stackspace
a place to code, question, and chat.
In the valley, there is a billboard that points interested makers to “Invent.” at Hacker Dojo, TechShop, Make:, the Tech Museum, and Noisebridge. In Pittsburgh, we have a similarly robust maker scene with a TechShop of our own. Makers and hackers should continue to “Invent.” as they have for so long, but must not stop there. In Pittsburgh, we want to create an open, collaborative, educational space that equips and encourages people to build the web, but to also ask serious questions about the value and impact of their inventions.
Because all technology has equal capacity to both create and destroy, we must compose for it a great purpose; our work of invention is only half the future.
Simply put, we want to create a space where people can learn to code, build the web, and consider the purpose of their work; a space for code as craft.
To start, the space will be small. Maybe just a back room in a coffee shop? In creating the space, our focus is five-fold: education, community, productivity, health, and discourse.
Education
Been to the public library lately and wandered through the stacks to the computer programming shelf? It’s a mess of books that are either unused, irrelevant, and outdated. Certainly, some are useful (or were useful), but the niche culture and speedy progress of computer science makes it hard for the traditional library to keep up. Additionally, a lot of hacker classics have never been printed. Perhaps most importantly, a library that takes seriously the idea of code as craft—work that both Composes and Invents—must contain literature that spans disciplines and genres. The library (for now just a shelf or two) will contain technical manuals, comics, novels, poetry, philosophy, mathematics, history, etc.
Books can be read on site or used to broaden the consciousness of browsers through a sort of unintentional knowledge.
“Beside every effort making, which is necessarily narrow, there must be an effort of judgment, of criticism, which must be as broad as possible. That is, every made thing must be submitted to these questions: What is the quality of this thing as a human artifact, as an addition to the world of made and of created things? How suitable is it to the needs of human and natural neighborhoods? […] These two problems, how to make and how to judge, are the business of education.”
— W. Berry
In addition to a small library, stackspace will be a place to learn with other programmers of all skill levels. We will fund experienced developers who want to teach, co-work, chat, and mentor learners. To manage contributions, we will set up and fund a Gittip team, starting it with $100/week. Beyond the informal learning opportunities, we will create a weekly schedule that offers consistent times for workshops, co-working, and classes.
Finally, we look forward to providing small pieces of hardware that relate closely to software development. A small locker of programmable hardware devices and the like will be available during open times and educational sessions.
Community
Anyone can hang out in stackspace free of charge. If someone loves stackspace, they can support it by making a weekly contribution to the Gittip team. Saxifrage School staff will be seriously invested in the operation and vibrancy of the space, one of our team will be present in the space on a consistent basis. Stackspace will also be available for outside groups and meetups to utilize for topic-relevant sessions.
The primary goal of stackspace is to provide a common place for people working with code. Our hope is for it to become a third place for current and future programmers, an anchor of community life and collaboration.
A large set of interactive blackboards will serve as a communication medium for the community around stackspace. Visitors will be able to voice their opinion on changes with a +1/-1 method and get updated about upcoming events, ideas, projects, etc.
Productivity
In addition to learning, exploring, and discussing, we hope that stackspace can be a place for people to get work done and, moreso, learn how to work better. We will supplement the library with resources on time management, personal development, and good work habits. Pomodoro timers, zero-inbox challenges, and goal setting will run rampant.
To help you be productive, stackspace will come equipped with some basic tools: a top-quality wireless router, a printer, some monitors, chalkboards, and a projector. If we have our way, we’ll even get a MacPro setup with the Adobe Suite.
Health
One of the things we are most excited about with stackspace is providing resources and fostering discussion about the health of the computer-focused work-life. How can we work on a machine all day and stay healthy?
In addition to some great literature on the subject, stackspace will be equipped with a number of standing desks and cushioned mats. Pomodoro timers will remind you to take a lot of breaks.
Discourse
Like we said at the beginning, we need to Compose and Invent. The best way we know how to do this is through serious, critical discussion. The walls at stackspace will be covered with visual cues, quotations, and questions to spark discussion and debate. Part of the consistent programming will specifically focus on big theoretical questions that relate to the purpose of our technical work.
Stackspace will also be a hub for projects that support openness and proactive transparency. We will actively promote and help maintain open-source projects (like Gittip) and discuss the importance of projects like the Open Company Initiative. Stackspace will host a collection on Medium and encourage visitors to contribute original writing.
