingly from no where. This lack of communication is wholly pissing me off. Forever ago, we agreed on the (possibly unwritten) rule of "If it didn't happen on the list, it didn't happen." Myself and others have fought very hard to encourage that through mailing meeting minutes to discuss@, mailing membership applications to discuss@, calling board votes through the various lists, working to get our proposals in writing on discuss@, etc. Here's a very poignant example: Last week, I had been painting the hexagon wall that Chris had laid out. I came in earlier this week and electrical conduit had been mounted over the unpainted wall adjacent to it and the still unifinished hexagon wall. I'll admit that I hadn't announced my intention to continue its progress on build@ or anywhere else. I had grown weary of nobody telling me what they were working on or what they were planning to start, so I stopped caring about making the weekly buildout report. However, the wall was clearly not finished. The excellent thing to do would be to mail the list or otherwise get in contact with me and ask when I was going to finish the wall. It is *incredibly* unexcellent and demotivating to mount a bunch of shiny conduit that we all agreed should not be painted over to an unfinished wall, and not put any painters tape on it or even try to figure out if it makes sense to delay it. > > Just because we are a hackerspace does not mean we can't be > professional. Likewise > we don't have to be professional at all times, but SynHak, Inc. is a > company and if we want to keep working with the local government, schools, > and library it would make things easier if we considered our surroundings > when conducting ourselves. > > > * To me, SYNHAK is a community that wants to build a space for hackers. As > part of that mission, there is a limited infrastructure that is used by the > community to collect rent, pay bills, and protect that limited > infrastructure against legal hassles. It isn't a machine shop, a computer > lab, an event space, a datacenter, a warehouse, a garage, a classroom, or > even a kitchen. 48 S. Summit has those features. 48 S. Summit is a side > effect of SYNHAK that is a result of that limited infrastructure's mission > to provide a space for hackers to accomplish what they want to accomplish. > 48 S. Summit isn't SYNHAK. It is our community's largest group project that > many of us are working on in whatever ways we think are the most helpful > way to carve out a space for hackers like ourselves. The electronics lab > isn't SYNHAK, Inc.'s electronics lab. It is a tool that the community we > have come to call "SYNHAK" can use and in exchange maintains. Much of it is > on loan from members, some of it is even owned by the limited > infrastructure set forth in our bylaws and incorporation document filed > with the State of Ohio. The same can be said about our kitchen, data > center, etc, etc. If someone wants to run an educational program out of 48 > S. Summit, they are more than welcome to. SYNHAK, Inc does not and *should > not* run educational programs. I do not want anyone to feel obligated to > contribute to running an educational program. The global community of > hackers or a subset thereof are welcome to use SYNHAK to run an educational > program in the City of Akron, but that is their own endeavor. * > This part I > must disagree with. As we are currently established SynHak, Inc. is a > charitable organization with educational and instructional endeavors. Our > mission statement, state, and federal tax exemptions are all contingent on > SynHak, Inc. providing some form of education. > This does not mean that every member must participate in public outreach > but it does mean that as a company SynHak must provide educational value if > it wants to continue operating under the exemptions it is currently > enjoying. The requirements are not specific in how we meet this > educational goal. The speakers bureau is one way, the childrens outreach > known as the Young Aristotles is another way, the reference library we > maintain is a third way. These methods were chosen because there was > community interest in supporting them. While every member is not required > to contribute it is unrealistic to expect the entire educational > requirement to be met by one or a few members. Educational value does not necessarily require a structured environment. For me, the educational value comes from the collaborative atmosphere within the community. People are encouraged to work together and bounce ideas off of each other. We learn from each other and share in kind. This has been stated at nearly every single meeting: "SYNHAK provides space, tools, and infrastructure to help others learn new skills and create cool things." SYNHAK doesn't provide educational programs. Members can use SYNHAK to provide educational programs. I would also like to argue that we did not establish SYNHAK, Inc with educational and instructional endeavors. The corporation was established to protect our members, board, and officers against financial liability along with providing a structure to organize the community and allocate shared resources. Should SYNHAK's finances run out, no single person can be held responsible to pay our rent and bills. It took us at least two months to hammer out the mission statement: "SYN/HAK provides an environment for people to educate, create, and share amongst themselves and others within the domains of technology, art and science." I do not see how that says we incorporated as SYNHAK, Inc with instructional and educational endeavors. It clearly says: * SYNHAK provides an environment * This environment is provided for people * People can use the environment to educate, create, and share amongst themselves * People can use the environment to do those things if they're related to technology, art, and science. I would welcome an explanation of how this means that SYNHAK needs to provide education. > > * I live outside mainstream culture. The world is full of interesting > problems to be solved. Attitude is no substitute for competence. Freedom is > good; I have an instinctive hostility towards censorship, secrecy, and the > use of deception to compel others. I'm always willing to act on those > beliefs. * > > Perhaps this is in regards to the 'back-channels communication' referenced > before, I don't see censorship or intentional deception to compel anyone > at synhak. I have been less active than others though so perhaps I'm just > not there to see it. > > > > > > * When I'm done as Champion, I will continue to use our limited governance > infrastructure to carve out a space for hackers in the City of Invention. > SYNHAK is a hacker space. A space for hackers. Not a space for corporate > bullshit.* > > I mentioned this in another discussion. Like it or not the state and > federal government see us as a corporation. There will be times when > SynHak, Inc. must behave as a corporation particularly if we intend to get > preferential treatment in the form of tax exemption and tens(hundreds?) of > thousands of dollars in grant money as is currently being discussed. > It is possible to behave as a corporation without acting like we have shareholders, members have special rights over non-members, or stifling a creative atmosphere with bureaucracy. I hate rules unless they're absolutely needed, which is why I waited 'till now to post the recent series of threads for discussion about rule changes. Our mechanisms are no longer sustainable which needs rectified immediately. > > > Regards, > > Andrew L > > On Fri, Feb 21, 2014 at 7:53 PM, alex kot <[email protected]> wrote: > > As a somewhat newer member, I find Syn/Hak to be a community not a > > corporation. I find the concept of it being an open source hackerspace is > > a great thing. The foundation of open source is to share and collaborate. > > > > I find education is an important part of a community. Not everyone is an > > > > expert in every field, why having a diverse group to share knowledge is > > part of the concept. Of course there is going to be disagreements on what > > people think, it is human nature. As the person who sparked the idea of > > this place, I believe you an extreme value to this place. > > > > > > Sincerely, > > Alex Kot > > > > On Friday, February 21, 2014 7:07 PM, a l <[email protected]> wrote: > > I'm on my phone so I'll be briefer than is warranted for the topic. > > > > Regarding the sublease of space to a member. I was under the impression > > that this activity had been discussed and mentioned in the list a few > > times. I don't recall any intentional hiding of this arrangement. I > > thought, perhaps erroniously, that this had been brought up as a proposal. > > I agree with parts and disagree with others but I'm glad you brought it > > up; I'm sure if one person gets an impression others have it as well. > > Regards, > > Andrew L > > On Feb 21, 2014 6:03 PM, "Torrie Fischer" <[email protected]> > > wrote: > > > > Hi, hakkers. > > > > This is something thats been bothering me for some time, so I want to > > discuss > > it with everyone. This is a mail that I've edited and re-edited over the > > last > > few months, so it isn't in response to recent bizops@ discussion. > > > > I'm not happy with SYNHAK's image and our interpersonal communication. > > > > I feel that some members of the community are trying to treat SYNHAK as a > > faceless corporation that caters to people who pay dues. I often hear of > > strong delineations between Members and non-members, where Members have > > first > > pickings for certain things or other rights that are not given to > > non-Members. > > Over the weekend, I saw someone say "SYNHAK is starting an ISP!". SYNHAK, > > Inc > > has a handful of tax exempt accounts at various local establishments with > > no > > clear rules on how to use them. We're sacrificing hacking space to one > > person > > through a real lease, with legalese and everything. I can't count how many > > times I've heard the phrase "SYNHAK is going to do X" as if it were some > > official statement that everyone is obliged to follow. > > > > My last full day of Champion is 6 days away, on February 27th. I'm not > > running > > for the Board or re-running for Champion. I'm not doing those because I > > want > > to finally step back and enjoy the fruits of my labor as a member. I'm > > lately > > finding it hard to enjoy, as I feel that the collaborative culture of > > SYNHAK > > is being slowly eroded away in favor of behind-the-back communication > > channels, assumptions that others who disagree with you are acting in bad > > faith, and "Professionalism". > > > > To me, SYNHAK is a community that wants to build a space for hackers. As > > part > > of that mission, there is a limited infrastructure that is used by the > > community to collect rent, pay bills, and protect that limited > > infrastructure > > against legal hassles. It isn't a machine shop, a computer lab, an event > > space, a datacenter, a warehouse, a garage, a classroom, or even a > > kitchen. 48 > > S. Summit has those features. 48 S. Summit is a side effect of SYNHAK that > > is > > a result of that limited infrastructure's mission to provide a space for > > hackers to accomplish what they want to accomplish. > > > > 48 S. Summit isn't SYNHAK. It is our community's largest group project > > that > > many of us are working on in whatever ways we think are the most helpful > > way > > to carve out a space for hackers like ourselves. The electronics lab isn't > > SYNHAK, Inc.'s electronics lab. It is a tool that the community we have > > come > > to call "SYNHAK" can use and in exchange maintains. Much of it is on loan > > from > > members, some of it is even owned by the limited infrastructure set forth > > in > > our bylaws and incorporation document filed with the State of Ohio. The > > same > > can be said about our kitchen, data center, etc, etc. If someone wants to > > run > > an educational program out of 48 S. Summit, they are more than welcome to. > > SYNHAK, Inc does not and *should not* run educational programs. I do not > > want > > anyone to feel obligated to contribute to running an educational program. > > The > > global community of hackers or a subset thereof are welcome to use SYNHAK > > to > > run an educational program in the City of Akron, but that is their own > > endeavor. > > > > I live outside mainstream culture. The world is full of interesting > > problems > > to be solved. Attitude is no substitute for competence. Freedom is good; I > > have an instinctive hostility towards censorship, secrecy, and the use of > > deception to compel others. I'm always willing to act on those beliefs. > > > > When I'm done as Champion, I will continue to use our limited governance > > infrastructure to carve out a space for hackers in the City of Invention. > > > > SYNHAK is a hacker space. A space for hackers. Not a space for corporate > > bullshit. > > _______________________________________________ > > Discuss mailing list > > [email protected] > > https://synhak.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Discuss mailing list > > [email protected] > > https://synhak.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Discuss mailing list > > [email protected] > > https://synhak.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] https://synhak.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
