Polar Bear Wrestling Meeting Archives
For more details on Polar Bear Wrestling meetings, see the main PBW page.
Wed May 9, 2012 7:30PM - 8:00PM
Proposal #1:
- Proposal: We change the policy from "members get a key after 30 days" to "all members get a key".
- Context: The rule was 30 days so we wouldn't willy-nilly give out keys to strangers. But, this seems like another rule we've outgrown. We're more aggressively locking the door at night these days. It sure would be nice to not lock out new members.
Yes- 9
No- 0
Wed March 14, 2012 7:30PM - 8:00PM
Proposal #1:
- Proposal: The rule: "A draft of a PBW proposal must be submitted to the Announcements@ email list at least two weeks before the PBW. Revisions and discussion should be taken to the Discussions@ mailing list" will be updated to send the draft proposal to government@ instead, with revisions and discussion also to take place on government@.
- Context: Encouraging discussion is good. However, announcements@ is designed to be very low traffic, and a high bar is set regarding what's considered OK to post there. government@ has been previously proposed as the list for discussing policy, and we encourage new members to join it. Draft proposals are more appropriate for government@.
Yes- 4
No- 3
Proposal #2:
- Proposal: The rule: "A draft of a PBW proposal must be auto-emailed to the 'government' mailing list at the time the PBW wiki page is frozen ahead of the meeting." will be changed to post the final agenda to announcements@ instead.
- Context: Conversely, the final rules are appropriate to send out to the whole Dojo to alert them that a vote will happen.
Yes- 5
No- 0
Proposal #3:
- Proposal: The rule: " It is OK to crash at the Dojo if Happy Hour runs late, for example, but no one may use the Dojo or its parking for sleeping twice in a row or as a residence." will be changed to read "It is OK to crash at the Dojo during all-night events or in situations where it would be unsafe for you to leave prior to taking a nap. Otherwise, no one may use the Dojo or its parking for overnight sleeping, and excessive or repeated daytime napping (as determined by other members) will not be allowed."
- Context: We've had a number of complaints regarding people sleeping at the Dojo. The current rule is too loose and doesn't adequately define when it is or is not OK to sleep there. This makes it both difficult and arbitrary to enforce the desired rule, which is basically to not rely on the Dojo regularly for sleeping. This rule more explicitly spells out the intent of the original rule so that enforcement will be more straightforward.
Yes- 1
No- 6
Proposal #4:
- Proposal:
The rule: "If proposal #3 above is passed, the policy shall be posted in all bathrooms"
- Context: Many policy trangressions stem from non-awareness. This will address the issue.
This proposal was not sent to announcements@ per last month's rules for PBW, so it was not recognized as a proposal or voted on during the March 14th meeting.
Wed January 11th, 2012 7:30PM - 8:00PM (deadline to add proposals: Mon, January 9th)
Proposal #1:
- Proposal: A draft of a PBW proposal must be submitted to the Announcements@ email list at least two weeks before the PBW. Revisions and discussion should be taken to the Discussions@ mailing list.
The final version that must be voted on must be in the wiki as of 11:59pm the Monday before the pbw meeting.
- Context: This is so that it can be discussed and refined before the final form that is voted on. The PBW is only supposed to contain voting, it does not have the time nor is it a good format for discussion. The only way I can think of to allow discussion without making the amount of time spent prohibitive to people who want to help is through email.
yes - 4
no - 3
Proposal #2:
- Proposal: A draft of a PBW proposal must be auto-emailed to the 'government' mailing list at the time the PBW wiki page is frozen ahead of the meeting.
- Context: This is to notify members of the policy changes that will be voted on in case they forgot to check the PBW wiki page.
yes - 8
no - 1
Proposal #3:
- Proposal: A draft of a PBW proposal must be auto-emailed to the 'announcements' mailing list at the time the PBW wiki page is frozen ahead of the meeting.
- Context: Created a separate issue just for the announcements mailing list so that it can be voted upon separately.
yes - 2
no - 6
Proposal #4:
- Proposal: Post a print-out listing of all the Hacker Dojo mailing lists and their descriptions throughout the Dojo, particularly at the signin kiosks, in the restrooms, by the water fountains, and on the vending machine, with instructions on how to join.
- Context: Many members currently don't even know that they have a separate Dojo email address and that Dojo is managed via the mailing lists.
yes - 0
no - 0
Note: it was noted this doesn't need to be a policy / can just be done without any official process. And, Katy volunteered to do this.
Wed December 14th, 2011 7:30PM - 8:00PM (deadline to add proposals: Mon, December 12th)
Proposal #1:
- Proposal: Purchase of GOOD vacuum cleaner.
- Context: Dojo is a messy place, and still doesn't get the love she deserves. The vacuum cleaner we have is old, messy and bad. We need a GOOD vacuum cleaner, preferably one that doesn't need bags. To that end, I suggest purchasing a Dyson cleaner. I use one at home, and it works great. It's even fun to use. Purchase price should be around $350-$400. They have long warranties, and pickup everything. There are many times I want to do a spot clean in an office, or on the stairs, but the thought of pulling out that dusty clanky dinosaur we have as a cleaner, causes me to walk away from the job.
yes - 3
no - 7
Proposal #2:
- Proposal: "Clean it Days" Like FixIt days, but just for cleaning.
- Context: Dojo does have a great cleaning service now, but that service is for the daily messes. We need to have a regularly scheduled "clean it day" like a FixIt day, perhaps once a quarter to clean all the other spots. With more people showing up to help clean, the work will be much easier. 8,000 sqft / 50 members gets the place cleaned in an hour. Problem areas include: Stairs to the deck, haven't been cleaned in a year. Floor in 140b, more than a year? No dusting EVER, etc. NOt trying to complain, just point out obvious spots.
yes - 2
no - 8
Proposal #3:
- Proposal: Members may purchase -- and be reimbursed via regular process -- supplies from a pre-approved list if the Dojo is out of stock. Member must get sign-off from three other members in order to verify we are really out of stock. The list will be located on the wiki and maintained by the operations team.
- Context: Time to time Dojo runs out of basic supplies such as trash can liners, paper towels, etc. The delivery to resupply these items can take a day or more, during which time Dojo sanitation begins to decline. However, most of these supplies can be restocked instantly from local stores. This is a proposal to allow the Dojo treasurer to reimburse any member for such purchases for the Dojo, as long as they are on the list of specific allowed sanitary items that are out of stock.
yes - 4
no - 7
Proposal #4:
- Proposal: No office cubicles / office cubicle dividers / partitioned desk space anywhere at the Dojo.
- Context: I just noticed that those large wooden sheets in Savanna are desk partition dividers / office cubicles that are intended to go up pretty soon. This is a proposal to not put them up, or if they are already up then to take them down.
- The Dojo is a hacker-space, not a co-working facility, and the cubicles/partitions would detract from the open and social innovative atmosphere.
- They would take up room, limiting what kind of events can be held at Savanna.
- They would not provide significant privacy for the people using them.
- They would use up corners of Savanna that could otherwise be used for multi-person meetings.
- Some people will leave trash in them, so they would require regular cleaning.
Further propose that the dividers either be reused as building materials for the Tardis, or be donated to some institution that needs them more than the Dojo, such as the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
postpone - 9
dont postpone - 4
Proposal #5:
- Proposal: Minimal Dress Code: " No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service."
- Context:From time to time, visitors of the Dojo come without wearing shoes, which can endanger their health, but more importantly others health. If someone wants to run the risk of getting tenitous from a piece of broken metal laying on the floor of the Dojo, I suppose that is their business, HOWEVER, bare feet also carry fungus, and mildew that is spread to others, and therefore the Dojo should require at least some kind of foot covering, to prevent the spread of foot disease.
Additionally, a shirt, or torso covering is appropriate as well. Drunken revelers at the Happy Hour, from time to time feel the need to shed their clothes, and run around shirtless, sweating and drunk. The Dojo is NOT a night club, or frat house, and who knows what organisms are being shed from profusely sweating pores. It's the "HackerDojo", not "HeadeanistsDojo"
yes - 2
no - lots
Wed November 9th, 2011 6:45PM - 7:15PM (deadline to add proposals: Mon, November 7th)
Proposal #1:
- Proposal: Events@ should have the power to designate temporary over-21 spaces during events in order to better ensure compliance with applicable laws.
- Context: During the expansion party we attempted to keep the alcohol room limited to 21+ to avoid legal problems from underage drinking. This was later proven to not be academic as a group of teenagers made repeated attempts to enter the room but were turned back. The issue is that were they Dojo members they would technically have the right to enter the room. While we have very few members under 21, I think this is worthy of an official exemption given the legal risk involved.
yes: 13
no: 0
Proposal #2:
- Proposal: HackerDojo treasurer should update the budget and balance on a monthly basis to Dojo members via wiki.
- Context: The only budget update visible is from two years ago (2009) and it is hard to see month to month rolling balance for the members to get a good sense of Dojo's financial strength. Knowing the rolling balance and the current monthly budget assignment will give Dojo members better context under which they can suggest any new purchases or projects that would require funding from Dojo treasury.
yes:0
no: lots
Proposal #3:
Proposal: Amend Visitors/Drop-ins | Not a Public Facility to say:
Non-members are only allowed in the Dojo between the hours of 8am - 10pm unless they are the guest of an active member or are attending an event reserving space past those hours. Regardless of these hours, non-members are guests of the Dojo and can be asked to leave any time without a needed reason.
Context: We've established per convention that non-members can only be in the Dojo when members are present and willing to take responsibility for them being here. Currently, that ends up meaning non-members can stay until the last responsible member leaves.
However, it's uncomfortable to kick people out, particularly when it's your personal "decision." Also, at the point you want to leave the Dojo at the end of the night, having to do the rounds and wait for all the non-members to leave is very inconvenient and requires you to prepare a long time before leaving. Perhaps worst, the last-member convention means you're almost always doing this alone, which isn't ideal for a possibly confrontational process.
By setting a time per policy, we A) set clear expectations, B) keep it from having to be a personal action for the last unlucky member and make it possible to have a group do rounds, and C) make it explicitly alright to clear the Dojo at a more convenient time. It will also encourage more memberships from those who work outside these hours.
yes:lots
no: 0
Wed October 12th, 2011 6:45PM - 7:15PM (deadline to add proposals: Mon, October 10th)
Proposal #1:
- Proposal: The shower in 140D is for member use only.
- Context: The new shower will get nasty quickly if we don't restrict usage. It would also be a nice member perk.
Yes: Lots
No: None
Proposal #2:
- Proposal: We create a list of "structured layout" rooms, and add the electronics lab, gaming nook, and 140D Event Hall to the list. A structured layout room is a room where the furniture is a) recommended not be moved and b) the layout (furniture & similiar) MUST be returned to how it was after use. Finally, operations will have ability to modify the list outside of the PBW process, for example, by adding 140A Savannah to the list after it is remodeled.
- Context: When the Dojo was started, we had a policy of "treat everything like a wiki! make changes, move stuff around". This should still be true for many areas, but we are at the point where we're getting nice things, and putting work into making the layout designed for particular uses. We should carefully select certain rooms to receive a "don't mess with the layout" stamp.
Yes: Lots
No: None
Wed September 14th, 2011 7:30PM - 8:00PM (deadline to add proposals: Mon, September 12th)
- Proposal: Children under the age of 18 must be watched/accompanied by a guardian at all times. The guardian is responsible for leaving the space in an acceptable state afterwards. Exceptions can be made by the directors for special cases (e.g. a responsible 15 year old who wants to be a member and we feel like they will respect the space).
Context: There have been some problems with unaccompanied children disrupting both members who are trying to get work done and events. They have also left the space in an unorganized state. We don't want to restrict people from bringing kids if they are going to hack with them and keep them under control, but it isn't a safe place for kids to be running around unsupervised (and it is disruptive). The dojo is not a daycare center.
Link to voice.hackerdojo.com issue: N/A
Yes: 1
No: 4
- Proposal: Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a member at all times. The member is responsible for leaving the space in an acceptable state afterwards. If an adult non-member would like to accompany children to the Dojo, she/he must agree to indemnify Hacker Dojo from all liability in case of an accident, must agree to abide by the Dojo's rules, must indicate the date and time of the visit and get approval from a designated member. All the above requirements shall be fulfilled by filling an online form on the Hacker Dojo's website.
Context: This proposal attempts to address the same issues as the previous one. There were complaints about children left unsupervised by anonymous adult non-members, who were present at the facility at the time. Requiring prior registration would create transparency and instill a sense of responsibility in non-members, and it helps in legally protecting Hacker Dojo from any possible liability.
Link to voice.hackerdojo.com issue:
Yes: 3
No: 4
Wed July 13th, 2011 7:30PM - 8:00PM (deadline to add proposals: Mon, July 11th)
(NOW CLOSED: to make a proposal please add it to next months PBW)
- Proposal: All Board minutes are published in a member accessible location within 48 hours of the monthly Board of Directors meetings. Any confidential content will be marked as Confidential, and published no later than 365 days after the meeting when first published, when any issues surrounding the need for confidentiality have been resolved.
Context: By law and by Hacker Dojo by-laws, the Board of Directors are required to keep minutes of their meetings. The Directors meet regularly on Wednesday nights after the Member Meetings, which are the second Wednesday of every month. As the directors have stated they wish for more transparency, publishing the minutes for all the members to see is the first step to this transparency. Having the membership aware of the issues brought to the Board's attention will help engage further the membership, as awareness of an issue is the first step to being able to address it. Communication in both directions can also increase, which benefits Hacker Dojo greatly.
Link to voice.hackerdojo.com issue:
yes - 7
no - 0
- Proposal: When an event is reserved for Cubby 1 or Cubby 2, that entitles the event host to the room. The event host can kick people out (including members).
Context: This is one of the results of the "member vs. event conflicts" meeting. Consensus was that whatever else we think about the "members can be anywhere" policy, it's problematic in the cubbies where there's just no room to share.
Link to voice.hackerdojo.com issue:
yes - 8
no - 0
- Proposal: Members can RSVP to an event host at least 48 hours in advance to reserve space to attend. If an event room has space left after considering RSVPs, members can be in it with or without a reservation.
Context: This was the other result of the "member vs. event conflicts" meeting. We debated how to reconcile member rights designed to allow sitting in on events with giving event holders a fair shake at throwing a successful event and not screwing over an RSVP'd community attendee (especially since they'd associate that with Hacker Dojo). The conclusion was that with fair warning, members should have the right to attend (and hosts should make room for them if they've done that). Without fair warning, they have the opportunity to attend if space is available.
Note that this doesn't conflict with the existing "no area is closed" rule. The event's room is never closed; it just might sometimes be full if you don't notify in advance.
Also, logistics have been discussed and coverage has been pledged:
Implementation: Brian Klug volunteered to implement the following within two weeks, if the policy passes:
- The event system will be modified to allow members to click an RSVP button up to 48 hours before the event
- The event system will e-mail the event host notifying them of the Member RSVP
- The event page will list the names of the members that have RSVPd
- For simplicity: This applies to all events, whether it makes sense or not.
- Additional scope was discussed for future possible versions, such as non-member RSVP, ticket sales, WePay, etc. TBD.
Link to voice.hackerdojo.com issue:
yes - 5
no - 0
- Proposal: Please do not feed the bear.
Context: It looks hungry.
Link to voice.hackerdojo.com issue:
yes - 0
no - 6
Wed June 8th, 2011 7:30PM - 8:00PM (deadline to add proposals: Mon, June 6th)
(CLOSED: for new policy proposals add them to next months below)
Context:
The practical purpose is to illustrate that antisocial/obnoxious behavior is actively unappreciated at the Dojo. As much as this should be obvious, all too often it is not. Being part of a successful cooperative community requires a higher level of care to be taken for personal interactions, and reminders here are useful.
The specific phrasing is deliberately jarring and vulgar, in much the same way as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_No_Asshole_Rule used a vulgarity to catch attention and drive the point home. It's also a reference to a famous Wil Wheaton speech recounted athttp://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2007/08/pax-ftw.html. Thus it has specific geek meaning.
The linked page is a particularly erudite exploration of the full implications of the rule, and how it's relevant and important to cooperative communities such as Wikipedia's and ours.
- Proposal: "Don't be a jerk." will be added to the policies.
Context:
This is an alternative provided in case "Don't be a dick." is considered to be too vulgar, but the practical purpose is desired. However, it's definitely a compromise; the original phrase has more power and meaning.
Should either of the above rules be passed?
Yes: 6
No: 2
Do you favor Dick or Jerk
Dick: 7
Jerk: 1
- Proposal: "Members are expected to give first priority for reserved space to the reserving event and its RSVPed attendees, and not be otherwise disruptive to the event during its reserved time." will be added to the "Members Rights" section of the policies.
Context:
This is currently a grey area in our policies that has on at least two occasions caused friction or disruption: once from an event holder who did not know how to handle the conflict in the absence of a defined rule, and once from members who did not clear out of the way to allow an event to take place.
Given that this gap has already been problematic, it would be best to clarify what "reserved" means. In several conversations on events@ and members@ mailing lists, the above interpretation was posited and seemed to have a reasonable level of general agreement.
This rule does not address guests, because a member host can simply ask them to leave the event; they have no implicit right to attend. If that clarification is needed as well, one route would be to approve this for now and amend it later.
Yes: 0
No: many
Wed May 11th, 2011 7:30PM - 8:00PM (CLOSED: for new policy proposals add them to next months below)
- Proposal: The two other cubbies shall be converted into "1-hour-signup" rooms just like the third.
Context: The cubbies still "get taken" early in the morning and remain occupied all day by often the same people. The sign-up sheet room seems to be a success; lets replicate that.
yes: 3
no: 6
- Proposal: Convert the cubbies to a "1 hour", "2 hour", and "4 hour" sign-ups. Allow members to sign up for up to 4 hours per cubby/day.
Context: Same as first proposal. However, some people want cubbies for quick calls, or meetings, other people want cubbies for long periods of concentrated work in silence. By setting up the cubbies for sign up for different periods of time, this proposal attempts to address the different needs fairly.
Link to voice.hackerdojo.com issue
yes: 5
no: 5
- Proposal: Hacker Dojo director positions should be held on a one year term before being up for re-election.
Context: As the Hacker Dojo membership base grows, it is vital to ensure that it's leadership understands the long term needs and vision of its changing member base, while still being responsive to short term goals that are important to dojo members.
As it stands, the current structure makes it difficult to accurately reflect the evolving needs of the members through the board of directors, creating a disconnect between what members feel is important to them and what changes are (or are not) taking place.
Holding regular elections solves this problem by encouraging participation from Hacker Dojo members. It establishes a procedure for relieving directors that are no longer able to make the necessary time commitment, or no longer in touch with the needs of dojo members.
This policy is not intended to be a laundry list of semantics on governing an election (e.g. who is eligible to vote, etc.) but rather a starting point from which we grow. However, it could be suggested that members are eligible to vote or run after 30 days and that positions would be split amongst two elections held six months apart to allow for a more graceful transition to new nominees. Should this policy be approved a deadline, such as three months, should be attached to its implementation.
In closing, elections create a dialogue amongst us that clarifies what initiatives we value, what goals are important to us and most importantly, who is able and willing to execute upon those goals. Elections go further in helping to ensure that their's an evenly distributed workload amongst directors who could otherwise become unfairly burdened. As a not-for-profit, mutual benefit corporation which exists solely to serve in the best interest of it's members, it is in the members best interest to have an electoral process.
yes: 2
no: 7
- Proposal: No panhandling.
Context: It makes people uncomfortable.
Link to voice.hackerdojo.com issue
yes: 4
no: 6
Wed Apr 9th, 2011 7:30PM - 8:00PM (deadline to add proposals: Mon, Apr 7th)
Agenda is closed, please see below for May's agenda
PBW canceled for lack of proposals.
Wed Mar 9th, 2011 7:30PM - 8:00PM (deadline to add proposals: Mon, Mar 7th)
Agenda is closed, please see below for April's agenda
- Proposal: Happy hour should be an official Dojo-sponsored event up to $100 every Friday.
Context: Happy hour tends to bring in lots of non-Dojo people so it seems like a good event in general to spread the good-ness of the Dojo. Since it happens often, I feel like no single individual should bear the financial costs of buying food & drinks. People should always feel free to bring food if they want, but I think there needs to be some food & fun to initiate the process of getting others to also bring food/drinks. Since many members have already attended one of the many happy hours, it already feels like an official Dojo event, but few members don't realize that it is often a single person bearing the costs of everyone's enjoyment. A few members wanted to make it an official Dojo-sponsored event which is the reason for me putting this here.
Link to voice.hackerdojo.com issue:
Context:
Link to voice.hackerdojo.com issue:
Wed Feb 9th, 2011 7:30PM - 8:00PM (deadline to add proposals: Mon, Feb 7th)
Agenda is closed, please see below for March's agenda
- Proposal: PBW proposals should require a reference to an existing issue in voice.hackerdojo.com, and the meeting will vote on items in order of priority based on votes the issues have. -Jeff Lindsay
Context: This is to encourage people to voice their issues before coming up with policy and/or make sure the proposal is based on an actual issue. It will also make clear during the PBW how important the issue is that a proposal is being proposed for.
Vote: 0 Y, lots N (did not pass)
Wed Jan 12th, 2011 7:30PM - 8:00PM (deadline to add proposals: Mon, Jan 10th)
Agenda is closed, please add any new items to the Feb 9th agenda below
- #1: simplify event hosting delegates proposal - We revert the policy from last PBW "The Event system will be improved such that event host delegates may also be added to the form." since it did not have a plausible story around implementation and nobody stepped up to implement it after a full month. We should also take this as a reminder to ourselves that policies without implementation plans generally don't work, and we should only vote in policies that explain who is doing what.
Context: We voted in a policy that assumed someone would implement features in the event system just because a policy was passed. This fixes that.
Results: 10Y, 3N (passed)
- #2 - Short-term rooms: All three cubbies next to the storage area will become short-term rooms. A clipboard signup sheet will let people reserve slots in one hour increments. No one person can sign up for more than two slots in one day. It will be considered perfectly OK for a member to ask someone else to leave if they are occupying the room beyond their assigned slot.
Context: The cubbies are often full during business hours - people hog them
Results: 4Y, 10N (not passed)
- #3 - One short-term room: Same as the above proposal, except we try it with only one cubby instead of all of them.
Results: 15Y, 1N (passed)
- #4 - The rule about no sleeping shall be changed to read "No sleeping two days in a row at the Dojo. It is OK to crash at the Dojo if Happy Hour runs late, for example, but don't use the Dojo as a residence."
Context: Sleeping after events was always considered part of the Dojo's original vision; the "no sleeping at all" rule seems like an over-reaction to a few events six months ago.
Results: 0Y, 8N (not passed)
- #5 - Alternative wording of the above proposal to read "It is OK to crash at the dojo if Happy Hour runs late, for example, but no one may use the dojo or it's parking for sleeping twice in a row or as a residence."
Context: Other wording does not include the parking lot, which has been an issue. Also lets "residence" be defined separately from "sleeping there two nights in a row"
Results: 13Y, 0N (passed)
- #6 - Mega events (events which span multiple days OR have 75+ attendees) will involve a membership vote on vote.hackerdojo.com. After the events team does their normal due diligence, they will create a poll and e-mail it to members@. If the event gets more "yes" votes then "no" votes, it gets approved. Events team may decide details such as poll duration on a case-by-case basis.
Results: 0Y, 11N (not passed)
- Context: Some large events cause the membership a lot of stress and headache, while other events are loved and enjoyed.
- #7 - Gatherings vs. Events: a new event category for gatherings shall be created that is casual on approval process and light on process. Look at the noisebridge calendar and you'll see lots of regular weekly events where people congregate for study groups and projects. No designated leader, no heavyweight bureaucracy, the calendar is relatively open and relaxed. There needs to be a simpler way to invite others to collaborate on a learning curve and/or chip in on a project. The calendar is one way to do that. The minimum change to the events system to support this usage model would be to put ical/rss exports on the pending events page and to display the pending events on the front door kiosk so that people know where to find them... The cadillac implementation would be to extend the events system to support sharing of large rooms for simultaneous small events and opt-in email/sms notifications for particular types of gatherings (eg: "we're watching B5, season 3 on the deck at 10:30")... Ideally, there would be a two-track approval process for regular gatherings such as meetups that might otherwise meet in a coffeeshop...no A/V requirements...just low-impact BOGSATT format (bunch-o-guys, sitting-around-the-table)... There'd be one approval track for "events" that invite a bunch of outsiders and take responsibility for them, and another track for "gatherings" that may include a bunch of outsiders...all of whom would be attending under the normal come-as-a-guest-and-please-chip-in friend-of-the-dojo basis...
- Context: It seems that whenever something happens at the dojo that some people don't like, then new rules and policies are proposed and enacted to prevent some sort of fleeting dissatisfaction from ever happenning again...more process, new penalties, and now voting...it's off-putting...and in this process of bureaucratically bossing each other around, the dojo becomes less friendly, less spontaneous, and less welcoming.
Results: 1Y, 5N (not passed)
- #8 - Public PBW votes: votes at Dojo policy meetings shall be recorded by name. Instead of recording 5 yes votes, 2 no, it would be "Yeah: Joe, Biff, Bill Z, ... / Nay: Rupert, Ramona" with optional short-phrase reasons given.
Context: If I want to talk to the people who voted for something in the past, I don't see any record of who they were. In the future, voting record at PBW meetings will be a valuable measure of where people stand in relation to dojo policy evolution.
Results: 1Y, 7N (not passed)
- #9 - 30 day key cards: Members shall be eligible to receive a keycard to the front door after 30 days of membership instead of 60.
(stig's $.02: it's more interesting to tie the award of an RFID tag to actions and awareness of community standards: this is how you lock up at night. this is how the water cooler is refilled. here's how we handle recycling. Cleaning supplies are here...and here...and here... If something is broken, send email to operations@... etc... membership escalation should be tied to participation and include a bit of human touch with some mentoring and not a purely pay-and-wait process.)
Context: 60 days is a long time to wait. 30 days is enough to establish that a person is trustworthy enough to have a keycard. In addition, this change will increase the value of a becoming a Dojo member instead of remaining a lurker. It will also make the Dojo more welcoming to new members and increase member "stickiness"
Results: 11Y, 2N (passed)
Wed Dec 8th, 2010 7:30PM - 8:00PM (deadline to add proposals: Mon, Dec 6th)
December Agenda Is Closed, Please See Below for January Agenda
Note from Geo: I'm trying a new thing in adding the commentary. I feel that policy changes should have some context behind the change, otherwise the temptation is to make the change itself very long to explain itself. This gets in the way of actually passing it; the longer the policy is, the more chance something is controversial.
The bits we will be voting on are the bulleted points. Commentary is simply there to explain the intention. I encourage everyone to add Commentary to their own policy nominations.
- The Presence rule enumerated on http://events.hackerdojo.com/new will be changed to read as follows (changes in italics):
- You and/or one or more delegates must be physically present to host the entire event. Delegates must also be members of Hacker Dojo, and must be arranged prior to the event's submission. As event host, you take full responsibility for ensuring the event runs smoothly and the rules are enforced. If the event is cancelled, you are responsible for cancelling the event on this system and posting notice to all forums in which you advertised the event. If you are submitting this application on behalf of someone else, you will still be held responsible.
Commentary: The primary purpose is to allow for multiday or otherwise long events while still asserting that they must be actively hosted by Hacker Dojo members. It's also to put a reasonable standard on long events that enough members must be interested to allow it to be fully hosted in the first place. However, if someone really wants to stay at the Dojo for a marathon and the Event Coordinators approve, more power to them...but they need to stick around.
Also, the "notify of cancellations where advertised" clause addresses the occasional problem of leaving a cancelled event live on Meetup.com (e.g.) and then having pissed off people show up at the Dojo thinking we did it.
Note that the current rule for presence is that the host themselves must be present at all times. This has historically been unfeasible for multi-day events, so this doesn't represent a new restriction but rather a way to reasonably make the current system work.
- The Event system will be improved such that event host delegates may also be added to the form. As with all event details, a process will be included to change the delegates after the fact (but prior to the event) with the approval of the Event Coordinators.
Commentary: Basic process requirement to make the above work. However, even if we don't pass the rule as above, may be a good idea to have in the system.
- Event hosts are responsible for all rules enumerated on http://events.hackerdojo.com/new; a failure of an event host to make a good-faith effort to meet these responsibilities (including but not limited to cleanup, parking management, and presence) will result in suspension of event hosting privileges for that member for a term of 45 days. This policy will also be added to http://events.hackerdojo.com/new .
Commentary: We currently have no teeth on event hosting rules, so they frequently don't get followed. In particular, we're irresponsibly spilling out on our neighbors' parking during any large event, and trespass is an unacceptable business model for the Dojo to run on. 45 days is specifically chosen to be a penalty disruptive to maintaining a monthly event schedule so that suspension can have real consequences.
Please note the "good-faith" part. Our members are human, and we all must be understanding of that. However, the effort must be made.
- The current set of member rules and the parking map will be linked prominently from the front page of http://www.hackerdojo.com/ (or any other cname to that page). Any obsolete sets of rules will be deleted or marked deprecated. The parking map will be physically posted on locations easily discoverable from each entrance into the Dojo.
Commentary: They're kind of hard to find on the wiki right now, and I found several sets of rules before finding the "official policies" page. The parking map needs to be very visible, in particular to guests, so that event hosts can point it out.
VOTES:
#1 - The Presence rule…
Yes - 8
No - 0
Brian Klug will make change.
#2 - The Event System will be improved …
Yes - 5
No - 2
Larry will take a stab.
#3 - Event hosts are responsible for …
Yes - 6
No - 3
Two parts:
A) Text change on /new - Brian Klug
B) Explain change to events@ team - Geo
#4 - The current set of member rules …
Yes - 4
No - 3
Geo will make the change.
Wed Nov 10th, 2010 7:30PM - 8:00PM (deadline to add proposals: Mon, Nov 8th)
Add policy change proposals here, make sure to read proposal guide above first:
- We should spend $300-$500 on new, commercial grade WiFi AP's and small UPS's to provided 99.999% reliable Wifi connectivity. Then the AP's need to be hidden from public view, so people don't plug their ethernet connection into them. We can use a few of the unused hubs around the Dojo in rooms for ethernet connections.
- We should discuss how to better utilize the three cubbies. Day users tend to hog the cubbies, and eliminate them for usage as an ad-hoc meeting room. Possible suggestions could be to reserve at least ONE cubby for meetings only, and require reservations, or limit time usage to 30 minutes for ad-hoc meetings.
- We should discuss spending about $500 to buy an HD Video camera, with an Eye-Fi card, wireless microphone, and tripod. We also need a secure case and a place to keep it locked up in the Dojo to be checked out for recording events. (dm has an eye-fi card)
- We need to do something about the floors in the warehouses. They haven't been seriously cleaned in over a year, AND the floors are starting to show signs of damage. These floors need to be cleaned, coated and protected. This can be done with a commercial service, then maintained on a periodic basis, OR we could rent the equipment and do it ourselves. Might be best to hire a professional to do this; Here is an example of a company that does this service:
From: http://www.mccbm.com/services.html
- FLOOR CARE
Regular floor cleaning and preventive maintenance will keep your floor surfaces looking their best, and it lessens the impact of everyday wear and tear by increasing its longevity. MCC offers a one-stop complete floor care services to restore or maintain their resilience while preserving and extending wear. We provide floor care for all type of floors including vinyls, concrete, tiles and grouts, hardwood, granite, and rubberized floors. We provide:
• Floor Stripping and/or Grinding
• Buffing, Sealing and Waxing
• Screening and Refinishing
- The PBW process should be modified to handle two responsibilities:
- Coordinating breakout discussions regarding policy hotspots
- The PBW Agenda should include a Topics for Discussion section.
- Topics for Discussion should be added by members throughout the month in the same way that policy proposals currently are.
- Topics for Discussion should be read aloud at the PBW meeting.
- Based on interest and topic size, breakout meetings for each topic should be scheduled for after the Member Meeting or later in the week or month. Scheduling should be coordinated (directly or via delegation) by the PBW Meeting Organizer.
- The expectation is that breakout meetings should result in either one or more well-considered Proposed Policy Changes, or a general agreement that nothing needs to be done.
- The Discussion process should in no way abridge the right of any member to submit a Proposed Policy Change. It should be a purely optional resource designed to bring members together into fruitful policy discussions.
- Voting on policy proposals
- The PBW Agenda should continue to include a Proposed Policy Changes section.
- Items which are not formatted as valid voting items (e.g., "we should discuss...", "we should do something about...") should be moved from the Proposed Policy Changes section to the Topics for Discussion section once the PBW Agenda is locked.
- The voting aspect should be unchanged from the current process.
- Agreement that the process needs to be revised. No vote on these specifics, but a new process will be hammered out.
- We should spend about $1500 to replace all three toilets. Cost of a top-rated commode plus delivery and installation runs about $500 each.
- Proposed "Topics For Discussion" section should not be fragmented and parallelized into breakout groups because it means people can only effectively have impact on one of the topics. Instead, we should order them by level of interest, and go through them sequentially so people can leave when all the stuff they care about is covered.
- Fix It Weekend: for the people participating in fix it weekend, can we buy food & beer & movie tickets for the people volunteering to do this every month? Last time we had the extra food from the bsd weekend. We should have enough to help reward people for t& he hard work they put into the event.
Wed Oct 13th, 2010 7:30PM - 8:00PM (deadline to add proposals: Mon, Oct 11th)
- Acquire more tables/chairs for 140b, not a policy
- give a way for event organizers to check who is a member. ruby event last night with food had many people who didnt' register, they just showed up. the person handling the registration wasn't able to deny them entrance; they just walked in. I witnessed this. there were 2 categories of people, those who were members and those who were not. Problem is this caused a food shortage and they ended up buying more pizzas and they still ran out, so I went and bought more food for the Japanese speakers. big hassle. not a policy. problem is getting bigger as we have more members so when a lot show up unannounced then they have no way to plan for food amounts. this was also their fault because the free HD member tickets were out which could have been their way of saying the free passes were out and they wanted more people to pay. company running event lost money on the event.
- can we rent one of these:http://www.caliberequipment.com/tornado-floorkeeperEZ20.html or something similar to clean the 140b floor?
Wed Sep 8th, 2010 7:30pm – 8:00pm (deadline to add proposals: Mon, Sep 6th)
http://events.hackerdojo.com/event/261001-hacker-dojo-member-meeting
Attending: (16)
Nicholas Johnson,
Geo Mealer,
Brian Klug,
Katy levinson,
Kitt Hodsden,
Dustin Dettmer,
Zonker Harris,
Jenn Lee,
Jeff Cohen,
Chriss Meyer,
Shawny ,
Jeff Lindsey,
Alison Chaiken,
Laura klemme,
Tim Sears,
Marat Nepomnyashy,
- #1 - The event process shall be changed such that we drop that "1 staffer per 25 attendees" rule. We would not change the "events@ team must approve the event" part of the process, nor change the "event submitter cannot approve their own event" rule.
Result: 14 Yea, 0 Nea
- #2: the dojo is open 24x7 for members. No need to have the open widget anymore? Different story for nonmembers. Do we care?
Result: Just discussion
Sun Aug 1, 2010 1pm – 2pm
Attending Members
Geo Mealer (moderating)
Brian Klug
Jeff Cohen
J.R. Zelling
- #1 - The voting process shall be changed so that we count the number of "Yes" votes and "No" votes, and whichever has more votes will win. In the event of a tie, the policy will not be adopted.
- Context: a) the "deferred" part was confusing with its similarity to a "no" vote. b) it was ambiguous what abstaining meant
Result: Yes (3Y, 1D)
- #2 - Any vote that doesn't pass can be brought back to the next meeting, either the same, or modified.
- Context: it was thought to be helpful to clarify what happens when a rule us not adopted (especially if #1 above is adopted)
Result: Yes (4Y)
Wed Jul 21, 2010 7:30pm – 8:30pm
- We should change the event policy such that any member can approve their own event if the number of attendees is less then 15. Currently, members cannot approve their own events.
- We should tackle the controversy surrounding paid events and members sitting in for free. Proposals:
- 1) Switch to a discount model (proposed: 20% discount for members, free for members who staff the event and do actual work for it with approval from the event organizer(s)). Members can sit in on events with approval from the presenter(s).
- 2) Members can observe an event by occupying the same space. However, observing members should minimize interaction with the event (try not to ask questions of the instructor or other students), and should make it clear that they're observing rather than participating in the event (e.g. by sitting in an observers' area or not wearing event name-tags). Presenters are free to ask disruptive observers to leave.
- 3) Members can participate and ask questions for free. Organizers still aren't expected to provide extra materials associated with the event (instructional materials, swag, services outside the event) to members.
- 4) No event shall be made private unless all attendees have paid admission to the event, and all attendees are members in good standing on the day of the event. (Additional $10 use fee applicable for non members). The dojo shall receive 20% of the royalty from such events. Otherwise, all events are open at all times to general membership.
- 5) When a paid event is submitted the event application will respond with a full roster of members in addition to the confirmation email. Members who join after this lock are not eligible to participate in the class unless they pay the same costs a non-member would.
- 6) No paid classes or events to be allowed at Hacker Dojo.
- 7) Events / classes may charge a maximum of $20 per person per day, including members.
- 8) In no circumstance should a Hacker Dojo member be closed out of an area of the Dojo (except bathrooms).
- 9) Visitors of Hacker Dojo are welcome to engage in any legal economic transactions they want.
- 10) Any time there is a gathering of any sort at Hacker Dojo, paid or not, the other participants should be involved helping that all events run as smooth as possible. We recognize this means that events that have costs significantly more then the current monthly membership may find that Hacker Dojo may not be an ideal environment for their event.
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