The Lounge

I am getting a little tired of being ganged up on, Accused of things, and having words put in my mouth. This is bulling.

I think we need to remember that there are many different opinions and ideas that are voiced at meetings and other discussions. It's obviously impossible for any one member to get their way 100% of the time. That's just the nature of an organization like this.

Everyone in this organization has a right to be listened to and to be heard, no one in this organization has the right to be agreed with.

I don't think flipping the gameboard and storming out anytime the organization doesn't follow one person's vision is at all sustainable, no matter how much they've contributed or how much they think others have not.

I'm going to disagree with you on the last point, it was absolutely an issue caused by me misjudging the objective, and how the posting would hit.

And I apologize for the messaging which has clearly hurt your feelings.

My intention was to avoid having people who were outside of the organization mentally prepared for an incomplete space, in which the project was the space, not that folks who contribute a bunch of time outside of those hours would also only be expected to work. As I had only said I would make events in March, there was no hack night posted in April.

I did take your response about the origins of hack night into consideration, and will definitely use it to inform event planning. It was a good redirect away from the reinventing the wheel I was contemplating. Sorry I forgot to reply, there was a lot of info.

(The forum works well for slow moving stuff, I never said it wasn't up to my standards, just reminding you that everyone engages with it at different levels)

I was very clear here, and at the meeting and argued with. I was ignored as I very often am. I feel my contributions and opinions are not respected. When I bring these issues up I get excuses and never a real apology or accountability. I do not feel I can go forward in contributing if my time and effort are not being respected. Thank you for fixing it. Listening to me here and at the meeting would have prevented this and the many related incidents that have led to my frustration. This forum was made possible by people working for free. I am sorry it does not meet your standards. Pointing out the shortfalls of people efforts is the specific problem I am trying to have adressed here.

I want to be clear this is an ongoing issue caused by the input of multiple people. Not just this specific incident or person.  

Hi all, just getting to this now, (sorry Grant I didn't see your message until after the event (this morning, via email notification) )

Apologies for mis-recording the objectives members had intended to communicate with regard to the event. The event was created directly from the notes I had that it would be focused on getting things ready for the grand opening.

I was approached last night, and after discussion agreed that I had missed the mark on how the messaging was received (again, not as intended either- this was only for the Wednesdays in march)

The events have been updated.

Going forward if folks have objections to messaging or feedback on events I've posted I would really appreciate a direct message or phone call so I can update it in a timely manner. I do check the forum, but email notifications roll in at 1am or so, which means I don't usually get to them until the next afternoon.

I find it interesting that burnout is being considered in this case. I have asked that criticism be avoided and members be accountable for the impact they are having on the mental health of myself and others and have had zero accommodation. I have very much burned out to the point I don't think I can go to members' meetings and certainly avoid the Facebook group designed to critique people in private.

I stepped down as chair due to the pressure put on me by members who do not contribute as much as I do. I don't expect others to do so as I have the fortune to be able to, however asking people to hold their tongue on input if they are not the ones doing the work seems like a reasonable request.

Dave was very consistent at hack night for many years. He burned out when he continued to do so after he lost support. When he was backfilling the work done by people who had left due to burnout. He saw friends leave due to bullying and saw no progress to improve the space. At least that is how I see it. I should avoid putting words in his mouth. He has been a staple of the space and has contributed a lot over the years,

I am glad people are concerned about him. I left for a year due to burnout and nobody cared. No one changed anything or even apologized. I was blamed for my burnout and ridiculed when I tried to approach the issue recently. Ironically he was part of that. I guess we only care when it is someone we like?

There is no pressure for anyone to run hack night at this time. No pressure to sign anyone up or give a tour. A few people show up and work on what they are passionate about. Which for most who are there is building out the space. They may show someone around. That thankfully takes a very short time now. (no stairs!) Sign-up is done online.

I avoided the clay painting as my experience is it would be more pointing out all the things I and others don't have done yet. I am glad people are having fun and enjoying themselves. But the same is not being done for the people who are actually getting the work done. Who picked up all the not fun things on the back end of the fundraiser to make it happen?

Anyway, I am going to pull back like I did a year ago. I am sure others will do so as well, quieter than me but still. As happened a year ago and then what? Shut down? 

I think what Amanda said has been a bit misconstrued. Hack Nights are an important tradition and definitely an essential piece of the Makerspace - I don’t think anyone is wanting to get rid of them completely, at least thats not what I understand. I think what we need to consider though, is the time and effort it takes to put on a Hack Night and if people can consistently commit to being there for that event. 

In recent years, the backbone of Hack Night has been Dave and I don’t think he got enough recognition for that. He was the one who committed to being there every week to ensure people who dropped in would have a friendly face to be welcomed by. Obviously I cannot speak to how Dave feels, but if I were him, the pressure of having to run Hack Night would weigh heavy and might begin to feel more like chore than a fun thing. We are all busy people with lives outside of the Makerspace, so having to commit to being there for Hack Night might not be feasible for some (or most). 

It’s important to have a Hack Night because it is the gateway for new people to access the space, but the pressure of running it should not be so debilitating that it causes burnout and or becomes another “avoid the makerspace” day, as Grant puts it. I don’t know what the solution to that is, but I feel like that needs to be figured out to have a successful Hack Night tradition in the new space. 

With all the chaos happening with the move, setting up and cleaning the new space, doing fundraisers and events, there has been less time for members to have use the space, connect with others, and just have fun. And I think that’s what Amanda was saying. Our community of makers need space and time to connect, create and have fun - without the pressure of having to give a tour, sign someone up or clean up the space. This is what we did a couple weeks ago for glazing the pizza pi plates and it was so much fun to just hangout and make things together. It reignited my connection with the Makerspace gave me an opportunity to enjoy the space and members that were present. More of that would be nice :)

You're right. Wednesday's are for Hack Night. We want to be able to have a standing invitation to the public to come explore the space. The idea is that we can invite people over on "Any Wednesday" without having to double check the schedule.

It would be a bad first impression for someone to want to see what the space is all about, only to be handed a mop.

We used to have a Maker Monday for general cleaning. I started to feel that was becoming "Avoid Makerspace" day.

Going forward we need our events to have an event prep plan. I'm guilty of not doing this. It's easy to say we should have a presence at Canada Day. Then I always look surprised at how much effort is needed to set up and take down the event.

I will suggest that the weekend before an event is the prep time. The day after the event is the event recovery day where everything gets put away properly.

I am extremely disappointed in the co-opting of Hack Night. There was a discussion of this at the member's meeting and I was under the influence that it would be going forward unchanged. I have had a great time going whenever I can. Fulfilling the spirit of this long-standing program. I have no interest in attending a "work party" I am pulling all my support in labour, materials and resources going forward and reconsidering my membership.

Hack Night started as exactly that, as part of the Kamloops Innovation Center. Aras Moghaddam, myself, and a few others met there and decided to pursue creating a makerspace. This led to the creation of Modlab, this was the first iteration of what would become the Makerspace. There was a disagreement between the parties involved. Aras and I took the community and they took the name. (there is more to add here I will skip for brevity) We continued to run Hack Night as Kamloops Makerspace until the community came together and eventually found a space to call home. We continued Hack Night as we built out the space and it has always been a time to come together, work on projects, and share our passions. It was in the third year of the space with a lot of other changes that the hack night was formalized into an open house with tours, and like a lot of parts of the space lost a bit of its eclectic charm. However, before that and since Hack Night was always people's first contact with the Makerspace and more importantly its community and culture. Hack Night has always been integral to the space, its community, and the community at large. Former members, the general public, and visitors from other communities would drop in. Many of us visit other Makerspaces when we travel on similar types of nights.

To summarize, I fully support the idea of continuing Hack Night, it has not really stopped. I and others try to prioritize going there on Wednesday Nights, I have seen new people interested in the space drop in and even some old faces now and then. Some working on projects, the space, or just hanging out. If there is an interest in formalizing a private get-together for members, other than diluting the times members come together, I don't see why not, however, the Hack Night branding, the Wednesday nights, and the openness of the past are a very integral part of the space I would be extremely dismayed with losing.

I stumbled across an old forum post on another makerspace's page from before (way back!) the Kamloops Makerspace was up and running. It was about any advice they had for us. At this point basically all of the things suggested are in place, like automating processes, and decision making processes. One thing that is missing is time for the people at the space to make together. Not workshops or open houses, but just member hang out, field trips, potlucks etc.

With that in mind I am toying with the idea of a resurrecting the hack night, - minus the obligation to have a weekly open house, for members only, and possibly on a different evening- I'm thinking Thursdays. because once a month I have to be there for Thursday anyway :)

Thoughts? suggestions?