Philip, First, you are right about the confusion about the junk pile and donations pile. I discussed this with a Champion and we are clarifying this VERY soon because it is very important to avoid this kind of confusion. Second, to dispel any feeling that anyone was worried about you, that is false, I put it back in the storage room because that is our storage room for member projects and synhak property. The recent donations had not gone their because they had not been sorted yet.
I was not able to get to the rest of the computing equipment until the festivities were over and I have done so, though the desktops have not yet been looked at. I have no issues with helping anyone with their computer equipment and answering questions and I am more than happy to help you with your HP as I'm an experience repair technician however, that particular HP that was in the donation pile is of great use to synhak and should not have been left at the junk pile (the differentiation between junk and donations will be rectified). Of the donation of those computer equipment, I have already identified some things that going right back to the junk pile as it is just too old to be of use to synhak, newer equipment may be put to use as a computer, for a project or resold to maintain our operating funds. I expect that this will be an important topic of discussion this coming meeting, fleshing out a clear and precise donation/scrapping procedure (I hate the word policy). I was a manager for a thrift store for a time so I'll see about drafting a generic procedure for the membership to modify as we choose. The basic foundation of all donations to Synhak is that it belongs to Synhak until we (by we, I mean any member, it doesn't have to be me, I.E. A member appropriated something from the recent donations for his own project before I got a chance to look at it and therefore it is not included in my recent report) can determine their future purpose, we are not a recycling facility for e-waste, but will work with members, the community, and local recycling centers to ensure all donations get maximum use/reuse. The general public may then use recent donations during our open hours once our members have had enough time to figure out what these donations can be used for, ALL of the equipment seen at synhak, computers, monitors, mixers, soldering tools, welders, saws, power tools, projector, etc. were donated and then repaired/refurbished and then set up for public use. I promise that everyone will get a chance to use donations including the general public but we have to think about our members and our operating costs first. I sincerely apologize for the confusion this has caused and I feel horrible for the disappointment. I am working as quickly as I can to sort the equipment so they can be put to good use. On Fri, Dec 6, 2013 at 2:54 PM, Philip P. Patnode <ppatn...@gmail.com>wrote: > *Suggestions for consideration by SYNHAK members -* > > *To avoid confusion, disappointment, and wasting time on projects that > will never happen, I suggest that the JUNK PILE (clearly marked with a > sign, usage policy established) be separated from the RECENT DONATIONS PILE > (not marked, no policy) and I suggest **a formal SH policy be established > for donations.* > > *In my opinion, two things need to happen at SYNHAK regarding future > donations.* > > *One*, *the SH policy* on all donations - from any source, of any kind - > needs to be clearly stated and communicated to all members and non-members, > in print or by email or as added text on the SH webpage or all three. > > *Two*,* the physical location* at SH for recent hardware donations needs > to be clearly marked with a sign/appropriate comments. For example, "Don't > Take" or "Not Available" or "Death by Laser" or "To Be Evaluated" might be > used to convey the message. > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Here is the back story behind the suggestions. My apologies for the > length and details necessary to tell the story. > > At about 7.15pm last night, because of the delay over the turkey cooking > experiment, I spent some time taking a casual look at the contents of the > hardware junk pile near the entrance to the main room. Looked at and dug > through lots of boxes and shelves full of stuff, all under a sign > indicating that all of it was in the correct place - the Junk Pile. > > Much to my surprise, I found a HP g7 series laptop that was very similar > to the HP g7-1019wm that I had brought with me to SH last night, in the > hope of finding someone to help me diagnose/identify the problems and guide > me through the repair process. The HP I brought is a personal laptop and > not an item I plan to sell on eBay or Craigslist. It has a bad cooling fan > (does not rotate - ever), a glitchy on/off switch, and two keys damaged - > the K and the L, and maybe other problems. > > A long-time full member of SH (not to be named) stopped by to chat and > discuss the situation with me. During the conversation, he made it very > clear that I could "claim" the donated item I found in the junk pile and > use parts from it to fix my laptop. He was aware that I am not a sponsored > member of SH, only a recent interested person who likes the concept of SH > and has made an effort to swim with the rolling tide. As the turkey frying > situation was still developing out on the loading deck, I spent the next 45 > minutes doing some online research about the specs for both HP laptops and > going through the HP support forums to read the comments about similar > problems. I was on page two of my notes when a dark cloud appeared on the > horizon. > > My joy of finding a possible solution to my laptop problem turned to > serious disappointment and frustration when another long-time full member > of SH (again, not to be named) approached and summarily declared that the > donated item was not available to me or anyone else, but would be retained > by SH to be diagnosed and possibly repaired and used by SH or sold for > cash. There was no room allowed for any further discussion about the > donated laptop. Do'ocracy in action? > > As a non-member, with no power, no influence, no ace-in-the-hole, and > definitely no say about anything regarding anything at SH, I tried to > minimize my comments and watched as the member picked up the laptop off the > work area where I had it and proceeded to disassemble it on another bench, > check out a few items, and put it back together again. He then moved to a > back room, out of sight and out of reach, as if he was concerned that it > would find a way back to the junk pile, or worse, out to someone's car and > disappear forever. The series of actions by the member almost appeared as > if he was worried I would run off with the donated HP moment he turned his > back on it, although I might be entirely in error about his thoughts on the > matter. > > The names of the SH members who were involved are not essential to the > issue and are not the basis for the suggestions. Personalities play no > part in my suggestion to take action on the matter of donations to SH. > Only turkey feathers should be ruffled, as I am not making this an issue > about any particular member. > > On a final note, I would consider buying the donated HP g7 series laptop > from SH at a reasonable price to use for parts or repair, if it is > available now or becomes available in the near future. > > In the meantime, I will avoid even looking at anything within 10ft of the > combo donations/junk pile. I don't want to get my hope up and then have it > dashed again. > > Philip > > > > _______________________________________________ > Discuss mailing list > Discuss@synhak.org > https://synhak.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss >
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