[sudo-discuss] It's Unconscionable

Sat Mar 2 15:41:28 PST 2013

of course. please help correct and improve. also, was on the fence about
using a bunch of links - wondering what others think.

On Sat, Mar 2, 2013 at 3:22 PM, rusty lindgren <rustylindgren at gmail.com>wrote:

> Eddan,
>
> Would you consider revising to allow this POV?
>
>    1. Can you make it clear that not all members were okay with the
>    treatment by the press, and that we invite them to publicly address us?
>    2. Can you put something in about how knowing more about your locks
>    and those services could be leveraged against further scams, and that
>    community programs can lead to less fraud, when awareness is raised?
>    3. Also, can we remove or revise this line: "We can certainly
>    sympathize with the overwhelming task of responsibly editing a large amount
>    of information such as what is in the Mayors’ newsletter."
>    To me, I'm against apologizing for lock-picking classes, and this
>    sounds like we're saying it shouldn't have been in there in the first
>    place.  I know it's hooked to something else you wrote, but I don't agree
>    with it.
>
> If you want, I could revise the wording and send it back to you, and if
> anyone else wanted to help they could.
>
> Other than that, it's well written and classier than my response would be,
> which is good for the group :D.
>
> -Rusty
>
>
> On Sat, Mar 2, 2013 at 1:37 PM, Eddan <eddan at clear.net> wrote:
>
>> Not sure how to append or collate this with Daniel's section, but
>> included below is a draft of suggested comments I tried piecing together. I
>> think that if we are to have a statement, that we should merge our various
>> contributions to represent one voice. I'm not sure what platform is best to
>> do this kind of thing on, but have had some positive experience with
>> http://www.co-ment.com/.
>>
>>
>> sent from eddan.com
>>
>>
>> ---
>>
>> To our community –
>>
>> It is in good conscience that we, the members of Sudo Room, host the
>> Lock-Picking session at the Workshop Weekend taking place at 2141 Broadway
>> [and Tech Liminal] today. As even a quick glance at the rest of the program
>> would make clear, we are a diverse community of technologists, artists, and
>> activists joined together by the ambition of figuring things out for
>> ourselves and teaching other people how to do it.
>>
>> A further step back would reveal a context of free and open to the public
>> educational opportunities covering everything from sewing recycled fabric
>> into sustainable clothing; making vanilla extract to experiment with new
>> flavors of ice cream; creating a transparent and democratic corporate
>> governance; and indeed yes – taking locks apart and reverse engineering
>> software.
>>
>> Regarding the option of calling a locksmith, an Oakland resident locked
>> out of their house or car should be advised to read through the peer review
>> websites carefully for reputable services before calling their number. It
>> is our general belief that public safety is better served when the skills
>> necessary to be hired as a locksmith, for example, are taught in classrooms
>> rather than by picking it up in the actual commission of crimes.
>>
>> We share in our city’s mourning of the death of Kiante Campbell at the
>> Art Murmur last month. Collectively and as individuals, we are also aware
>> of and concerned about the alarming levels of crime in our neighborhoods.
>> It is in fact those concerns that have made for the greatest challenges in
>> offering an openly accessible entrance to our building. Being a
>> horizontally-governed organization, the compromised option of only several
>> people having the keys is problematic. We are now experimenting in our own
>> space with ways that can increase security while preserving the privacy of
>> the general public. We intend to share our results publicly on our website
>> and wiki, as with all of our other projects, so that public safety in
>> Oakland can be more effectively enforced.
>>
>> We regret that Mayor Quan stepped back from her support of the event,
>> though we appreciate her support for our innovative programs that are
>> bringing about an emergent start-up technology culture in downtown Oakland.
>> We can certainly sympathize with the overwhelming task of responsibly
>> editing a large amount of information such as what is in the Mayors’
>> newsletter. We intend for this unfortunate series of misunderstandings to
>> be yet another incentive for us to work on some of the projects we’ve
>> already started – those aimed towards more efficiently sorting through
>> large volumes of information to allow for making editorial judgment calls
>> more fairly.
>>
>> We would like to take this unsolicited opportunity to make our intentions
>> clear with Police Chief Jordan and Mayor Quan. We have among us people who
>> can contribute a great deal to solving our law enforcement technology
>> problems and addressing the cyber-security concerns of critical
>> infrastructure such as the Port of Oakland. We hope to get a chance to work
>> together with our city’s leaders in bringing cutting-edge capacity building
>> to the people of Oakland with sustainable and equitable economic
>> structures. We are trying to be very conscientious about it – we welcome
>> you to drop by one of our many events or visit our website for information
>> about our initiatives.
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Mar 2, 2013 at 12:51 PM, Daniel Finlay <namelessdan at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>> Anca's right, this is a huge opportunity.
>>>
>>> Lower dues, anyone?
>>>
>>> Here's my caricature of opportunism, feel free to tune down the tone to
>>> your tact level of preference:
>>>
>>> The admonition of lockpicking classes by the Mayor and Police Chief of
>>> Oakland are as unconscionable as the thefts they purport to be in fear of.
>>> While the alarmists claim that publicly available lockpicking classes may
>>> promote criminal activity, they lose sight that this class is in the
>>> context of a larger public enrichment.
>>>
>>>
>>> Despite being only a few months old, Sudoroom has already made itself
>>> host to a wide variety of educational, cooperative, and even marketable
>>> skill-building classes and events for hundreds of local residents.  From
>>> programming computers and 3-D printing to curing cheese and modifying DNA,
>>> Sudo Room is a free, community sponsored place for fostering the
>>> collaborative creativity that comes with groups full of intellectual
>>> curiosity in a time of as much change and development as this one.
>>>
>>>
>>> In a time where people's opportunities might lead them to crime, perhaps
>>> we ought to provide better alternatives rather than stupefying the public
>>> as a form of self defense.
>>>
>>>
>>> Let us address the cause of this sickness rather than try to snuff out
>>> its symptoms, and give ourselves access to an unfettered flow of knowledge
>>> and opportunity.  We encourage you to participate in this local
>>> renaissance, by visiting the Sudoroom yourself, and taking part in any of
>>> the classes of your interest.  You can always find the upcoming events at
>>> sudoroom.org/calendar, or just stop by almost any time to join your
>>> neighbors in their curious pursuits.
>>>
>>> Feel free to fork it at https://gist.github.com/flyswatter/5070131
>>>
>>> -Dan
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mar 1, 2013, at 11:27 PM, Anca Mosoiu <anca at techliminal.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Mar 1, 2013 at 6:35 PM, Michael Scroggins <
>>> michaeljscroggins at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> The sentence implicitly draws a difference of kind between the lock
>>>> picking class and the other Workshop Weekend classes. Doing so invites the
>>>> question: What is the difference that makes broadcasting this workshop (in
>>>> the way it was) regrettable?  In an environment where the mayor, the chief
>>>> of police and the media have all given the same answer - the class breeds
>>>> criminals - allowing that question is regrettable.
>>>>
>>>
>>> It's regrettable because it gave some easy pickings for the people who
>>> want to portray Oakland, and the current administration, in a certain way.
>>> Many of the people who are upset about the workshop aren't upset about
>>> lockpicking, they're upset that Jean Quan appears to encourage crime in her
>>> newsletter.
>>>
>>> It's regrettable because it sucked up airwaves and mental effort that
>>> might have been better spent.
>>>
>>> Drafting a reasoned and reasonable response lowers the blood pressure of
>>> the people who are up in arms just because they aren't informed.  Some of
>>> them will come around, especially if they understand the actual intent of
>>> the class.
>>>
>>> Eddan, I'd like to participate in writing a statement. I was really
>>> taken aback when I read some of the emails and talked to some of the people
>>> who were actually upset.
>>>
>>> The media storm will blow over with the next foot-in-mouth opportunity
>>> from a local politician, but we have a great opportunity to reach out while
>>> the world is looking.
>>>
>>> Anca.
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> -=-=-=-
>>> Anca Mosoiu | Tech Liminal
>>> anca at techliminal.com
>>> M: (510) 220-6660
>>> http://techliminal.com | T: @techliminal | F: facebook.com/techliminal
>>>  _______________________________________________
>>> sudo-discuss mailing list
>>> sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org
>>> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
>>>
>>>
>>
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>>
>
>
> --
> Cheers,
>
> Rusty Lindgren
> **
>
>
>
>
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