Category:PotLock

The PotLock is a quarterly shared work/space improvement/shared food party. The word potlock is a Portmanteau of the words Potluck and Lock-In.

• ToDo list tasks will be a major focus of effort.
• This is one of the few times it is forbidden to do personal projects in the space. In addition to being against the spirit of coming together to help make i3 itself better, you would be in the way.

Prep notes:

Go through the ToDo list and identify which items are actually DOABLE TASKS versus VAGUE IDEAS. Optionally, prod parties connected to an idea to see if they can refine it into tasks. Edit the list to clearly delineate these two, if appropriate.

For each doable task, plan it out far enough to identify required parts/supplies. E.g. for "wire an outlet", make sure the receptacle, cover plate, wire, wire nuts, are on-hand. If not, put them on the shopping list.

Also sanity-check that there's a free circuit or somewhere sensible to pull the wire from, that sort of stuff. Basically, for each task, mentally run through how you'd instruct a noob to perform it, and make sure there are no snags waiting.

Pick a few of those tasks that seem interesting, ones that need different skills and skill levels, and ones that would be widely recognized as sorely needed. Beat the pre-potlock drum on the mailing list, calling attention to a few of these things to excite volunteerism.

Call specific attention to the "noobs can help too, be paired with experienced people" aspect, and the "recently-joined members will get to know other members" aspect.

Day-before: Buy everything on the shopping list. Take photos of the receipts for reimbursement.

Day-of: Deliver supplies. Get someone to write the task-list on the board. Get someone to play task-master, assigning pairs of volunteers to tasks. Some folks prefer to work alone, of course, and some tasks are appropriate for larger or smaller teams, so be flexible on this but aim for pairs.

During: Inevitably there will be omissions on the shoping list, so try to know how much money remains in the potlock budget *before* someone makes that second run to the store. Make it clear that purchases not authorized by the potlock coordinator may not be eligible for reimbursement.

Afterward: Thank profusely, and if a task didn't get done for reasons other than time, try to think of why.