OSSAtlanta.org

The next DorkBot event is Wed, April 8th, 7:30pm
http://dorkbot.org/dorkbotatl/upcoming_meetings/2009_04_08.php

The featured Beth Milliken talk on the new Freeside / Hackerspace organization may be of special interest to ALE members.

A quick look at the groups active wiki... http://wiki.freesideatlanta.org ...shows that a fair amount of effort and organizing has already been done or is under way.

I find the possibility of a collaborative work & play space for Open Source projects and interest groups is
an energizing idea. Imagine having a permanent shared facility, even if just a larger old home or a warehouse space, that serves as a social center for many of our region's community minded technology fans. Such a space could be in daily use with install fests, community projects, refurb and build facilities for [donated] hardware, group meetings, community social activities, community outreach & education and general information sharing.

If several area tech interest groups were to share the costs and management through a sponsoring [*EXISTING?*] formally chartered group with 501c3 status to provide the needed board structure and a path to grants and deductible donations, I believe an OSS Free Software Hacker CoOp community space could become a very affordable, functional and productive reality that could be of benefit to both the parties involved and the broader public community.

[ BCC to reps of PD.org, Eyedrum.org,
FreeITathens.org, OSSatlanta.org   ]

According to their wiki site, the Freeside organizing group is currently meeting every Monday at 7:30PM in Manuel's Tavern.  I'm going to try to attend tomorrow and I invite interested ALE members to join me.

peace
aaron