Hacker Dojo Policies

Goal: to fully enumerate all the policies we came up with over the last year, and to have them all in one place. We may want to reduce/modify this list through voting.

• Be excellent to each other.

Facilities

• Guest/Business hours 10 AM - 9 PM 7 days a week.
• Sign-in. All members and guests must sign-in when they arrive at the Dojo each day. Those that do not sign-in or do not accept our policies may not stay.
• 100% Communal. You may not store personal belongings. All space is communal space: first-come-first-serve. Any equipment left at the Dojo is done at your own risk and may be used by others. Donated or loaned items may be damaged or removed, and the Dojo is not liable.
• Help secure the Dojo. Please help keep the Dojo secure outside of business hours by making sure you keep the doors closed. No propping doors open and no tailgating.
• Sleeping. No sleeping is allowed at Hacker Dojo unless it is done in conjunction with an approved event.
• Keep the Place Nice. Please clean up any mess you make. This includes putting away any monitors, keyboards or laptop stands that you may have borrowed while using the space. We have cleaning supplies in the kitchen closet.
• Animals. Pets are permitted indoors at Hacker Dojo. We ask that the pet is potty trained and friendly. Please be mindful of members and the space when bringing your pet in. If a pet becomes a disturbance, we will ask to leave the pet at home.
• Clothes and shoes must be worn at all times in the facility.
• Breaking Things. If you break parts of the Dojo, you are financially responsible for replacing them.
• Donations. Before you bring in a donation, please work with the directors to be sure an item will be useful to the membership. Some things are always welcome such as LCD monitors.
• Hold Harmless. Visitors, members, and other participants at Hacker Dojo. hereby release, discharge and agree to hold harmless the Hacker Dojo, and its directors, members, and volunteers from and against any liability as a result of any harm, damage, the loss suffered to said visitors, their work, equipment used, personal property or personal injury suffered during the participation or attendance at Hacker Dojo.
• Dangerous and Otherwise Awesome Science. No science which requires a fume hood and no pathogen-related research. Please always be considerate of the safety of other people at the dojo. No science where food is stored for eating.
• Refrigerator. The fridge is for members to use only. Food should not be left inside for more than a day. The fridge is emptied every day by the janitors around 10 PM.
• Parking. With limited parking available, the Dojo is not a campground nor a car storage facility. No vehicle may remain in the Dojo parking lot for more than 24 hours or it is liable to be towed. No sleeping in vehicles is allowed. Note that Santa Clara Municipal Code Section 10.05.470 prohibits parking or storage of any vehicle(s) on a public street for more than 72 consecutive hours.
• Lockers. Members may rent lockers for an additional $20 per month. Unauthorized occupancy of lockers will have the locks cut & contents discarded or donated to charity. Members with an expired membership must remove items from the locker within 24 hours.
• Access points / Wifi hotspots. Operating routers, personal access points, or creating wifi hotspots are not allowed without prior approval from staff.

Membership

• Keys. Members get a key to the Dojo immediately after becoming a member. The sharing of keys is not allowed.
• Accounts. Accounts are associated with an individual person. The sharing of login is not allowed.
• Refunds. There are no refunds or prorated credit for unused time during a billing cycle. It is the responsibility of the member to pause their membership before their renewal date.

Visitors/Drop-Ins

• Guests. Guests are either non-members or event attendees. Guests are welcome at Hacker Dojo and are encouraged to donate $20/day.
• Drop in Privileges. Guests do not get accounts, rights to attend events for free, access to the member's wifi, or voting rights.
• Children. (Under 18) It is okay to bring children to the Dojo, just as you would any other guest, so long as you assume full responsibility for them and ensure they don't detract from members' experience of the Dojo. It is your duty as a member to keep an eye on them at all times.
• Not a Public Facility. Non-members are guests of the Dojo and can be asked to leave at any time without a needed reason. Non-members are only allowed in the Dojo between the hours of 10 AM – 9 PM unless accompanied by a member or are attending an event.

If you are working out of the Dojo for more than 2 days, you should become a member.

Networks

• Guests are not allowed to set up an AP.
• Members can set up an AP for TESTING PURPOSES ONLY because your work involves an access point.
  • Access points are for testing purposes only
  • Internet access for your devices should use Hacker Dojo wifi
  • Here is how you can set up your own access point:

1. Please use only 20MHz channels. 40 and 80 MHz channels are too broad and will interfere with Hacker Dojo wifi.
2. Do not use more than 3db on you AP to avoid having a stronger signal than our access points.
3. For 2.4Ghz: Use only CHANNEL 11.
4. For 5Ghz: Use only CHANNELS 52 54 60 64 100 104 108 112 136 140 144

If we notice that you are not following those rules you will be forbidden to use your own Access point at Hacker Dojo and could lose your membership.

Sponsorships

• Sponsorship Rights. Unless given a special exemption by a director, sponsors do not receive special privileges within the Dojo, for example being able to reserve rooms, or being whitelisted for events (sponsors must apply to hold events like everyone else, and must receive the usual member buy-in).

Harassment

Hacker Dojo is committed to providing a safe and welcoming place for everyone. See our Harassment Policy for more on how we enforce this.

Events, Hacker Dojo Vision and Mission

Hacker Dojo is a non-profit community center, co-working space, and hackerspace based in Santa Clara, California. One of the primary use of Hacker Dojo is hosting Events.

Part of Hacker Dojo's mission consist of:

• Providing the tech community and other communities in Silicon Valley an affordable place to learn, collaborate and innovate so that anyone from any circumstance and background with an idea can build their dream.
• Spreading entrepreneurial vision.
• Nurturing disruption and innovation.
• Being a gathering space for technology leaders and contributors.
• Providing educational, collaborative, or social endeavors which enable communities to create, learn, and teach each other.

Rules - Recommendations

• Be flexible.
• Be excellent to each other.
• Clean dojo is a great dojo.
• Offer to help before seeking help.
• Introduce yourself to three people if it is your first day here.
• Take a pic by the mural.
• Check out other events if this is your first time here.
• Spread the word about Hacker Dojo on social media.

NDA's

Events may not require an NDA to attend.

Submission

• Events cannot be submitted less than 48 hours of the submission date.
• Pick the room that fits best the number of attendees.
• Member events can only be scheduled after 5:30PM during the week due to parking issues.
• Member run daytime events should be requested to the event committee [email protected]
• Event organizer must do the orientation quiz every 6 months to be able to submit events.
• Private events can be requested at the Event Committee.

Approval

• Events should align with Hacker Dojo mission and vision.
• Member run events will be approved by the event committee not more than 5 weeks in advance.
• Please do not advertise your event externally until it has been approved.

Event Changes

Rooms may change in case of event conflicts.

We hope event organizers will be flexible. Room assignment may be subject to change by Hacker Dojo staff even after approval with a 2-week notice. Hacker Dojo will do its best to accommodate the attendees and setup of the original event.

Cancellation

If you need to cancel your event for whatever reason, it is your responsibility to do so both in the Hacker Dojo event system, as well as any external event systems.

Member Rights

Members have the rights to attend member-run events for free. This does not mean that they are entitled to tangible resources such as food, class supplies, etc. Members are not allowed to attend private events held at Hacker Dojo unless they are on the official attendees list.

Right to Charge

Event hosts may charge for events and materials provided, provided they understand that Dojo members may sit in without paying. Members suggested donation is 10% of net revenue from the event.

Dojo Branding

Any event with the name “Hacker Dojo” in the title must be approved by the board of directors.

Before the event

Any event with the name “Hacker Dojo” in the title must be approved by the board of directors.

Communication to Attendees

Event organizers should communicate these points to attendees

• How to come to Hacker Dojo
• How to enter Hacker Dojo
• Where to park near Hacker Dojo
• Where the bathrooms are
• How to connect to HD-Events/HD-Guest wifi if needed

Social sharing

Please don’t forget to mention Hacker Dojo when you are sharing, talking about your event on Social networks. Twitter: @HackerDojo, Facebook: @hackerdojo, Instagram @hackerdojo.

Setup

• You can get 1 hour set up time at max. If you need a large chunk of setup time, it is suggested that you create a separate event to do so.
• It is up to you to locate the location of projectors or other supplies you may need to run your event.
• If you want the room arranged in a specific way that is something you need to do yourself.
• Setup time is shared with tear downtime of the previous event held in the same room.

Presence

Event Organizer must be present during the entire event.

Parking

We have strict parking rules that you need to convey to your guests. You and your attendees are only allowed to park in the green zones. If your event is large enough you may need your own staff member to direct parking.

Sign-in

All event attendees are required to sign in at the front desk for liability reasons. ADVERTISE/PROMOTE HACKER DOJO Please encourage your attendees to give donations/ become a member.

After the event

TEARDOWN TIME You can have 1-hour tear downtime at maximum. This time is shared with the setup time of the next event. If you need a large chunk of teardown time, it is suggested that you create a separate event to do so. ROOM LAYOUT The rooms must be returned like described on the sign outside each room. It includes returning the room with the correct number of chairs and desks and the correct layout. Please make sure that the included equipment is returned. The event organizer will be held responsible if the room is found in a different state. CLEANUP AND TRASH You must leave Hacker Dojo in the condition you found it in. This includes hauling away excess garbage that does not fit in the dumpster. CIWA ((408) 261-4110) is our trash haulier. The event organizer will be held responsible if trash is found and will have to pay for the hauling. DAMAGES The event organizer is held responsible for any damages to Dojo facilities during your event. SUPPLIES Please refill supplies consumed in the kitchen, especially if yours is a large event as your guests will be using shared resources such as bowls, cups, glasses and more. EQUIPMENT Please make sure to switch off the projector and others electric equipment before leaving the room.

Policy Process

• No Reimbursements. Hacker Dojo does not reimburse members for purchases without prior approval by directors.
• Do-ocracy. If you have a change you want to see happen, lead the way. If you want a knitting circle, start one. If you want a book circle, lead one. If you want to build a winning robot, start designing.
• New Policies. Members are welcome to give staff suggestions and feedback on the policy.
• Board of Directors Discretion. Board of Directors have a discretionary review for all policies and may change policies at will. For example, the board of directors may override rules incompatible with state laws, our lease, or incompatible with Hacker Dojo’s vision.

Policy submitted by the Secretary of The Board of Directors

Tanya Troshyna