User:Nthmost: Difference between revisions

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2012-2013: The Post-Occupy Period: added story about the knife guy in the armchair
Add Create More Masters to recent writing and working on sections
 
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[[File:Nthmost.png|thumb|right|200px|Naomi at Noisebridge]]
'''Naomi Most''' aka '''nthmost''' — Member since [https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Meeting_Notes_2009_08_25 August 25, 2009]
'''Naomi Most''' aka '''nthmost''' — Member since [https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Meeting_Notes_2009_08_25 August 25, 2009]


Contact: '''nthmost''' on [[Discord]] | [[Slack]] | [https://github.com/nthmost GitHub]
Contact: '''nthmost''' on [[Discord]] | [[Slack]] | [https://github.com/nthmost GitHub] | [https://nthmost.com/ nthmost.com]
 
''I spent my first decade at Noisebridge not writing things down. I didn't think anyone read the wiki, and I didn't know what was worth documenting. I was wrong on both counts. I'm here now trying to right that.''


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'''Recent writing:''' [[Anarchy_Paralysis|Anarchy Paralysis]] • [[Missing_Stair|Missing Stair]] • [[Restorative_Communication|Restorative Communication]] • [[Nthmosts_Open_Letter_to_Noisebridge|Open Letter]]
'''Recent writing:''' [[Anarchy_Paralysis|Anarchy Paralysis]] • [[Excellent_Hacker_Fallacy|Excellent Hacker Fallacy]] • [[Restorative_Communication|Restorative Communication]] • [[Nthmosts_Open_Letter_to_Noisebridge|Open Letter]] • [[User:Nthmost/Create_More_Masters|Create More Masters]]
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=== Working On ===
* '''Noisebridge automations''' — Automatically turning the lights on/off when people open or close the space: Noisebell → HomeAssistant → SmartLights
* '''[https://nthmost.com/w/vikings Kells]''' — Upgrading the Noisebridge Wikimedia server. Named "Kells" as a ward against hordes of AI bot vikings.
* '''[https://knob.nthmost.com KNOB panel]''' — Continuing to add Blade Runner-like panel widgets and unnecessary visual alerts to the KNOB panel for [[Beyla]] (the music server)
* '''Meeting notes automation''' — Script to automatically populate meeting notes from the Riseup Pad (work in progress)
* '''[[User:Nthmost/Create_More_Masters|Create More Masters]]''' — Talk given at NB16 (Dec 2025): an unronic anarchist manifesto for Noisebridge


== 🦆 Rubber Ducky Guild 🦆 ==
== 🦆 Rubber Ducky Guild 🦆 ==
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== Background ==
== Projects & Work ==
 
'''Languages:''' Irish/Gaeilge 🇮🇪 (fluent) • French (business fluent) • Japanese/日本語 (conversational) • English (native)
 
'''Academic:''' Math & Linguistics • Bioinformatics • Data Analysis
 
== Noisebridge: A Conceptual Timeline ==
 
<div style="border-left: 4px solid #888; padding-left: 15px; margin: 10px 0;">
 
=== 2009-2012: Learning to Be a Good Member ===
 
Became a member in 2009. Founded [[SecWG|Security Working Group]], [[CommunityWorkingGroup|Community Working Group]], and [[FractalWorkingGroup|Fractal Working Group]] to address infrastructure and social dynamics. Learned by doing.
 
(Success metric for Fractal WG: we haven't had a single meeting yet)
 
=== 2012-2013: The Post-Occupy Period ===
We supplied WiFi to Occupy.  Occupy mapped us as part of their squat network.  Took a year to recover.
 
''Here's what that was like -- this actually happened to me:''
 
Lumpy guy sitting in lumpy armchair whipping a knife around: "Anarchy means I can sit in this chair and play with a knife, and you can't do anything about it!"
 
Me: "Actually, yeah, I can ask you to leave."
 
Guy: "But you can't make me leave."
 
Me: [look over my shoulder at friend as if to say ''I've got a live one here'']
 
Guy: "What are you gonna do, call the cops?"
 
Me: "I have no problem calling the cops."
 
Guy: "But you're anarchists, you're not gonna..."
 
Me: "I don't care that cops aren't anarchists, I can do-ocratically call the cops to make you leave if you're being unexcellent."
 
Guy: "...oh."  [leaves]
 
=== 2014: The Reboot ===
 
Major community intervention: [[Reboot|CONTROL-ALT-DELETE]]. Sometimes you need to turn it off and turn it back on again.
 
=== 2015-2017: A Period of Relative Peace and Prosperity ===
 
''[work in progress]''
 
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=== 2018: The Year Mitch Got Bullied Out ===
=== Industry ===


Several members bullied out. Space became eerily quiet. Those responsible also left, but the damage was done.
* '''[https://orkes.io Orkes]''' / '''[https://conductor-oss.org Conductor OSS]''' — Currently lead on Conductor, the open-source workflow orchestration engine
* '''[https://streamlit.io Streamlit]''' — Data app framework; early engineer on the core engine, specializing in memory caching and media streaming


=== 2019-2020: ❄️ Nuclear Winter ===
=== Noisebridge Infrastructure ===


Membership severely depleted. Had to find a new physical space. Saved by anonymous donation of 1 Bitcoin.
* '''[[Guilds]]''' — Distributed authority model for hackerspaces; co-created with [[User:Arity|Mark (Arity)]] during the 2019–2020 nuclear winter
* '''[[KNOB]]''' — Noisebridge's FM radio station, broadcasting at 87.9 MHz
* '''[[Beyla]]''' — The Noisebridge music server powering KNOB: Liquidsoap + Icecast stack, streams to FM and online


Created [[Guilds]] concept with [[User:Arity|Mark (Arity)]] to address social fractionation and provide structure for stakes-based ownership of maintenance.
=== Open Source Code ===
 
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=== 2020-2022: ✨ A New Hope ===
 
[[User:LX|LX]] creates NB Discord. Liz Henry provides leadership as new folks arrive. I decrease involvement due to exhaustion and ongoing grief from 2018, but keep tabs. Discord usage ramps up. My participation ramps down.
 
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=== 2023-2025: 🌑 The Dark Ages ===
 
[[User:Mcint|Mcint]] creates monastic tradition with infra meetup. Space requires multiple physical and costly social interventions that seriously impede recovery from 2020 move. Much of the glory of 2169 seems lost, but there is still hope. ''Personally, I stopped paying attention. Sometimes, "NOW MY WATCH HAS ENDED" is the correct response.''
 
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=== 2025-Now: 🌅 Renaissance??? ===
 
With multiple hardships cleared and heroic levels of "holding it down" achieved by those who remain, the way is paved for visionary rebuilding.
 
[[Nthmosts_Open_Letter_to_Noisebridge|My Open Letter to Noisebridge]]
 
'''Current work:'''
* [[Rubber Ducky Guild|🦆 Rubber Ducky Guild]]
* [[Restorative_Communication|Restorative Communication]] practices, if we can only get people to RTFM
* Pattern documentation: [[Anarchy_Paralysis|Anarchy Paralysis]], [[Missing_Stair|Missing Stair]], [[Policy Injection]], [[Consensus Spoofing]]
 
</div>
 
== Open Source Work ==
 
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
'''Python libraries & tools'''
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
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| '''[https://metapub.org metapub]''' || PubMed/NCBI research access library || 100s of ⭐, cited in papers
| '''[https://metapub.org metapub]''' || PubMed/NCBI research access library || 100s of ⭐, cited in papers
|-
|-
| '''illuminate''' || Bioinformatics toolkit || In use at CDC
| '''[https://github.com/nthmost/illuminate illuminate]''' || Bioinformatics toolkit || In use at CDC
|-
|-
| '''[https://pypi.org/project/secureconfig/ secureconfig]''' || Secure configuration management || Active
| '''[https://pypi.org/project/secureconfig/ secureconfig]''' || Secure configuration management || Active
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All projects: [https://github.com/nthmost github.com/nthmost] • [https://pypi.org/user/nthmost/ pypi.org/user/nthmost]
All projects: [https://github.com/nthmost github.com/nthmost] • [https://pypi.org/user/nthmost/ pypi.org/user/nthmost]


</div></div>
'''Tech I like:''' AMQP • liquidsoap + icecast • Asterisk PBX • Raspberry Pi • Python (obviously)
 
=== Hardware Hacks ===
 
'''[https://github.com/nthmost/rb3_keytar rb3_keytar]''' — Rock Band 3 keytar repurposed as a wireless MIDI controller. Because why not.
 
{{#ev:youtube|TwV7fXDEKZQ|480||Goonies theme on the RB3 keytar}}
 
== Background ==
 
'''Languages:''' Irish/Gaeilge 🇮🇪 (fluent) • French (business fluent) • Japanese/日本語 (conversational) • English (native)
 
'''Academic:''' Math & Linguistics • Bioinformatics • Data Analysis
 
== Noisebridge: A Conceptual Timeline ==


<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
''[[User:Nthmost/Conceptual_Timeline|→ Full timeline on its own page]]''
'''Tech I like'''
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
AMQP • liquidsoap + icecast • Asterisk PBX • Raspberry Pi • Python (obviously)
</div></div>


== Community Patterns & Systems ==
== Community Patterns & Systems ==
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* [[Guilds]] - Distributed authority as solution to recurring problems
* [[Guilds]] - Distributed authority as solution to recurring problems
* [[Anarchy_Paralysis|Anarchy Paralysis]] - Why communities fail to act on harm
* [[Anarchy_Paralysis|Anarchy Paralysis]] - Why communities fail to act on harm
* [[Missing_Stair|Missing Stair]] - Routing around harmful behavior instead of fixing it
* [[Excellent_Hacker_Fallacy|Excellent Hacker Fallacy]] - Why technical brilliance doesn't justify harmful behavior
* [[Restorative_Communication|Restorative Communication]] - Framework for addressing conflicts before they become crises
* [[Restorative_Communication|Restorative Communication]] - Framework for addressing conflicts before they become crises
== On Anarchy ==
I've been writing about anarchism and Noisebridge since 2010. The best of it:
* [[User:Nthmost/Anarchy_Is_Not_No_Control|Anarchy Is Not "No Control, Man"]] — on using "anarchist space" as a get-out-of-accountability card (2015)
* [[User:Nthmost/Membership_as_Trust_Architecture|Membership as Anarchist Trust Architecture]] — why Membership is a tool for anarchist governance, not a contradiction of it (2019)
* [[User:Nthmost/Executive_Functioning_Under_an_Anarchist_Flag|Executive Functioning under an Anarchist Flag]] — can an anarchist organization develop collective executive function without hierarchy? (2019)
* [[User:Nthmost/On_Blocking|On Blocking]] — a consensus block doesn't mean "I will leave"; it means two very different things and you can't tell which (2020)
* [[User:Nthmost/Guilds_and_AnarchoSyndicalism|Guilds and Anarcho-Syndicalism]] — the guild model as syndicalism, and why property ownership is the wrong direction (ongoing)
''Full archive: [[User:Nthmost/Things_I_Said]]''


== Project Graveyard ==
== Project Graveyard ==
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== Crimes Against Wiki ==
* [[86_Speedrun]]
== Badges ==
Badges? Badges? We don't need no stinking badges.
== Guestbook ==
Leave a note! <code>[your message] --[[User:Nthmost|Nthmost]] ([[User talk:Nthmost|talk]]) 08:12, 25 March 2026 (PDT)</code>
== Subpages ==
{{Special:PrefixIndex/User:Nthmost/}}
''[[User:Nthmost/WhatLinksHere|What links here →]]''


[[Category:Members]]
[[Category:Members]]
[[Category:Maintainers]]
[[Category:Maintainers]]

Latest revision as of 23:00, 25 March 2026

Naomi at Noisebridge

Naomi Most aka nthmost — Member since August 25, 2009

Contact: nthmost on Discord | Slack | GitHub | nthmost.com

I spent my first decade at Noisebridge not writing things down. I didn't think anyone read the wiki, and I didn't know what was worth documenting. I was wrong on both counts. I'm here now trying to right that.

Currently

Working on guild structure as a model for distributed authority, restorative communication practices, and helping Noisebridge navigate community dynamics.

Old hacker on a rocking chair sessions: 5:55pm every Tuesday until the Tuesday meeting. Hear stories, meet other members, ask all the annoying questions you're too afraid to ask your own anarchist mom or dad.

Recent writing: Anarchy ParalysisExcellent Hacker FallacyRestorative CommunicationOpen LetterCreate More Masters

Working On

  • Noisebridge automations — Automatically turning the lights on/off when people open or close the space: Noisebell → HomeAssistant → SmartLights
  • Kells — Upgrading the Noisebridge Wikimedia server. Named "Kells" as a ward against hordes of AI bot vikings.
  • KNOB panel — Continuing to add Blade Runner-like panel widgets and unnecessary visual alerts to the KNOB panel for Beyla (the music server)
  • Meeting notes automation — Script to automatically populate meeting notes from the Riseup Pad (work in progress)
  • Create More Masters — Talk given at NB16 (Dec 2025): an unronic anarchist manifesto for Noisebridge

🦆 Rubber Ducky Guild 🦆

The Rubber Ducky Guild is my flagship guild concept at Noisebridge.

The premise: explaining your problem to a rubber duck (or any patient listener) often reveals the solution. This guild practices:

  • Listening without fixing - Sometimes people just need to talk it through
  • Question-asking as an art - The right question unlocks understanding
  • Psychological safety - No judgment, no mockery, just presence
  • Debugging life, code, and everything - Works for technical problems AND emotional ones

Status: Active concept, seeking interested practitioners

See also: Rubber duck debugging on Wikipedia

Projects & Work

Industry

  • Orkes / Conductor OSS — Currently lead on Conductor, the open-source workflow orchestration engine
  • Streamlit — Data app framework; early engineer on the core engine, specializing in memory caching and media streaming

Noisebridge Infrastructure

  • Guilds — Distributed authority model for hackerspaces; co-created with Mark (Arity) during the 2019–2020 nuclear winter
  • KNOB — Noisebridge's FM radio station, broadcasting at 87.9 MHz
  • Beyla — The Noisebridge music server powering KNOB: Liquidsoap + Icecast stack, streams to FM and online

Open Source Code

Project Description Status
metapub PubMed/NCBI research access library 100s of ⭐, cited in papers
illuminate Bioinformatics toolkit In use at CDC
secureconfig Secure configuration management Active
sensate Sensor data toolkit Active

All projects: github.com/nthmostpypi.org/user/nthmost

Tech I like: AMQP • liquidsoap + icecast • Asterisk PBX • Raspberry Pi • Python (obviously)

Hardware Hacks

rb3_keytar — Rock Band 3 keytar repurposed as a wireless MIDI controller. Because why not.

Goonies theme on the RB3 keytar

Background

Languages: Irish/Gaeilge 🇮🇪 (fluent) • French (business fluent) • Japanese/日本語 (conversational) • English (native)

Academic: Math & Linguistics • Bioinformatics • Data Analysis

Noisebridge: A Conceptual Timeline

→ Full timeline on its own page

Community Patterns & Systems

Documenting what I've learned about how hackerspaces work (and don't work):

On Anarchy

I've been writing about anarchism and Noisebridge since 2010. The best of it:

Full archive: User:Nthmost/Things_I_Said

Project Graveyard

Projects past but not forgotten 🪦

Streaming Radios

Hosted various internet radio stations

Live studios:

Algorithmic stations:

Stack: liquidsoap to sculpt the station, Python to wrap it, icecast to stream it.

Miscellaneous

Public Keys

My public RSA key.

/etc/passwd entry

$ sudo adduser --gecos 'Naomi Most' --shell /bin/bash nthmost

Crimes Against Wiki

Badges

Badges? Badges? We don't need no stinking badges.

Guestbook

Leave a note! [your message] --Nthmost (talk) 08:12, 25 March 2026 (PDT)

Subpages

What links here →