Structure and organization

Formalizing our structure

It seems that if we are going to accept money and rent property we are going to have to formalize our structure somehow. Maybe we should look at the pros and cons of some of these options. Also by incorporating in some fashion we reduce the liability each of us faces for being associated with the group.

Notes from Design Pattern on organization

Here is a translation of the orginazational section of the hackerspace design pattern, posted here so that we can edit/comment on them for our space.

The Plenum Pattern

Problem

You want to resolve internal conflicts, exercise democratic decision making, and discuss recent issues and future plans.

Implementation

Have a regular meeting with all members, if possible. Have an agenda and set goals. Make people commit themselves to tasks. Write down minutes of the meeting and post them on a mailing list and/or Wiki. Go for the only date that works: once a week. Weird dates like “first full-moon after the third Friday” will never work. Likewise, every other week or anything similar won’t work either.

The Tuesday Pattern

Problem

Every weekday sucks. You will not find any day when every hacker can attend a meeting. Someone always has an appointment.

Implementation

Meet on Tuesday. Since all days are equally bad, just pick Tuesday. End of discussion.