So we never made it out to First Friday. It was sorta rainy, a lot of
us were burned out, Marc had spent 48 hours straight trying to fix a
sudomesh bug, and I was focused on the TWAC show. But that's really ok
because I don't know if FF could have compared to the quantity and
quality of outreach we got from TWAC. The space was totally packed
with rad queer women, a lot of whom were very excited about what we're
doing and want to get involved. We had 3D printers running the whole
time, did a bunch of impromptu tours and 5-minute speed classes in
printing, coding, etc. Sudo provided a nice low-key hacking
environment as an outlet during show intermissions.
They raised over $1k for the camp - which, to reiterate, will be an
entirely free event for women, trans & genderqueer people to learn and
skill-share about activism and all kinds of life-hacking and other
hacking. They don't use the word hacking but that's totally what it
is. Sudo built hella good will with a community of great folks last
night. Also for such a huge event (at least 200 people came through)
cleanup went really well. We only had to do a little bit this morning
- collect bathroom trash, take trash & recycling downstairs and some
light vacuuming.
Things we still need to do better:
* have extra toilet paper ready ahead of time, do regular bathroom checks
* bag/rebag all trash cans ahead of time
* Make sure the air control system actually works - things get
uncomfortable with that many people and no ventilation. Don't be
afraid of pressuring George to actually go on the roof and
double-check that the power switch is actually on.
When we introduce Sudoroom to the audience, remember don't stray too
far off message. Some major bullet points need to be:
* we're entirely free, volunteer-run and always accept (need)
donations to keep us open
* we're a community space for everybody, you don't have to identify as
an artist/activist/hacker
* we do awesome projects that benefit the community
* we are open and welcoming and always want more members - we tend to
shut the doors when the show gets loud, which is understandable as
we're trying to hack/concentrate, but it also can make people feel
intimidated. So it helps a lot to just give specific strong
invitations for people to come in and join. A few people suggested a
large sign on our door saying as much.
* please respect the space as our guests - please recycle your beer
cans, please clean up spills, please never write graffiti on the walls
or bathrooms - as tempting or legit as the message may be, Sudoers are
accountable to the landlord and have to pay the price for it.