Blacksburg Hackerspace
This is a page for the planning of a hackerspace in Blacksburg.
Contents
Name
The following names have been suggested for the hackerspace (feel free to add to this list!):
- Hacksburg
- Blacksburg Lab for Innovative Tinkering (BLIT)
- Blacksburg Lab for Objects (BLOb)
- Blacksburg Object Fabrication Hackerspace (BOFH)
Affiliation
Many interested parties have expressed interest in *not* being affiliated with Virginia Tech, as some planned activities may conflict with university policy. Many hackerspaces have become 501c3 non-profits, but this requires a significant amount of paperwork.
Potential Funding Sources
- Member dues - Ideally, we would be able to pay all monthly infrastructure expenses without external support
- Kickstarter - Potentially useful for raising startup funds
- Student Engineers' Council - The SEC allocates a sizable budget, but accepting any VT funding may come with strings attached.
- Corporate sponsorship
One idea proposed was to have the hackerspace unaffiliated with Virginia Tech and sell both individual and group memberships. A separate, SEC-funded RSO could then buy group memberships for its members and/or engineering students.
Desirable Infrastructure Features
- Proximity to campus/Blacksburg Transit lines
- Low cost
- Fast (symmetric) internet connection, i.e. not NTC
- High-power service panels (220V? 20A?)
- Noise tolerance
- Ventilation
- Floor space
- Kitchen? (Some hackerspaces have found this useful)
