Hackerspace vs Makerspace, or For Community
About a year ago I wrote a poem to answer the question “What does PS:1 mean to you?”(1)
Being away from the space for a while has given me an opportunity to reflect on it from afar.
What is a hacker vs a maker? Are the terms makerspace and hackerspace synonymous, and which direction should PS:1 go towards?
Historically PS:1 has usually been referred to as a hackerspace. As a person who cares about words and their meaning, it seems almost blasphemous for me to say that I’m not actually sure which side of the aisle I’m on in terms of nomenclature. I don’t care about the naming, as long as the choice reflects the core of what sets PS:1 apart — its community.
I’ve previously written that your identity is so strongly composed of your communities. Everyone who sticks around at PS:1 or any space does so because something in that space resonates with them and they can see themselves becoming a part of that particular community.
I’ve had a conversation recently with someone who felt like his identities at work and in the home — father, husband, programmer — were making him feel more isolated and he really wanted to check PS1 out to find a community in which he could feel more connected to his fellow human beings. There’s a dearth of feeling socially connected in an era where most connections seem to be made online, and remain shallow. PS1 provides an alternative model of social interaction that is not Facebook or Twitter or late night social work events after a long 40-hour workweek.
Frequently on IRC there are visitors who seek to use the cheap facilities PS:1 offers within a short timeframe — at $40/month, it seems to be a really cheap toolshop. Usually someone responds along the lines of — we’re a 100% volunteer community, and if you are only looking for a place to get your job done we can recommend you some actual toolshops.
Over the span of my almost 6 years of being involved in PS1’s community, I wonder if there aren’t more folks today that feel like the above anecdote is wrong. That we should be more efficient and streamlined and should provide timely customer service to our clients.
Unlike most elections where you feel like you cannot make a difference, one vote can and has in the past made the difference between who represents PS1. I implore you to think carefully about what kind of PS1 you want 2 years from now. I will not be mentioning specific candidates.
Instead, I would like you to examine what you think makes PS1 unique. I’ve already spoken about PS1’s unique community — comprised of makers and tinkerers and doers from all walks of life. I love that we have arts and crafts as well as small metals and woodworking and programming office hours. Our structure lets newcomers know that anyone, no matter how inexperienced, can dive into all of these cool pursuits.
PS1 is different from greater society in this way. I work in tech, and I’ve read articles about how even tech interns make more than people who have been working for decades in other industries will make. But we do not make this capitalistic distinction where your value is based on the amount of money you make at PS1 — i.e. we do not have tiers of membership where the programmers are valued the most. Even board members also have their duties as regular members, and are not above the rules.
PS1 is a unique social experiment that has lasted for longer than anyone in the beginning thought it would. I remember when we were back in the old space and our board members would have to hunt people down to pay their dues on time just so that we could survive. We’ve come a long way since then, and we’re doing well financially — a rarity for a hackerspace that doesn’t explictly have corporate sponsorship, like Artisans’ Asylum in Boston for example. Go to their website and you will be able to view a list of corporate and foundation sponsors. PS1 is self-sufficient and independent, in contrast.
Unfortunately, and this is entirely my opinion, perhaps our financial success has given people the wrong idea about the future of PS1. For those of you who analogize PS1 to a business; why do you make this analogy? I cannot understand why you would want to make PS1 less unique and just another business just like everything else that exists out there. Do you honestly think, that without being paid, the people who have put their sweat and tears (and maybe a bit of blood) into the hackerspace, totaling hundreds or thousands of volunteer hours each, would do so for any regular business?
It is the uniqueness of PS1’s project and mission that attract passionate people willing to give their precious time and effort into building up this community. Changing our members into clients is simply wrong and removes their agency as individuals who are part of a community.
Community is a living, breathing thing, comprised of everyone who contributes to PS1, and is not an empty word that people use for rhetorical effect when trying to advertise PS1’s benefits.
So what threatens this community, aside from efforts to make it conform with the models of organization the rest of society has created?
One of the greatest ongoing challenges PS1, and any group of people — because we are all mistake-prone humans — faces, is that of interpersonal conflict. I won’t dwell too much on this topic since it is toxic, but I do want you to leave this essay thinking about a related topic — representation.
Who do you want as PS1’s representatives (which is what board members are — they are administrators who are PS1’s contact points, and although they are leaders they never stop being regular members)? Do you want the face of PS1 to be people who are entrenched with those who already have money and power? People whose strongest connections are with wealthy coworking spaces like 1871 and techshops instead of people whose strongest connections are with the communities around them?
PS1’s mission is to: “foster a collaborative environment wherein people can explore and create intersections between technology, science, art, and culture.” (2)
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization it does seem rather counterintuitive to pursue a business-like mentality for profits while neglecting those who are marginalized in our local communities. If the weakest in our community are not protected and are ignored by the strongest, then we will have failed in our mission. We may still exist but mere existing is not enough.
We actively need to welcome women, Latinos, African Americans, Muslims, LGBTQ, the disabled, immigrants, and the mentally ill who in our greater society are under more threat than ever.
If an appeal to your sense of empathy and basic human decency is not enough, I hope that this calculation will appeal to you: for every person who you discourage from pursuing making (and by the way doing nothing counts as discouraging), maybe you’re missing out on the person with the next hacky idea or cool maintenance project you could be collaborating on. This morning I read about a 14 year old Indian youth who signed a government contract to make anti-landmine drones. Don’t turn away the future innovator because she looks different from you and doesn’t share your sense of humor.
PS1 must not become an isolated conclave made up of only those who society already values. For even if that girl you turned away doesn’t end up a maker, I’m sure she’ll have told her friends — one of whom has the knowledge that we need — to stay far away.
PS1 is part of a larger maker movement that values making inherently, but making itself is value-neutral. A successful hacker/makerspace must consider the ethical ramifications of such a neutral stance — why do we make? Who do we make for? Whose voices are absent when we make? Do we hurt anyone by making?
On Tuesday, vote with your conscience. May it be well-examined.
Footnotes:
(1)Communities are hard to build
I have my opinion, and you have yours
Chemicals and words poorly spilled
Just walk inside and open the doors
Pick a project, learn and fail
Pick up the pieces, get derailed
Or have a tale to tell
In the end, have fun for having fell.
(2) https://wiki.pumpingstationone.org/File:Articles_of_Incorporation.pdf
