Proposed DMS COVID-19 policy

[brenly]

Contractors and service people
All contractors and vendors will be required to wear a mask when visiting or working at the space.

you realize this type of policy is very unfounded? Like, three or so service people per day vs the many people coming in and out at all times from all over the metroplex as members not wearing masks is a very tiered silly way to view things.

especially if the makerspace members are on the honor system as far as symptoms go, so would employees of whatever job brought them to our location.

and tour members wearing masks while everyone around them doesnt have to? yikes man. they’re our guests. i’m not gonna go breathe in their face. that does not show excellence at the makerspace.

not gonna lie this whole policy is written like throwing dice in the air when it comes to variables and vectors.

if this policy takes hold i wont be swinging by in the daytime for a while. our covid numbers are where they were back around the same time last year. and could just as easily go back up along the predictable seasonal curves. the jury’s still out on another upswing.

[Cairenn_Day]

Overall it looks good to me there’s one thing I wish we could have somehow but I’m not sure how it would be worded actually start having more classes it is possible we could someone that is immune compromised it would be nice if they could request that other members of the class wear a mask just for their of course they would have their own mask on but having others mask would be make it safer I think the reason I’m thinking about this is because I have one friend who recently had a kidney transplant and another friend that is on chemotherapy

[Monikat]

@BobTheMad

Teachers and students must still follow all posted rules/signage within a given work or committee area

Can we add the word guidance as well? There was quite a bit of talk in the past that “guidance” is not a “rule”. I would like to think that people would follow both but…

I really like that teachers may decide mask or no mask for the class.

[Russell_Crow]

It’s good that we’re addressing the CDC’s recent policy change. It is also incumbent upon us to be mindful that the CDC put VACCINES at the very center of their new guidelines. This should have included positive ANTIBODY TESTS, as well.

If a DMS member has good reason to believe they are no threat to other members (vaccinated or Covid survivor), lose the mask! If they don’t know whether or not they could be walking into our closed air space on Day 3 or 4 of their Covid-19 infection, there should be no room for error, they should still wear a mask.

The Governor of Texas signed an executive order banning “Vaccine Passports”. The order prevents state agencies or organizations that receive state funding from mandating someone to receive a vaccine or provide proof of vaccination to receive services. Private companies and orgs are not mandated by this XO. Cruise lines are scheduling “vaccinated/antibody” tours for this summer. The European Union members are opening their borders for persons who can prove they are not a vector.

As most of you know, I’m a Vaccine Evangelist, and I’m all about the Science. Likewise, I’m hopeful that this pandemic is winding down in Texas, but realize that the rest of the world is facing a real challenge, and India is on fire! Yes, we should care about personal rights, but we shouldn’t have to share someone’s misunderstanding of Virology.

You shouldn’t worry about contracting Covid, if you got vaxxed. It’s safe and effective, and I encourage you all to get vaxxed if you have no contra-indicating condition. If a member doesn’t have a positive antibody test or CDC vaccine card, they should be the focus of our policy, and still wear a mask.

This has been a long-winded monolog, but here comes the end… I think we should chain an Infra Red Thermometer and a sanitizer in the entry foyer, and require a temperature self-check. If anyone entering wants to go maskless, they should show their CDC card or antibody test to the security camera, then triumphantly rip off their mask!

Long live the MakerSpace!

[mdredmond]

@tmc4242

I think at this point there should be no mandatory masks at the space.

I think requiring visitors to wear masks while members don’t have to leaves things potentially confusing.

I don’t have a problem with instructors requiring masks, though that isn’t included and they’d be free to do that regardless of official rules.

[Julie-Harris]

It’s not really meant to be a non-member/member rule, it’s more of a large group of people in close contact with a volunteer and walking around DMS rule. It’s intended to be similar to allowing teachers to choose whether to require masks except it’s not really practical to have some tours with masks and some without. We’re paying attention to feedback though, if enough people think it would be too confusing or if it actually does cause problems on tours we can change it. We’re planning to have boxes of disposable masks available for tours.

[yashsedai]

I’m going to chime in here and note that keeping the ice machine off because of covid is not something I can support. The ice machine is use at your own risk. It always has been.

Can we let people choose their own appetite for risk rather than choosing for them?

Thanks

Freddy

[jphelps]

I’m also for allowing the ice machine, it’s no more risky that it was pre-covid. However perhaps that discussion could be forked as there might be some improvements possible there. For instance, what would it cost us to have the machine cleaned regularly by a 3rd party to improve it’s overall health risk profile? EDIT: I see a thread was already started, ignore.

One thing I’d like to be clear in any updated policy is direction for members to follow with any members/contractors/guests who are not compliant? It would be helpful to be very clear on that topic.

[hon1nbo]

@jphelps

One thing I’d like to be clear in any updated policy is direction for members to follow with any members/contractors/guests who are not compliant? It would be helpful to be very clear on that topic.

Same as with any other rules. Give them a nudge; kind of like with glasses I just point at my face and most people get it. If they won’t after a nudge then kick it up to the chair of that area or the board.

[brenly]

side note: I have a friend that’s a manager at Winco that needs to donate / offload masks and hand sanitizer and the pallets need to be gone in 24 hours. dm me i can get you in touch on facebook ty!

[Julie-Harris]

I’m definitely open to different wording that is more clear or that helps people feel more comfortable if people think the harassment policy is insufficient. Here is the harassment policy:

Anti-Harassment Policy

Harassment is prohibited and will not be tolerated. Any person who feels they have been the victim of harassment should ask the harasser to cease the behavior, if they feel safe doing so. Members or guests asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. Harassment includes the following, without limitation:

1. Offensive comments related to race, religion, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, or physical appearance
2. Gratuitous sexual or obscene images or behavior in spaces where not appropriate
3. Unwelcome physical contact or sexual attention without consent or after a request to stop
4. Threats or incitement of violence towards any individual, including encouraging a person to engage in self-harm
5. Deliberate intimidation by words, gestures, body language, or menacing behavior
6. Stalking
7. Harassing photography or recording, including logging online activity for harassment purposes
8. Continued one-on-one contact or communication after requests to cease
9. Deliberate “outing” of a sensitive aspect of a person’s identity without their consent
10. Deliberate misgendering. This includes deadnaming or persistently using a pronoun that does not correctly reflect a person’s gender identity

[ladysandry]

@Russell_Crow

If a member doesn’t have a positive antibody test or CDC vaccine card, they should be the focus of our policy, and still wear a mask.

This seems to be a missing piece in the proposed language.

@yashsedai

Can we let people choose their own appetite for risk rather than choosing for them?

I mean, we don’t do that on many many things at the space. We require long pants and long sleeves in certain areas, short sleeves in others, safety goggles/glasses in some, no underaged kids unattended, no pets, no synthetic shoes for metal work…etc etc. While I honestly don’t care about whether the ice machine is on or off, the ‘let people decide their own level of risk’ doesn’t really have precedent.

Edit: just because it’s come up here, I wouldn’t be in favor of spending money regularly cleaning the ice machine when there are sooo many other actual tools at the space that need upkeep/replacing. If cleanliness is a concern, the most frequent users should be rotating cleaning duties. Many of the people commenting here about the ice machine are the same people who posted a lot on the original ‘we’re getting an ice machine post’. Those users clearly care a lot about having ice available and hopefully will organize maintenance for it.

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Unrelated to either of these, what is the trigger/goal for project storage to be available for short term use again? I know I’ve seen peoples things drying on the shelves occasionally, but that seems like a sort of ‘this space is here, i’m just going to use it’ kind of thing.

[Julie-Harris]

We don’t have the volunteers necessary to reopen project storage but we discuss it often. Under the old system we had a team of volunteers that all worked 2 or more full days every month to manage project storage and we haven’t had that after the pandemic. We get lots of suggestions and requests to bring project storage back but those suggestions are almost always for other people to do the work… We talk about it almost every meeting and work session and have some ideas but our to-do lists are pretty full.

[Evan_Lott]

Did we stop offering safety glasses as part of the pandemic response?

If so, I’d love to see them return.

If not, I’d like the help order some.

[TBJK]

@Evan_Lott

Did we stop offering safety glasses as part of the pandemic response?

Yes, in general we did. However there did seem to be some floaters around the space, by sanitizer buckets usually.

[Raymond]

I donated some to Vector. Ping @mrcity if you’d like a pair. You can keep them in your storage bucket if you have one.

[Julie-Harris]

After reading member feedback, here are some proposed changes to the wording:

Things the Makerspace will not supply during the current COVID-19 restriction period

• Personal/project storage and the ice machine in the galley will remain closed until we have volunteers and a plan to manage them.
• Disinfectant wipes/cleaning products

Tours
Group, individual, and open tours are now re-opened at the DMS. Tours will be held from 10am - 2pm on Saturdays. Masks are required for Saturday group tour participants. One-on-one tour guides may require masks if desired.

Enforcement of rules
All members are expected to continue our ethos of “Be Excellent to Each Other”. This includes mask wearing and social distancing. Harassment of members/guests because of their masking choices is in direct violation of our Anti-Harassment Policy. Deliberately preventing others from social distancing is also a violation of the Anti-Harassment Policy. If anyone feels that they have been subjected to harassment, please contact a DMS Officer or a Director.

[Russell_Crow]

I’m confused: are masks now a choice, or do we continue to mask and social distance?

[ladysandry]

There are not really mentions of vaccinations here. There doesn’t seem to be a bit about masking isn’t required if you’re vaccinated, just no masks required. But we’ve also said we will allow teachers to set masking rules for their classes. Is it permissible for a teacher to set the rule as ‘if you’re vaccinated you don’t have to wear a mask, if you aren’t you do?’ Obviously people can lie and present a fake card or whatever, just curious as to whether this is allowed or whether it’s just mask/no mask.

[Russell_Crow]

OK, I’m thinking I get it by reading between the policy lines (please excuse me for being slow).

Masks are optional, and anyone wearing/not wearing a mask is protected from harassment.

If you are vaxxed, trust the CDC guidance. If you aren’t vaxxed; you had your chance, the consequences are yours. The policy is egalitarian and even handed, I’m down with it.

As a note: the House Speaker has ruled that the US H.O.R. mask rule will continue. Everyone has to be masked because there are vaccine holdouts in the House. I have to give it up to the BoD, their decision is far more clever and spans the wisdom of Solomon.