| Date | 4th of March 2023 |
|---|---|
| Hour | 20h00 CET |
| Where | ChaosStuff |
Note: The order of the day can be changed until the 17th of Feb 2023 at 23h59.
metalgamer open this general assembly at 20:27 CET.
metalgamer: Welcome to the annual GA of 2023.
metalgamer: It was mostly quiet, we took part in the Makerfaire (we had a stand) and also organized a local viewing for the JEV.
Most of the active members had a lot going on (kids, moving, health, etc.), which resulted in less activity in the space.
virii: We got less money from membership fees, as the mail script was activated late and we lost some members, and also got less from Food & Drinks because of lack of activity in the ChaosStuff. This results in a reduced amount of income for those two, but most of the income is from Donations to begin with, of which, the VDL subsidies increased a bit. To sum up, this year is positive.
Our current financial situation is such that we can't allow ourselves to buy a server, but we have some money in case of issues.
When sending your membership fees, please do not combine it with other payments (food, donations, etc.), it makes accounting much more difficult.
If you didn't receive an e-mail, contact virii to verify your entry in the members DB.
alain: Everything is OK, some of the expenses are confusingly categorized because of PayPal issues.
(peter was not present but had auditied the finances before the GA.)
virii: Do more projects!
You can open a ticket on the RT for funding.
metalgamer: Nothing really happened this year. In case of issues, it goes over the request tracker.
metalgamer: Similarly to last years: 17 press appearances.
Most of them were in regards to Chat Control (in May), in regards to which we had published a press release titled "Chatkontroll - D'Kaz ass aus dem Sak".
Other than that, not much happened in the press. "Standard business".
metalgamer: None were sent in.
Review has been done previously during the meeting.
After having spent most of the meeting/meetup evenings here alone, we've modified the frequency of these to 1 per month. We're hoping that once most things calm down, for instance moving, people will show up more often. It is also appreciated that people inform us in case they can't not show up.
RT, as well as other services have a lack of activity. I think that as the DDS, we should also look at automating the creation of accounts of those services. (RT, etc.) We should "streamline, as business says" these processes internally.
virii wants members to survey members to chat about what they want and expect from the Space.
virii: I'll start because nobody else seems to be willing.
I expect people to do projects. I think most people think their projects have to be extreme, but in reality the projects don't have to be! Look at the LED strips for instance, we were running around to get people to fix them, we even offered a hardware wallet for fixing it! It really does not have to be extreme, one could make a small flying device, organize a Gutenberg reader's night, foodhacking or other things.
I think that because we only meet once a month, we should make small projects to show that we're still active. Right now, if a new member comes, what are we supposed to show them? There's not much… Look at beamer serial control, it doesn't have to be big. What about the Amazon Dash Button, its broken, you can put something else there, replace it with a toaster, or whatever! The Game of Life is another one of them, we wanted to expand it for a considerable amount of time, but haven't done so yet.
fantawams: What about a conspiracy night?
(The month of September comes up)
metalgamer: But I don't know my availabilites yet for that period.
virii: The projects don't have to directly impact the ChaosStuff, we could build some newspaper tools. Either way, Keep it simple, stupid! Just throw your ideas at it. We should probably make a (new) brainstorming page on the Wiki. (note: there is an old one, but it is somewhat out of date)
metalgamer: The Wiki by itself is a project! If you wanna more actively participate with it (e.g. moving pages, etc.), just contact me to get the rights.
orimpe: What about a campaign in regards to private surveillance by citizens? Some people are recoring the entire street and more.
virii: I agree with that. (He follows by giving an example, not transcribed of brevity's sake). deflenken sent an email to the ISPs, what happened there?
deflenken: Not much… they didnt respond with anything interesting.
orimpe (responding to a question): It was about usage data for ISPs and telephone providers.
virii: What about writing a template?
deflenken: We're only missing the email addresses…
deflenken: If we're here once a month, we should at least be active.
metalgamer: I'm gonna be here during those listed meetings.
alain: I agree, if we're here this unfrequently, then yes, we should show up.
metalgamer: This does not mean people cannot show up on other mondays.
metalgamer: I forgot to mention in the press comission part that we stopped using Twitter, and we'll use Mastodon as a replacement from now on. Members can make an account there, as long as they register with their C3L email address.
fantawams: HackYard! But we don't plan it for 50 people and then end up with 8 people. Not during the summer.
orimpe: So like September?
fantawams: Yes!
(At some point the idea of not making it official/public came up)
So what do we need? Tents for people to sleep in, and then an event shelter/party tent for NOC etc. We could even organize it in my backyard! External people could come, they can use computer-related stuff, and learn about the space or C3L over grilling.
metalgamer: I like the idea, but I wouldn't sleep there because it's not a thing for me anymore.
virii: We have to see about the electricity though.
If it works in your (fantawams) backyard, then its fine, we only need an extension power cord. If it's on my plot though, then we'd have to organize something. Solar panels? Setting up a windmill? A waterwheel?
fantawams: We can use alternative ideas. In the past for instance, we've put the drinks in the water and that was fine.
virii: What I find to be quite cool here is solving problems.
orimpe: If it's like this, I like the idea.
(discussion about previous events and issues that showed up)
virii: What about you X?
deflenken: What do you expect while away?
xbr: A better microphone. I know virii really likes the idea of the webcam, but that wouldn't solve the crappy sound. That's why I can barely do the minutes while remote.
metalgamer: But if we have a webcam and put it over the projection screen, the audio might be okay, we have to test.
(discussion about the specifics of the webcam: max USB length, use of NextCloud talk, we could also put the camera next to the beamer looking down and at the screen)
orimpe: But I think the most important part for xbr really is good sound. (remote)
metalgamer: The idea of the webcam was to allow people present remotely to see the people.
virii: My idea with NextCloud Talk was to be able to connect remotely, have a webcam, share the screen.
alain: But I think we're focusing too much on the video and not enough on the audio.
virii: I think I agree with alain.
(discussion about the microphone)
metalgamer: This microphone was initally bought for podcasting.
Other member: That's also an idea, more podcasting!
metalgamer: I was too busy as of recently to work on that, but if any member has an idea in regards to podcast themes, or wants to participate and work on it, you can.
virii: Now its up for you as a new member!
jonaszenjev: I agree with the need for new projects. Another issue for me is keeping up to date with what's going on and finding the links.
Other members: Check the wiki and minutes!
(discussion about hacking and projects)
jonaszenjev: I really like the idea of the toaster, or a slot machine even.
metalgamer: Watch out with the toaster! Don't burn down the place, the "portier" wouldn't be too happy. Actually, his phone number is hanging downstairs now…
virii: With the door downstairs, couldn't we have a bell ? (Note: the door closes sometimes randomly)
Other members: Keep in mind that we can't put anything down there, so it would have to be temporary. Maybe something magnetic or tape it ?
metalgamer: But yes, that's another project idea.
fantawams: What about a Wemos?
metalgamer: You'd have to see how to power it.
metalgamer: We only have 2 candidates, no one brought up a complaint, they are accepted.
| Candidate | Votes |
|---|---|
| virii | 10 YAY / 0 NAY / 0 MEH |
| metalgamer | 10 YAY / 0 NAY / 0 MEH |
| Candidate | Votes |
|---|---|
| virii | 10 YAY / 0 NAY / 0 MEH |
virii: I've been doing this since when?
metalgamer: 2013.
virii: That's a long time, I'm starting to find it bothersome and a lot of work.
| Candidate | Votes |
|---|---|
| x | 10 YAY / 0 NAY / 0 MEH |
| Candidate | Votes |
|---|---|
| metalgamer | 10 YAY / 0 NAY / 0 MEH |
(Various topics, acted as a kind of censored round)
virii: We should look at the C3L Manifesto.
metalgamer closes the general assembly at 22:22 CET.