Meeting notes/Meeting Notes 2025 07 01

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These are the notes from the The 819th Meeting of Noisebridge.

Date	2025 07 01
Note-takers	Joshua
Moderators	Mark

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Next Meeting Edit redirect [Next meeting]

Meeting Summary

FILL OUT AT END OF MEETING AND SEND TO MAILING LIST/SLACK/DISCORD Include: TLDR what happened at the meeting:

• Fundraising Update:
• Announcements:
• Finances:
• New members:
• New associates:
• Consensus Items:
• Discussion Items:

Introductions

• Ask people to share their name, access needs, and preferred gender pronouns what they do at noisebridge

Mark; moderator guy who likes games and game like things
We-Z: Red team hacker, lockpicking but only on 3rd Sundays, dabble in other things
Abdel: I like making things, hacking things, haven't been here in a couple years
Corey: Build robots and teach people how to build robotos
Mattie: Like sitting around and talking about random shit
Jeremy - just graduated college, i like math and other cool things
Cole: Just graduated, back in the bay, big Linux/open source guy, would like to get more into hardware, also play stringed musical instruments
Karl - long time hacker, programmer, ask me about Flaschen Taschen!
<guy with no name> reverse reverse engineering, computational hardening
Amand: From Australia, with these people for a gap year thing in San Francisco, would like to do more hardware, run my own FTC team
Max: I really like making games and art
Kylie: SF for a year, visual art, game art, sewing, etc.
Nicholas: I'm intrerested in a variety of technology applications as it applied to art. Also pursuing my associate membership today!
Elan: does wiki + spacebridge stuff + trying to fix my own linux mic issues 
Loren: *sigh* your treasurer of record, and host of the wild, wacky, wonderful adventerous monday infrastructure meetup -- great turnout yesterday

Short announcements and events

• 60-second description per item in bulletpoint.
• Copy-paste any pre-announcements for the upcoming meeting from Announcements.
• After announcements, copy them to the past Announcements list. Retire any from the Next Meeting list that aren't marked ONGOING.
• (See https://www.noisebridge.net/ and https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Category:Events for events, and welcoming people)

• <dude with no name is very lonely> and considered starting a reverse engineering meetup
• Maddie: I think we're planning on doing another anti-fascist movie night on Sunday. Last time we did it at 6p
• Mark: We've got an entire channel in discord called cinema where we can talk about it
• Mark: Someone should setup and reconfigure and re-enable and re-activate IRC

Corey: Is slack still around? <no name> Zulip! Loren: Slack is like officially deprecated. Loren: I like Zulip, it has lots of good features, especially around how it organizes messages <no name> I like zulip because it's like trees Loren: Let's setup a test instance

• Meltron: using woodshop for 15 years, Ken will sponsor me for membership
• Elle: We're ghoing to have at least 3 sewing classes this month, we'll have a sewing 101 this week, an embroidery class and sewing and jeans class. Also there's a fundraising meeting which will be coming up either this Friday or Sunday, will be on jitsi
• Mark: Events coming up, OpenSauce, we're not in it in an official capacity but some of us likely will be checking it out

After this Corey and I will be figuring out out Makerfaire application

• Nicholas: Ken asked me to make a note that the blue recycling bin is missing

Loren: Time for airtags

Excellence

Our One Rule is to Be Excellent to Each Other. (On first Tuesdays, seek a few definitions. Other Tuesday, give a 1-3 sentence summary.)

(social excellence & space excellence) How can we enhance our excellence?

• bike parking

kick-staging

What does that mean? Please see our page on excellence https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Excellence!

Anti-Harassment Policy & Community Standards of Excellence

Noisebridge has an Anti-Harassment Policy https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Anti-Harassment_Policy Everyone is expected to follow the Anti-Harassment Policy, please familiarize yourself with it.) TWO MINUTES MAX More approachable & specific guidelines, https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Community_Standards https://safespace.noisebridge.net/ is one way to quickly raise issues which will be seen by people in Slack.

Brief Kudos

Recent examples of excellent behavior, say 3, unless the passion moves you.

• Brian for always sorting out the trash and doing the ridwell thing. And doesn't ask for thanks or recognition.
• JD for conintued interaction with contractors/inspectors etc
• Matty for teaching a class!
• Kudos to Ken and co for woodshop wall
• Kudos to Brian and JamwithFlow for helping out Mark with the coffee
• To Loren for hosting an excellent infra meetup!
• Kudoes to the Resident Electronic music
• Kudos to Lauren esq who
• Kudos to all of the teachers who keep new people coming to the space and provide an excellent intro to what the community is about!

Zoning, Permitting, & Improvements -- Standing Item

Status this week? Helpful broad asks to the community? NB city bureaucracy WG -- JD & Alice, among others.

The story so far: we're working to vacate a 2023 violation for failing to notify the city of our change of use when we moved in.
That was an old violation that they have been threatening us with for some time.
The permit to fix that was picked up and dropped.
We've re-upped it, the city gave us a grant to hire an architect to walk us through the process.
Woodshop wall all being done to code, under supervision of licensed contractor, on our volunteer work.
We have hired an electrician for the stuff we cannot do for ourselves, he's currently, this week, going through every room in the space, iwht 
Having some discussions with landlord, helped fix a chair. He want to help organize fundraisers with us.
Tomorrow, we have a framing inspection, Ken and the contractor (maybe also inspector?).  We do not want to do-ocratically do anything.
JD & Ken, found door at Builder's Resources today, price $275 was negotiated down to $75.
For fundraising, we should do events with a solid ask. Plan people with a big give.  Basic techniques of non-profit fundraising.

• Corey donated 2 ceiling cable reels. 20 amp. b-e-a-u-tiful
• Some outlets for us to add
• Wireless switches for the whole space
• Motion detection lights for the hallway upstairs.
• And bathrooms.

Reminder of the safety stuff. We've had 3 smoking outlets in the last 3 months. Kitchen, sewing, metal shop.

Question: global AFCI breakers? Cheap-ish way to add one more serious level of protection.

Carl: Reminder that we already negotiated pretty hard on the original lease

Guilds

• What are guilds - briefly describe (much like the previous section on "Excellence")

New Members/Associate Members

What are they? Is anyone trying to become a Member or Associate Member? If not move on. No long discussions.

• Mark: anyone who walks in the door is a member, we have an additional level of Membership which grants expanded access in return for being a good community member.

Mark: Nick, what kinds of things do you like to work on? Nicholas: Sewing, AV stuff, wide array of interests, Mark: What more do you hope to do N: I hope to host some classes relating to sewing, need to get laser training certification M: Who was you sponsor? N: Ken <no name>: What's the most important thing in life for you: N: Recombing the various ideas which have existed before into new combinations <nn>: what do you need help with N: I am looking for a job M: How do you see being a member making you a more self-realized Noiserbridger N: I won't need to get my access token renewed, can stay a little later and help keep the space open later than it otherwise would be. M: Any other questions? <nn>: What does stewardship mean? N: Stewardship means communicating community ideas to others, reducing conflict M: <notices a technicality> Can we postpone this? Ken isn't here N: Could you sponsor me? M: I think this is solved. Someone on Jitsi will sponsor you. M: If you were here late and there was a conflict and one of the other people is a Member and the other person is just a member, how would you handle it? N: I think it's very important to communicate and figure out what the needs are of the two parties. JD: I think the proper process is to ask the parties to leave and follow our conflict resolution process Elle: In my experience asking people to leave and someone else comes to back them up _you_ leave, your safety is paramount. Daniel: to be clear anarchy doesn't mean we don't have rules, I would point that out if someone tries to pull that out Cloud: If a woman at Noisebridge feels unsafe and goes directly to you, how would you handle it N: I think you need to take initiative to speak to people 1:1 and be ready to communicate to those people that there's no reason for them to engage in this bad behavior, it's important to think about how you communicate with people and point out how their behavior may be interpreted by other people. Cloud: that covered half of what you did really well, the first thing you did was validate me, you didn't buddy up with the other person, etc., I feel very strongly you did that incredibly well as far as supporting female safety Loren: Having a person vouching for how well you handled a bad situation is a powerful indication of your excellence E: You're here late, a lot of noisebridge regulars stroll in, amongst them are people who have been 86'd in the past. Every is acting like everyting is cool. How would you handle this? N: That's tricky but it would require approaching them and saying "hey, some of you are 86'd, you need to continue your conversation outside the gste. E: How exactly would you do it N: I'm imaging I would be outnumbered, I think I would just need to express it, maybe pull someone aside and say that these people shouldn't be here now, we need to do something E: Can I offer a suggestion? (yes) You might go on Discord or call someone nearby on the phone and see if they're available, also pull aside one of the people in the group and ask if they realize that person is 86'd. <nn>: Do 86'd people show up frequently? M: Not in that same way, we have a one-off situation during a chaotic night some weeks ago M: I think Nick is pretty excellent. Anyone block? (no) M: You're now an assocaite Everyone: Yay!

Mark: Next up, Mattie His sponsor is me. You've already introduced yourself earlier Why do you want to be a member? Mty: I've been coming here for 4 months, it's starting to feel like a second home (which I can't sleep at), I'd like to deepen my connection to the community and I see this as a way to continuing to be involved and taking it further. Elle: You're the only member in the space as far as you know. Someone asks to come in asking to use the restroom. Now they're not leaving. They're putting things in their pockets. What would you do? Mty: First I'd make sure no one is in danger. I would then find the nearest person, regardless of it they're a member and see if I could get some backup. We would then go to that person and ask them if they understand what they're doing doesn't work in the space, if I get the sense of if they're up to no good I'd ask them to leave and ask other people to help me get them out. Elle: I'd suggest the same thing as earlier, commenting on Discord seeing if anyone is nearby Daniel: I'd suggest offering them a tour, good vibe check, can also buy time E: If someone identifies themselves as law enforcement at the gate, how do you respond? Mty: Ask if they have a warrant E: What if they don't but they see the gate is open Mty: I'd shut the damn gate <nn>: Is there any situation which is a grey area with the law E: A fire truck shows up, "we saw smoke coming from the back of the building, let us in', and a cop walks in behind them E: Do you know how to update the wiki Mty: Yes Loren: Do you have an active wiki account? Mty: I think I do, I'd need to check M: Any other questions? E: How do you feel about closing? Mty: I've got a good sense on how to do it. E: It's after dark and there are only two other people here. Mty: I'd let them know how long I'm planning on staying. <nn>: I'd be in the zone and won't be going home Mty: I'd show him my stern face. <nn>: I can lock up, you can trust me. Mty: Sorry man E: I come run back in, I forgot something in sewing. Loren: it's good to reach out on Discord M: i think the bigger thing we're not mentioning is if it goes that far point out they're being asked to leave and show them our ask to leave policy M: So my question is are willing to be stern enough? Mty: Yes <nn>: Tell me to go fuck myself Mty: <danved around telling noname to fuck off> Daniel: I would recommend not going all drill sargeant M: It's about projecting authority and strength Mty: I'm condident about standing up to someone being obstinate M: Anyone block Mty? Everyone: No Everyone: Congrats!

Financial Report (first Tuesday of month only)

Anarchist societies under a capitalist state need money to survive and thrive, yo.

• Monthly revenue, expenses. Big projects. Big fundraising events. Reserves in bank.
• Any other details by those participating in handling our financials
• The latest financial reports from the treasurer are available at https://noisebridge.net/wiki/Finances

We have about $8.4k in checking, about $56k in savings. Least readily accesible, we also have some coinbase reservces. Electrician quote to us is "not to exceed" $27k. We've paid $8k so far. Daniel: Do we know how much we have in Bitcoin Loren: Unsure, we're working on getting access <someone> what's our deficit? Loren: This year our revenue average has been $4k-$6.2k/month. Our expenses have been $12k a month. We have also spent on the woodshop and are about to spend on electrical. We have a $6k$8k deficit per month. Our rent goes up 3% a year. Elle: How many members do we have and does that bring in significant revenue? Loren: We have a members list, but we don't have precise data. Elle: Could we send members emails? Loren: We can <nn>: What is up with the access to our bitcoin? Loren: Long story short, when our coinbase account was created they didn't have organizational account. So it doesn't have shared custody. It's complicated and involves a lot of paperwork to move the account from the individuals account to an organizational account

Spending Needs

Gotta spend money on XYZ (i.e. Gate, wiring etc.). WHO CAN SIGN THE CHECK OR LEND THE CREDIT CARD!?!?! It doesn't matter if we agree to do something and it can’t be paid for.

Fundraising Update

How's it all going

Big C Consensus Items

Nobody likes 3 hour meetings, only explain if new people are present. https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Current_Consensus_Items

Consensus Items

Only for talking about Big C consensus items, small c consensus items should be discussed with people at the space at the time of the change/new item.

Discussion Items

Template... [num]: [topic-short]

From/Raised by: Seeking: decision/outcome/advice/[?] On topic:

(discussion item) 0: Fundraising

From/Raised by: Seeking: decision/outcome/advice/[?] On topic: Fundraising

Locker Fees: Temperature Check? --- (some thumbs ups)

solves 2 problems: 1 revenue. 2 locker abandonment issues.

Josh - lets figure overhead vs revenue

Mark - first step: put a donation box on the lockers and point ppl to it! No overhead.

Matty - put a suggetsed dono on them?

No name: charge $20 for a sticker they can put on their locker?

Elle - soon sewing will get mini lockers - a bit worried ppl will come through and slap locks on em and store food in em.

JD - if we do start having fees, we need to have a bank of daily/48 hour/weekly lockers, with the express note they'll get cut on a regular basis

noname: goodwill has a thing where theyll color code clothes that come in, and do sales based on color stickers

Josh - we had that system after the 2012 reboot. People were required to update the dates on the stickers on their lockers ---

Fundraising Committee has a list of fundraising ideas things we've done in recent times Make additions of ideas to this document!

Current big item is to do another party this year. We have a Member steward but We need more people on the party committee!

(discussion item) 1: Electrical Work

From/Raised by: Seeking: decision/outcome/advice/[?] On topic:

(discussion item) 2: Hackathon Venue Inquiry?

From/Raised by: Seeking: decision/outcome/advice/[?] On topic:

   What is Noisebridge's price?
   
   "For only $200/hour, we can give you only 4am-6am"
   
   Liz did email them back, suggested a couple other potential venues to them.
   
   (Discussion follows about what we really want to do going forward in terms of negotiating deals with event organizers)
   

(discussion item) 3: Rent

From/Raised by: Mark Seeking: decision/outcome/advice/[?] On topic:

Do-ocratic Task Board

Participation also means doing stuff to contribute to the space. Propose new tasks or pick some tasks from Github, from what needs to be done around you, or whatever, and see if someone will sign up to work on that task. Anyone can sign up and it's a great way to show you are contributing!