Ask HN: What happened to hackerspaces? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What happened to hackerspaces?

#121

Post by aranaur » Tue, Oct 24, 2023, 4:34 PM UTC

cvccvroomvroom wrote: post #48

seltzered_ wrote: post #13

Might be worth searching for: - TechShop and it's fall - I remember one person arguing hackerspaces may be better run as a nonprofit model. - The rise of small-scale maker capabilities within public institutions like libraries. I considered signing up for a maker space last year and it made more sense to pay for a second library that happened to have a good maker lab. - The rise of cheaper or more accessible prototyp…

Yeap. Might be better not to have the expense and expectations of a brick and mortar that get in the way of associations of like minds. Dinner gatherings once a month and larger fairs once a year would probably suffice. If municipality governments had any common sense, they would find ways to manage the risks and benefits of opening fix-it and make community centers.

For the last six years or so, our local Makerspace has hosted a weekly electronics and technology meetup on Thursday evenings. The electronics lab is pretty quiet most of the week, though as an arts/crafts-focused space, the fiber arts and stained glass spaces are much busier. On Thursday evenings, though, there normally 5-15 people who show up and hack on hardware/software, show off projects, or just chat tech. electronicsnight.com.

Re: Ask HN: What happened to hackerspaces?

#122

Post by wmeitzler » Tue, Oct 24, 2023, 5:59 PM UTC

cableshaft wrote: post #58

Solvency wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you live in the wealthiest city in America? I've been to 11 libraries and absolutely none of them have anything on that list.

I live in a suburb of Chicago. We do directly neighbor one of the wealthiest cities in the country, though, but our city isn't particularly wealthy (it's doing fine though, and steadily growing). Part of the reason we bought a house here is because it was close to some nicer suburbs without being terribly expensive itself (our home was just reappraised and it was determined to still be under the average existing hous…

This sounds like Fountaindale Library in Bolingbrook. I lived there myself for 2 years, it's a great up-and-coming town, and the library is truly spectacular.

Re: Ask HN: What happened to hackerspaces?

#123

Post by rickydroll » Tue, Oct 24, 2023, 6:24 PM UTC

iancmceachern wrote: post #78

rickydroll wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

other examples of a successful maker spaces are Springfield Telescope Makers in VT and Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston. Both specialize in telescope making and observing. Both clubs have a pool of people will to teach, a core of people maintaining and developing observatories and the clubhouse, and best of all, cheap real estate. Now if we could just get that Harry Potter light putter-outer when it is clear.

Those are both very cool, but I would argue they aren't maker spaces. They seem like telescope making clubs.

yes they are but they characterize one of the aspects of a successful maker space. Focus on a particular part of making. These clubs also have all the same tools plus some specialized ones that any maker space would have.

Re: Ask HN: What happened to hackerspaces?

#124

Post by ja27 » Tue, Oct 24, 2023, 8:11 PM UTC

rapjr9 wrote: post #110

mdasen wrote: post #24

Real Estate. So many quirky things are viable when there's cheaper rent, cheap buying opportunities, or underutilized space. If I could buy space for $150/sq ft, I might have some extra cash, like the idea of investing in real estate, and like the idea of having a cool community hackerspace. If it's going to cost me $1,000/sq ft, I'm barely going to be able to afford the space I want to live in. If a group of us can…

So now that commercial real estate is being underutilized due to work from home does that mean the hackerspaces and artist collectives will return due to cheap real estate prices?

A big lesson from running a hackerspace is that you can't apply logic like that to commercial real estate. They'll let it sit empty for ten years rather than reduce the price.

Re: Ask HN: What happened to hackerspaces?

#125

Post by ja27 » Tue, Oct 24, 2023, 8:20 PM UTC

Mine (Tampa Hackerspace) is alive and reasonably well.

COVID was a big drag but we clamped down on expenses and had built up a nest egg in case of emergencies so the financial hit didn't do us in. It really wiped out a lot of the social aspects of the community and we're still struggling to get those back.

Rent hurts but we were lucky to lock in a long-term contract with a fixed annual percentage increase. It's still by far our biggest expense.

My opinion and experience is that a makerspace / hackerspace can only succeed with at least one person that's nearly 100% dedicated to running it, mostly without pay. The founder(s) probably have 5-7 years before they totally burn out so unless they've found and built up some others that are just as dedicated, it's hard to sustain a space.

Re: Ask HN: What happened to hackerspaces?

#126

Post by samtho » Wed, Oct 25, 2023, 3:48 PM UTC

sokoloff wrote: post #116

samtho wrote: post #51

I was involved in makerspaces for a while. While I have not given up on them, I will admit that I have become thoroughly disillusioned with the idea. Real estate is expensive and a makerspace should be near public transport (which will likely be closer to the city center) but should be able to to facilitate some parking and/or transfer of large items to/from a vehicle. Cheap real estate does come in varieties that su…

> community of people who have the tools at home and choose to work there because is a great place to collaborate If I have the tools at home, why would I commute to the makerspace to work? This seems like the remote work thing, only amplified (because I’m probably not commuting to do 8 hours of work on my project, now I’m paying instead of being paid, and I have to drag my project and raw materials with me [with the…

People generally choose to participate in a makerspace and projects there are inherently physical. The remote work movement is predicated on the idea that employees owe less of their life to their employers, orgs that require employees to spend many hours of their week in an unpaid commute, when they could just be at home at not worry about that logistical challenge and at the same time regain control of a huge chunk of their waking hours.

Those who have personal or company access to the tools they need and are satisfied with that are not the ones that do not benefit from makerspaces, and makerspaces do not benefit (in the long term) from a bunch of businesses booking our huge blocks of hours of machine time only for them to go home immediately once everything is done.

A makerspace should be a social and creative space with access to tools. A makerspace as a community space is successful when people want to be there.