Guides/Planning an event

Events don't have to be serious affairs to make something. If its something of interest to the community, suggest it, run it and enjoy it! Previous events have included Yuri's night, games days and pubspace. If you're not sure if people will be interested and want to find out before mailing the list try asking on IRC

If you want a to make your event a regular thing (e.g. pot plant fancier's anonymous) follow this guide, but also read our info on Recurring events.

Our Facilities and Expectations

Familiarise yourself with our facilities. We generally use the classroom for workshops, which can hold about 20-30 attendees (depending on whether they need desk space, or whether it's a discussion group or talk.) Other spaces are available but their use will interfere with member activities, and we won't usually allow this.

If your event involves young people or children then please have a look at the Young Hackspace checklist.

It's also important to tell the mailing list if you're doing anything that involves filming or recording, as some members may want to plan around it.

Planning and Scheduling

Workshops and events are usually born from our membership. If you aren't a member or you're looking to find a space for your existing event, London Hackspace probably isn't the right place unless your event is very relevant to our community.

If you're new to Hackspace, you should find an experienced member who shares your interests and can help you get in touch with others.

Due to the nature of London Hackspace there is no one person to discuss your event with; you will need to discuss with our community, which can be reached in a number of ways.

The most important channel is the mailing list, as it is our authoritative place for discussions. If you try to arrange something without emailing the list, another member could turn up and make noise all day, ruining your event.

The next most important is the calendar. This is crucial for managing resources and allowing anyone else to see at a glance what's happening on a particular date. If you don't add something to the calendar, you run the risk of clashing with recurring events.

In addition if you are running the workshop during the day you probably will want to make sure the front shutters are open. To do that make sure that there is at least one Keyholder present at the time to open the shutters for you, easiest way to do that is to reach out on IRC/Mailing list, please note that it is the organiser's responsibility to make sure a keyholder is present, not the keyholders'.

Cost

The majority of events run at the Hackspace are free. Some events which involve consumables will charge attendees purely for the cost of these.

If your event is making a profit (including paying organisers for anything more than travel expenses), then we ask that you donate at least 30% of your profit to London Hackspace. You can pay any proceeds into the LHS bank account (as used for your membership payments). Make sure to use a clear payment reference.

In any case, if your event is attended by a lot of non-members, you should encourage them to donate or consider becoming members.

1. Propose the event

• Discuss it on IRC as a first test
• Discuss it on the mailing list
• Create a wiki page

This is good for sounding out interest and signing up volunteers/victims. These discussions will also reveal if your event is suitable, or whether aspects needs to be changed to make it feasible.

2. Arrange a date

• Send out a http://doodle.com link to find the best date for a group of interested participants
• Mail the list with a suggested date and approximate number of attendees
• Make sure that your suggested date doesn't interfere with other activities. The mailing list is a good place to discuss this.

3. Announce the date

• Tell someone with access to the calendar to add your event, and check that it shows up on our events page.
• Email both the main mailing list and the announce mailing list.

Don't announce the date, or confirm it with anyone else, until you can see the date on the calendar. The calendar is the authoritative source for bookings, and will be used to resolve any conflicts.

4. Make it run smoothly

• Remind people on Twitter using the @londonhackspace account
• Turn up in advance to prepare - not everyone will have read the calendar
• If your event involves young children then please read the Young Hackspace checklist and prepare the space appropriately.
• Clean and tidy up afterwards (this is also not optional)
• Don't annoy other users of the space by ignoring the doorbell, even if you've started. It's your event, you're responsible for letting people in and greeting them.
• Put up a sign so people know when you plan to use the space and so people know where to go if they wander in while the door is propped open.