Guilds

Guilds are self-organized groups that maintain Resources and organize Events at Noisebridge — each a self-governing "mini Noisebridge," free to operate according to its own conditions and best practices. The model draws from anarcho-syndicalism: Noisebridge as federation, guilds as syndicates. Everyone who uses a guild's resources is implicitly a member of the syndicate — with both the benefits and the responsibilities that come with that.

If you have questions about space use or items owned by a guild, see Guilds/Contact.

Hacking, it's more than just electronics

Craft hacking

Video editing

Infrastructure Guilds

• SecWG: Maintains the access system.
• Rack: Maintains the servers infrastructure and network.
• Fundraising Guild: Works on fundraisers for NB.
• MetaGuild: Helps develop patterns for other guilds.
• Accessibility: Works on accessibility culture, streaming event support, layout. bathrooms, and planning elevator.

Currently Active Guilds

Games

• Games Guild: Encompasses multiple game groups and resources.
  • Gamebridge Classes: Runs weekly classes.
  • Noisebridge Gaming Archivists

Fabrication

• Sewing | #sewingstation on Slack, Sewing Channel on Discord
• Electronics: Maintains electronics shop and Circuit Hacking Mondays event.
• 3D Printing
• Wood Shop
• Laser Cutter

Art & Creativity

• Music Guild: Claims the music room and all its resources. Hosts a songwriting class on Sundays (time TBD).
• Rubber Ducky Guild

Tech & Learning

• AI/ML Meetup: Hosts regular discussion and MooC co-working learning.

Unknown Status

• Essential Infrastructure Guild
• Crypto
• Out of Space
• Simbridge
• Yak Shaving Guild
• VRBridge

How to charter a guild

Guilds that were active recently, but need to create a charter to be known as an active Guild. To submit one for active status, see MetaGuild's. [| Charter] for how to do so.

Proposed guilds (based on slack and discuss)

• Art : Start improving NB art resources, classes and decorations by meeting for Artbridge.

Guild Checklist

Here's a starter list of basic things each guild's maintainers should aspire to do and get enough people onboarded to keep doing them.

• A guild requires a first maintainer to take point in recruiting more maintainers.
• RECRUIT MAINTAINERS: Recruit 3-5 maintainers to keep "maintainers > 0" status.
• GROW: Invite at least 10 people to join the group. Look for interested people by searching Discord for messages related to the topic.
• Maintainers list indicates who are active
• Inactives: Away & Past maintainers lists to avoid all maintainers listed being inactive.
• POST PHOTOS You need at least one photo in the info box of your guild or event.
  • Take current photos of any resources like machines in their current location.
  • Take one group or activity-related photo at every events meeting.
• TELL PEOPLE WHEN: Current time and date of any events they can attend.
• TELL PEOPLE HOW TO COMMUNICATE: communications channels info for any events
• TAKE NOTES: Write notes in the Discuss tab of your event page or guild.
• Note-taking Notes section or /notes sub-page updated if group has meetings or updates.
• Make a notes template page with a copy-pasteable notes template that has your usual event meeting format to fill out so anyone can facilitate the meetings.
• ANNOUNCE THINGS:' Post Announcements pages about anything the guild wants to share or ask for. You can add them to the meeting agenda to be read at the next meeting or mention them at meetings yourself. Post on Discord with a link to your announcement.

MAINTENANCE

• HISTORY SECTION: Outdated info moved to History sections at bottom of pages or entirely old pages marked { { historic } } if they won't be updated or { { outdated } } if they need updating.

Group Patterns

There are a number of patterns groups have used that are reusable. If you are interested in starting a group or improving a group's effectiveness.

Groups as maintainers of multiple resources, events and subgroups

Groups can play a role in maintaining multiple things of interest to the group such as resources, events and classes.

Many resources such as tools exist at Noisebridge without groups that maintain them, relying on a single volunteer or two who takes an interest in maintaining them. Sometimes those unofficial maintainers change focus or leave and resources go without any maintainers or events and classes go without organizers and teachers.

By adopting things and encouraging group members to become maintainers, groups can help keep things they care about functioning.

Multiple Maintainers For Things

Groups that establish multiple maintainers for things make them more resilient and usable over time.

Multiple Maintainers For Groups

Groups themselves can benefit from having organizer maintainers who develop the group's membership and activities.

A guildmaster should exist for any group that wants representation in general. Talk to the MetaGuild and the Archguildmaster specifically for more info about guildmasters and what they ought to do and why.

The Participation Spiral

Picture a spiral. The core is "master of the guild." The outer ring is the newcomer story: walked in off the street, made something in 10 minutes.

• The outer ring is easy — Noisebridge is good at welcoming newcomers.
• The core takes care of itself — deeply committed people find their way there.
• The middle of the spiral is where guilds most often fail.

The middle is populated by people who have shown up more than once, want to do their part, and don't know how. Their good intentions get wasted by the absence of a golden path: visible next steps from "first time I made something here" all the way through to trusted and highly skilled. This path doesn't require bureaucracy — only culture: words, deeds, examples, expectations, and recognition when things go well.

Group Development Communications Channels

Groups can facilitate communication amongst members by having channels on Slack/Discourse.

Resource Discovery & Networking

Guilds might discover a way to leverage resources outside of Noisebridge in a way that befits their interests. In so doing, we’d generate linkages between Noisebridge and other communities that is organic, that will help us cross-pollinate and generate more funds when we need them.

Growing Into Their Own Things

It could also be that an individual Guild outgrows Noisebridge and decides to fill another space somewhere.

Style Guide For Guild Pages

The two best examples of well-formatted guild pages so far are games and sewing. Emulate those or improve further.

Use the guild template on top

Put the { {guilds} } template on top of the page. (View source to see how this is done with double curly braces around guild).

{{guilds}}

List Maintainers and add recruiting template if it is below 2

Put a list of maintainers at the very top of the page with 0 if there are none signed up. Add the { { recruitnig } } template to include a volunteers needed infobox:

{{recruiting}}

To use in future

Wikipedia Editable Templates

Example on Wikipedia: Infobox_country

{{ManualPage}}

Past Organizational Models

• FractalWorkingGroup: The pre-existing informal group creation model.