On Tue, Feb 25, 2014 at 1:52 PM, Praveen Sinha <dmhomee@gmail.com> wrote:
I've been asking this question a lot recently, and I think it's particularly important in the context of noisebridge / sudoroom.  "Safe space" has been used in a lot of contexts, sometimes in feminism, sometimes in mental health, sometimes just on an individual level.   I've also been getting variants in answers to this question, and I'm really interested in what this means for you in the context of open communities like hackerspaces.

I'd really love to hear your answer:  it doesnt have to be long or complicated, just whatever comes to mind first, and feel free to email me privately.  I may talk about general results at an upcoming 5mof or something similar, but I'll maintain individual privacy and confidentiality to whatever degree you desire.

In the noisebridge context ...
 

1) what does safe space mean for you?  

A place free of implicit rules and conventions what constitutes appropriate social behavior.
(that probably implies explicit language, and not playing games by the usual rules ... ISTR having overheard folks whose opinion matters that this is not the way it works)
 
2) if you can think of a time where you felt safe and heard and creative / productive at NB/SR, how were people treating you or others? 

Discovering noisebridge, ... à la recherche du temps perdu, at 83c Wiese ...
 
   How did it make you feel?

"Hier bin ich Mensch, hier darf ich's sein."

Later visits: noisebridge is a place of constructive reality distortion.
 
3) if you can think of a time where where felt unsafe at NB / SR, how were people treating you or others?  How did it make you feel?

Not couchsurfing at noisebridge often enough to feel unsafe ...
Uncomfortable: when others respond standoffish to a Stallmanesque approach to following, and being aware of, implicit social norms, maybe.

I generally feel out of place on playing fields where referees hand out yellow or red cards. No interest in football, thankyouverymuch.

FWIW
Christoph