Thoughts on Hackerspaces

What is a hackerspace to me?

It's a free place for a community of individuals to gather, share knowledge and resources, and build the things they want to see in the world. It makes me think of co-housing in a lot of ways. Although there is no required financial obligation, there is a requirement that you treat others well and share your knowledge and skills when you can. Noisebridge, the hackerspace in San Francisco I've been finding myself at recently, has only one formal rule: Be excellent to each other. It may sound a bit cheesy, but for the most part, it seems to be working. The space has been running for 15 years.

NB is officially a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, but the word organization is loosely interpreted here. That is because it's also described as anarchist in its nature meaning there is no formal structure in the space. That's not to say there aren't regular meetings, but there is no hierarchy, no reports. People have self-assigned responsibilities, but there are no obligations. This I think is essential to any well functioning co-space, and I would think the same would be necessary for a healthy cohousing community (if you add a landlord, then the cohousing community just becomes an apartment building that happens to have laundry in the basement).

With any radically inclusive, shared space, you are bound to deal with something you don't like. Sometimes people will leave a mess, or you'll find something to be broken. Maybe someone doesn't put something back in the right place, or they might even steal it!

But with all this also comes radically wonderful things. People donate their time and resources to make it an amazing space. There is no other place in the city with access to as many resources as NB, paid or otherwise. With 3D printers, industrial laser cutters, full format laser and inkjet printers, an embroidery machine, screen-printing equipment, a full woodshop, metal shop, and so much more, it really is a place where anyone can come and build just about anything. Humanmade, which is also a non-for-profit makerspace in SF's SoMa district doesn't even have as many tools as NB, and that place costs $3000 a year!

Since these hackerspaces are freely accessible to all, they are very much a reflection of the city they are in. That comes with all its benefits and its baggage, and I'm here for both. This space is unique, and since it is ran by the community for the community, you have an equal opportunity to make it the kind of space you want it to be. If there is something that you want to see changed, you can change it without going through a bureaucratic process. You just do it. And that sometimes leads to those conflicts where you find someone changed something you liked a certain way, but as long as the community continually communicates and tries to be excellent to each other, it works out. It's never going to be exactly how you want it because it's not just your space. But the thing is, for just about everyone at these spaces — it is infeasible to have a space like this to yourself. You give up some control, and you get an awful lot in return.

The hackerspace fits into a theme I've been exploring this past year and I have to write more about as I continue exploring it in 2023. I'm not yet sure how to group these thoughts together, but it circles around some of the ideas I see in socialism, anarchism, communism in a general sense and more specifically third spaces, cohousing, community centers, resource sharing, donation circles, free and open source software, decentralized networks, and the small web. I'll try to share more. I think I need to sort some of these thoughts out, but I just want to find ways for people to share more, because I think it's good for us psychologically and it reduces waste.

Happy Holidays, see you in the new year 🥳!