Nottingham Hackspace Rules

Welcome to the Nottingham Hackspace Rules. This contains the rules to which every member and guest of the space is expected to follow.

Below is a summary of the rules, each has its own full description that can be accessed via the menu on the left.

0. Rule 0: Do Not Be On Fire

   It is essential you use the Space safely as a responsible adult.

1. Membership of the Hackspace

   Any person aged 18 or over can join Nottingham Hackspace, by visiting on a open night, providing correct details, and setting up and maintaining a monthly payment into our nominated bank account.

2. Guests & Visitors

   Guests & visitors are welcome in the Hackspace. However whoever brings them into the space or lets them into the Space is wholly responsible for them.

3. Be Excellent To One Another

   We ask that you respect others when using the Hackspace. Do this by cleaning up after yourself, abiding by our safe spaces policy and code of conduct.

4. Respect the Hackspace

   We ask that you respect the Hackspace. Do this by cleaning up after yourself, by being careful not to damage infrastructure and by reporting both damaged/broken tools and infrastructure.

5. Do Not Hack

   Do Not Hack is an integral part of the Hackspace. Do Not Hack means you are claiming materials, a donation or a project as your own, and requesting that no other members ‘hack’ the component parts.

6. UK Legislation

   Whilst in the Hackspace you must abide by all applicable UK laws and legislation.

7. Storage in the Hackspace

   Remember that the Hackspace has limited storage space. We have designated storage space for consumables, resources and members’ storage.

8. Donating to Nottingham Hackspace

   Consider the benefit to the Nottingham Hackspace when making a donation. Do this by posting your items and offers to the Google Group. Is there a general consensus from the members about its use or usefulness?

Appendices

1. Complaints Policy

   This is the policy followed by the Trustees when we receive a complaint.

2. SafeSpaces Policy

   This policy sets out what behaviour is inappropriate in that it may amount to harassment.

Definitions

The following definitions are used throughout the rules. Where these definitions differ from those laid down in the Constitution, the definition from the Constitution will be used.

• The Board refers to the seven trustees of Nottingham Hackspace
• Nottingham Hackspace refers to the organisation Nottingham Hackspace Ltd
• The Space or the Hackspace refers to the physical area, building or buildings leased or purchased by Nottingham Hackspace
• Trustee refers to members elected to ensure the adequate running of Nottingham Hackspace
• Member refers to any person currently a member of Nottingham Hackspace as defined in section 2 of the Articles. The board maintains a list of all members
• Resolution A resolution of the Board means at least 4 board members agree
• N-1 Majority refers to a majority of the Trustees with 0 or 1 Trustees disagreeing
• Name refers to the name that a person uses to identify themselves to others
• A guest is a non-member in the space that a current member is wholly responsible for
• A visitor is a non-member who comes to the space during an open event. The responsible Trustee, or workshop facilitator, is wholly responsible for them

Rule 0: Do Not Be On Fire

It is essential you use the Space safely as a responsible adult.

We encourage members to challenge unsafe storage by other members. If you do not feel comfortable challenging a member, we welcome emails to the safety@nottinghack.org.uk email address.

Wearing safety gear at the Hackspace is your own responsibility. We will provide appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and we ask if you notice any low supplies please email safety@nottinghack.org.uk.

We encourage the safe use of tools. For tools requiring an induction the inductor will verify that you have undertaken an induction in line with the requirements for that specific tool. Use of a tool requiring an induction is expressly forbidden unless there is a record of your induction; where possible this will be maintained on HMS and via RFID access. Usage of any tool self certifies that you are comfortable using the tool.

Nottingham Hackspace abides by The Health & Safety at Work Act, and points out that you also have responsibilities under this legislation, such as taking reasonable care of others’ safety when operating tools and machinery.

When you are working on your own in the Hackspace, please take extra care when using potentially dangerous tools. In case of genuine emergencies you should ring the emergency services. The official address for the Hackspace is written on various posters and boards throughout the Hackspace.

Membership of the Hackspace

Any person of the age of 18 or over can join Nottingham Hackspace, by visiting on a open night, providing correct details and setting up and maintaining a monthly payment into our nominated bank account.

Persons aged between 16 and 18 can join Nottingham Hackspace as a ‘Young Hacker’. To join, the Young Hacker and their parents or guardians will need to meet with a Trustee at the Hackspace to discuss the risks within the Space.

The amount you pay into Nottingham Hackspace is your own choice, however we ask that you contribute more than you take away. For information the average costs per hour to run the Hackspace can be seen on our Cost of hacking page .

From time to time all membership contributions will be reviewed and members may be asked to increase their contribution.

Should you bring guests to the Space regularly, please ensure your membership fees cover their access and usage of the Hackspace.

When a member stops paying their standing order, they will become an Ex-Member. An ex member will be provided notification of such, and their members box and any project will relocated within 2 months of the last standing order payment. Nottingham Hackspace will abide by the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 when disposing of any ex-member’s possessions. The full termination process can be found in the Appendix C. PROCESS TO FOLLOW

If you decide to no longer be a member, please empty your member’s box and remove any other possessions first. Nottingham Hackspace will buy your box back from you as long as it is reusable.

Members must follow and agree to all rules, and membership can be revoked through the complaints policy.

Nottingham Hackspace is required under Companies Act [1] to keep a record of the name, and current address of each member. We use the HMS (Hackspace Members System) website [2] to keep this information, it is very important that you keep this up-to-date, including your email address [3] for contact purposes.

[1]	Companies Act 2006 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/contents

[2]	Hackspace Members System https://hms.nottinghack.org.uk/

[3]	Some email providers have prolific spam filters which are triggered by the word “hack” and AOL is known to bounce all our email due to the word “Hack”

Guests & Visitors

Guests & visitors are welcome in the Hackspace.

You should not let people into the space if you don’t know them, or are unsure if they are a member. If you do then they become your guest and you are responsible for them. Feel free to challenge people to authenticate to GateKeeper (by swiping their card against the door) if you don’t know that they are a member.

Included in this are both children and animals - it is common courtesy to ask on the Google Group before attending the Hackspace with either an animal or a child. The exception to this notification is on Open Days and Evenings - members should assume that animals or children may be present at those times.

Please do not leave your animal, child or guest unattended in the Hackspace. They are your responsibility and must be attended at all times.

Guests cannot use tools that require an induction, such as the laser cutter, Myford lathe or 3D Printer.

Please remember that even guests should be challenged if you witness unsafe or rule breaking behaviour.

Be Excellent To One Another

We ask that you respect others when using the Space. Do this by cleaning up after yourself and abiding by our safe spaces policy in Appendix B.

There are housekeeping tasks that always need doing, and can be completed by any member. Please see this wiki page for more details.

Please make yourself aware of our complaints policy (Appendix A).

Remember that Nottingham Hackspace is run by the volunteers for the members, and we ask that you be a member not a consumer. Don’t be a greedy hacker.

Respect the Hackspace

We ask that you respect the Hackspace. Do this by cleaning up after yourself, by being careful not to damage infrastructure and by reporting both damaged/broken tools and infrastructure.

Please report broken/damaged tools and infrastructure to maintainers@nottinghack.org.uk so repairs can be made.

Nottingham Hackspace does not guarantee uptime on any of the tools available at the Space.

Tools should not be removed (or borrowed) from the Hackspace at any time. Members are asked to remember that the Hackspace is a shared space.

We remind you that whilst we have no issue with you using the tools and the Hackspace to further your business endeavours, that the Hackspace should not be the prime means or location of your business, whether in production or end-to-end operation.

We ask that you do not arrange personal deliveries to the Hackspace, as there is no delivery access for the building.

Do Not Hack

Do Not Hack is an integral part of the Hackspace. Do Not Hack means you are claiming materials, a donation or a project as your own, and requesting that no other members ‘hack’ the component parts.

Do Not Hack means you are taking responsibility for the materials et al, and will remove them from the Space if required.

Do Not Hack is not a guarantee your project will not be touched, moved or repatriated. It is simply our best attempt at securing your project. If you leave a project or materials in the space and they are not stored appropriately or safely, your project will be moved.

When labelling something with Do Not Hack your label must include:

• Name
• Description of project
• Contact Email
• Date Started
• Date Predicted for Project End

Approved Do Not Hack labels are generated using the Hackspace Management System (HMS), for more info on generating a label see the Members guide

Infrastructure and tools may be labelled and shouldn’t be hacked.

When a project is left unlabelled, the Trustees or other members may note this, and mark it as unlabelled. If something remains unlabelled for 3 months, it will be disposed of.

UK Legislation

Whilst in the Hackspace you must abide by all applicable UK laws and legislation. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Health & Safety at Work, etc Act 1974
• Health Act 2006 - Smoking ban
• Illegal activity such as bringing or making explosives and offensive weaponry into the Hackspace
• Mishandling of items covered by the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006

Additionally Nottingham Hackspace will, at times, extend current legislation where we feel it benefits Nottingham Hackspace and its members. For this reason the following rules are in place:

• Vaping (e.g. use of e-cigarettes) is not permitted inside the space.
• No sleeping in the space
• The Safe Spaces (Appendix B) policy must be followed at all times.

Property is left in the Hackspace at the owner’s risk, Nottingham Hackspace accepts no liability for lost or stolen items.

Storage in the Hackspace

Remember that the Hackspace has limited storage space. We have designated storage space for consumables, resources and members’ storage.

Members are entitled to a 35l storage box. You can buy a box from any of the Membership Team or Trustees for £5. You must label your box with your name. A contact method (such as email) is also appreciated on the label, to help identify the owner of a box.

If you are working on a project that is too large for a 35l box you can store it on the Large Project Shelves. It can be stored there whilst it is actively being worked on, and must always be labelled according to our Do Not Hack rules.

If your project is too big for the Large Project Shelves, a storage request must be made on the Google Group. You should start a post with a description of your project, an expected completion date and a suggestion of where in the space you are going to store it. If there are no objections within 48 hours, you can proceed.

If you wish to store solvents or other flammable/dangerous liquids, they must be stored in the members’ section of the solvents cupboard. Please bear Rule 0 in mind when doing this, and pay attention to the stated storage limit of the cupboard - if your liquid will not fit, take it home

If you use the spray booth, you can of course leave your project to dry for up to 24 hours and drying racks are provided for this outside the booth, however please ensure it is labelled with a Do Not Hack sign - this can be on the shelves if applying a label would damage your project.

You can find more information about bike storage here. (https://wiki.nottinghack.org.uk/wiki/Bike_Storage)

Donating to Nottingham Hackspace

Consider the benefit to Nottingham Hackspace when making a donation. Do this by posting your items and offers to the Google Group. Is there a general consensus from the members about its use or usefulness?

Remember that the Hackspace has limited storage space. Don’t bring in things without asking or checking.

Items donated that currently have a storage location (such as kettle leads, LEDs, plugs and pens) should be placed directly into their allocated space. Donations to be broken down or repatriated should be left on the wooden storage rack at the back of the Hackspace.

Donations left on the wooden rack for four weeks will be scrapped and removed from the Hackspace completely.

If a non-member with a donation arrives whilst you are in the space, please don’t accept it - point them to the Google Group.

Complaints Policy

THIS IS AN INCOMPLETE REWRITE OF THE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE - NOT PART OF THE RULES CONSULTATION

Introduction

This policy sets out how complaints will normally be handled by the hackspace. In extreme cases, especially in cases of breaches of Rule 0, the trustees can bypass this policy in its entirity if an N-1 majority is reached.

Complaints may be made by any member, or non-member of the hackspace by emailing trustees@nottinghack.org.uk. If the complainant prefers, they can directly email one or more of the trustees using their direct email addresses, available on the wiki.

Complaints fall into one of three categories, set out in the sections below. These are given in priority order, and a complaint falls into the first category it can fit into.

Complaints Involving a Trustee

Complaints fall into this category is they are made by, or against, a trustee or trustees.

A complaint against, or raised by, a trustee or trustees creates a conflict of interest for the that trustee(s). That trustee or trustees must be removed from all discussions and decisions about the complaint. They should also be removed from the primary trustees@nottinghack.org.uk distribution list whilst the complaint is active.

The remaining trustees should also consider whether they or any other trustee might have any conflict of interest due to their relationship with the named trustee(s). If they feel that they are unable to contribute to the discussion dispassionately, they should remove themselves from the discussion.

If the number of trustees able to investigate and discuss the complaint is less than four, the trustees should not proceed. At this point, the remaining trustees should arrange for the complaint to be heard by a panel of external, independent, people. This is likely to be trustees from another hackspace.

Once the investigating panel has been formed, the complaint follows the flow in the appropriate section below.

Complaints Against Nottinghack

Complaints fall into this category if they are made against the hackspace as a whole, or a section of the organisation, such as a team.

The primary purpose of the investigation is to determine the root cause of the complaint, identify any required changes to the hackspace’s policy or procedures and deliver those changes.

Complaint Against a Member

Complaints fall into this category if they are made directly against a member or members, or if a complaint is referred from the previous section.

If it is deemed necessary, a temporary ban from the space may be issued until the complaint is resolved. These must only be used in severe cases where other people are at risk of harm.

Consequences

Where a formal warning needs to be given, or a member needs to be banned, the following flow should be followed. In extreme cases, and with an N-1 Majority, the trustees can jump stages in this process, or decide on alternative consequences.

In the case of Rule 0 violations especially, additional consequences such as required re-induction, or a short ban from certain tools, may be issued alongside a formal warning.

Bans from tools or the space must be agreed by an N-1 Majority. A ban for a current member will trigger the process to remove the member as per section 4.4 of the Constitution.

Confidentiality and Openness

Complaints are very delicate issues, so details of all complaints will be kept in the upmost confidence. The trustees cannot, and will not try, to stop a complainant from discussing their complaint with their friends, but the trustees will not discuss with anyone outside of the trustees and involved parties. Additionally, a trustee who makes a complaint will treat that complaint as if they received it for the purposes of confidentiality.

The trustees will, however, endevour to release as many details as is possible, and at the very least will keep a count of complaints and a list of current warnings on the wiki.

Finally, the trustees may choose not to share a complaint with the subject of that complaint if they deem the complaint to be without merit. The complainant will be informed of this fact.

SafeSpaces

We expect all members, guests and attendees of events to abide by the following policy at Nottingham Hackspace and all its online meeting places.

Nottingham Hackspace intends to provide everyone a harassment-free environment, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion. We want the Hackspace to be a safe space for everyone, and will not tolerate harassment in any form.

Harassment includes (but isn’t limited to) offensive verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, physical appearance, body size, mental health, race, religion; deliberate intimidation; stalking; following; inappropriate physical contact; unwelcome sexual attention; and inappropriate or unrequested photography or recording; sustained disruption of events; or any action that makes another member uncomfortable.

Anyone asked to stop any harassing behaviour, by anyone, is expected to do so immediately.

If you act or speak in a way that someone thinks is inappropriate, it’s inappropriate. If somebody tells you that you are making them uncomfortable, you must stop making them uncomfortable. Do not put your opinions or desires before the comfort of others; “It’s just a bit of fun”, “It’s just a joke”, “Where’s the harm in it?” (and so forth) are not excuses for behaviour that makes anyone else feel unwelcome or as if they are a target. If you feel compelled to tell someone who is uncomfortable that they are wrong to feel that way, you are most definitely putting yourself in the wrong.

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please don’t ignore it. If you feel that you can, challenge the behaviour directly. If you can’t do that, please contact the trustees. If the offender is a trustee, you can contact another trustee directly.

Contact details for all the trustees can be found on the wiki: http://wiki.nottinghack.org.uk/wiki/Trustees

If anyone engages in harassing behavior, the trustees may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender or starting the Grievance Procedure.