Hackerspace Improvement Proposals (HIPs)

Welcome to the Hackerspace Improvement Proposals (HIPs) repository. This repository is dedicated to fostering collaboration and discussion on enhancements, innovations, and processes within PDX Hackerspace and the broader community of hackerspaces, makerspaces, fablabs, and their associated digital communities.

The primary goal of HIPs is to encourage a structured and transparent approach to proposing and implementing changes that affect our local community as well as our interactions with the wider network of creative spaces.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• HIP Types
• HIP Workflow
• Contributing
• License

Introduction

A Hackerspace Improvement Proposal (HIP) is a design document that provides information or describes a new feature, process, or improvement for the PDX Hackerspace and its interactions with related communities. HIPs should provide a concise technical specification of the feature or improvement, along with a rationale for the proposal.

The HIP author is responsible for building consensus within the community and documenting dissenting opinions. As updates are made to the HIP, the author should maintain a record of these changes within the proposal itself.

HIP Types

There are three types of HIPs:

1. Standards Track HIPs: Propose changes to the hackerspace infrastructure or processes that affect the entire community.
2. Informational HIPs: Present information or propose guidelines for the community. These HIPs do not necessarily represent a community consensus or recommendation, but rather provide a framework for discussion.
3. Process HIPs: Describe a new process or improvements to an existing process within the hackerspace. Similar to Informational HIPs, these do not mandate consensus, but rather provide a structured approach to decision-making.

HIP Workflow

The process for submitting and reviewing HIPs is as follows:

1. Draft: An HIP starts as a draft. Authors should create a fork of this repository, add their proposal as an HIP in the HIPs folder, and submit a pull request.
2. Review: The community reviews the HIP, providing feedback, suggestions, and requests for changes. The HIP author should update the proposal as necessary.
3. Acceptance/Rejection: Once the community reaches a consensus, the HIP is either accepted or rejected. Accepted HIPs will be merged into the repository, while rejected HIPs will be closed with an explanation.
4. Final: Once a Standards Track HIP is implemented and adopted, it is marked as "Final." Informational and Process HIPs do not have a "Final" status but remain in the repository as a record of discussions and proposals.

Contributing

We encourage members of PDX Hackerspace and the wider community to contribute to this repository by submitting new HIPs or participating in the review process. To submit a new HIP, please follow these steps:

1. Review existing HIPs in the HIPs folder and the HIPs-by-number.md index to ensure your proposal is not a duplicate.
2. Create a fork of this repository and clone it to your local machine.
3. Create a new branch for your proposal, e.g., hip-<number>-proposal.
4. Copy the hip-template.md file in the HIPs folder, and rename it using the new HIP number.
5. Edit the new HIP file, filling in the necessary information for your proposal.
6. Stage and commit the changes, then push the new branch to your forked repository.
7. Create a pull request for your branch, providing a clear and concise description of your HIP.
8. Engage in the review process, addressing feedback and making updates to your HIP as necessary. Be responsive to community input and collaborate with others to refine your proposal.

License

This repository and its contents are licensed under the MIT License. By contributing to this repository, you agree to license your contributions under the same license. For more information, please see the LICENSE file in this repository.