[@OKau] care and consensus

[Cobi Alison Smith]

Hey folks,

I'm citing this paper in my PhD
https://www.academia.edu/12034526/The_Proper_Care_and_Feeding_of_Hackerspaces_Care_Ethics_and_Cultures_of_Making
and have been talking about it with people from some maker communities I've been involved with.

I'm citing it in a section of my PhD in which I talk about the need for processes that support diversity rather than consensus, as consensus can silence, alienate or otherwise marginalise people and undermine critical thinking skills and tolerance. The new WA climate consensus centre is a demonstration of how consensus may involve implicit motivations and alienate people. The paper I share above is interesting as it discusses how organizers of a hackerspace recognize they have diversity problems, they also acknowledge that consensus has been challenging, but continue with it as a core value in decisionmaking (which I consider alongside international development studies in which consensus has been associated with oppression).

Steve I appreciated the article you wrote about the value of projects as outcomes of hackathons, so hope you didn't see my contribution about the value of learning/sharing as outcomes of hackathons as in opposition to that - perhaps I should have started by thanking you and saying I appreciated you sharing what you did, as it led me to craft my thoughts on what I value from hackathons :)

I think it's a good thing that the open knowledge community in Australia is growing to the extent that there are people with diverse perspectives expressing their experiences and values and outcomes. I hope that diversity is reflected in private discussions and decisionmaking at management level.

Best wishes, Cobi



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