Please Help Improve These Rules
Once these rules are done, they will be a clean and simple set of stuff that makes people go “Oh, sure that makes sense, of course that’s the etiquette!”
Your suggestions and tweaks are welcome! Here goes:
Welcome, Coworkout Guest
First of all, welcome! We wouldn’t do coworkout if it wasn’t fun, and we’re glade you are here. This page is not intended to give you a list of things to do or else we’ll hate you. Rather, it’s meant to explain the somewhat-exaggerated care paid to not interrupting folks, so that we can successfully get billable client work done.
Basically, Coworkout is intended to be a library atmosphere (except when we’re firing cannons, paddling canoes, or admiring fifteen-foot-tall methane-burning electrical turbines.)
Some more on that: programmers, especially Internet programers while they’re working, have one foot in the real world, and one foot in the Invisible Shadow Kingdom of Lies. Randy might look like he’s just sitting there, but he might be in a chatroom having an important argument with five other programmers. Or he might be trying to solve a problem that will take twenty minutes if he’s not interrupted — but will take ninety minutes if he is interrupted.
So here are the Principles for Harmonious Co-Working:
- Scrupulously avoid interruption: If someone is working on a laptop, please don’t talk to them. (Really — even if you’re at the same table.) Instead, talk to them in the shared chatroom. This may seem silly (well, sure! It is silly), but this gives them control over when they shift their focus.
- Move Away for Phone Calls: If you get a call or make a call, please stand up and go somewhere out of earshot. You don’t have to be totally out of hearing or anything, just move away to make it easy to tune out your conversation.
- Share Narrowband Responsibly: If the group is sharing narrowband, please use bandwidth responsibly, and don’t stream, skype, or download the latest iPhone development kit. If we’re on WiFi, go nuts.
That’s it! There will be a designated hangout area where you can go to talk. You’ll be given wifi credentials when you arrive, and a URL for the shared chatroom. Enjoy yourself!
