Hackerspace Tropes, Identities, and Community Values
Austin L. Toombs · 2017
Hacking and making practices, participants, spaces, and communities have been of increasing interest to a range of fields that study the interactions between people and computing technologies. As these practices and community models are adopted into a variety of contexts, the need for a deeper understanding of the norms and values entangled in the hacker and maker movement has become clearer. In this study, I identify and analyze prominent topics discussed by hackerspace members and organizers on a popular hackerspace email list from 2008 to 2015. Through a thematic analysis, I identify common tropes-conversational shortcuts that refer to community narratives-that surface during these discussions. I then evaluate how these tropes, such as "every space is different," "be excellent to each other," and "hackers are critical thinkers," are used to reinforce dominant hacker culture values. I conclude with implications for research on, and adoption of, hackerspace community models.