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Men's Shed
- throwawaaarrgh 3y ago[flagged]
- unsignednoop 3y ago[flagged]
- sen 3y agoA great idea taken over by cliques of old men who refuse to allow anyone new to take part unless you’re also their age and/or a friend of an existing member. I’m medically retired but <50 and have tried going to multiple just to find stuff to do. Ended up using maker spaces instead which have a much much wider age group and a friendlier environment all round.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- 2-718-281-828 3y agothis seems to be a rather regular dynamic with clubs/groups/meetups where kind of an elite is forming which thinks of the club as theirs and organizes is in such a way that this state is preserved. newbies will be screened and usually only accepted if they display total agreement with the present affairs. this leads to progressive spiritual inbreeding and inevitable downfall. possible exceptions are if there is a leader who with regard to the groups goals does an exceptional job. benevolent dictators like linus torvalds come to mind. but even here cards are redealt as soon as that leader is gone.
- peebeebee 3y agoWhat a great (and much healthier alternative) to pubs. I live in a small house in a small city, and one thing I don't like about it is that I have no place to put bigger machines, like a table-saw, CNC router, plot-machine, etc... I'd love to have a place where I can learn woodworking, painting,... from the local community. Maybe I should try to set something like this up. :)
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- Gigachad 3y agoThey exist in most places as makerspaces. Only problem is they are quite expensive making them inaccessible to anyone but the most avid maker. I’m not really sure what could be done about it though since the machines and floor space is inherently quite expensive. Seems like something that should be somewhat government run like libraries to promote socialising.
- peebeebee 3y agoIf I'd start a non-profit organisation, I could ask the government for grants probably. Maybe start a system where people could lend their devices to the space, so they could earn some money on them long term. Depending of the initial cost of a device, I'd pay 10EUR-20EUR every time I'd use a special device. 10% of the profit goes to the makerspace, 90% to the device-lender. With 50-100 uses, you'd start making money. I could see something like this work.
- justinclift 3y agoMost of the cost for running Makerspaces seems to go towards rent, at least here in Australia. :( --- On that note, if anyone knows of good potential locations for a large Makerspace in Brisbane, Australia... "Hackerspace Brisbane" (HSBNE) is looking for a new home: https://www.facebook.com/HSBNE/posts/pfbid0iAakLGAK39h8qDA7NfP7Lpo4ccovpaZGwNBjabiYoAzWmpzgw3uzTQne2NDHKFe2l https://www.facebook.com/HSBNE/posts/pfbid0iAakLGAK39h8qDA7N...
- Gigachad 3y agoSeems to be a bit of a problem where in low rent areas, people would just have a shed with all the tools, but in high density areas where you’d most want it, the rent is going to be highest.
- 3y ago
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- thriftwy 3y agoStand-alone garages are popular place for older men to hang out in ex-USSR towns. These garages are often refitted until they turn into man-castles. They were built alongside commit blocks but some distance away so they represent a place of escape and socialization. Also, "garage economy" of small businesses run there is a thing. A lot of weird videos from YouTube such as "remotely controlled Lada" or "a car on floor mops instead of tyres" were filmed in this setting.
- PinkPigeon 3y agoWe have one of these locally, but it's called a community shed, to not exclude women arbitrarily. At the same time, I still think it's mostly used by men, as it's quite focused around woodworking etc. They were one of the first businesses to use my CMS for one of their websites, so they hold a special place in my heart :)
- throw932490 3y agoThis is kind of insulting. Australia does not have domestic violence shelters for men (first very small opened two years ago), but there are "sheds", where you are allowed to work while healing! Even dogs get more resources!
- justinclift 3y agoWhere's the insult? Honestly asking, as I'm not understanding where there's an insult in any of it.
- throw932490 3y agoDisparity in gender based spending. If woman is in trouble, she gets hotline, accommodation and all sort of services for free. If men is in trouble, he can build furniture!
- thriftwy 3y ago[flagged]
- throw932490 3y agoThat is just not true. Old men also face all those things. But they are not allowed to leave abusive relationship, for cost of alimony and child support. There is no charity for someone, who on paper owns house and makes 100k (but lives in his car). "Giving up too early" is just an excuse for this systemic abuse!
- justinclift 3y agoAhhh yeah. That I agree with. Mens Shed's themselves aren't insulting, it's just the extremely unbalanced treatment of the sexes which has led to their need.
- gardenhedge 3y agoI noticed there was no criticism section on Wikipedia (Hackerspaces has that section). Looking at this comment being downvoted.. Can anyone explain why men sheds should not be critisized?
- lobe 3y agoIt's a shame that what was a good idea of having a space and community for all men really just turned into the space for that 5-10 year window for guys that are retired but not yet ready to spend their day in a nursing home. At least where I am they have a reputation for being filled with oldies that are a little slow and not friendly to plain hostile. Hopefully all of them around Australia aren't like this, but I have heard this same view from many people independently
- drekipus 3y agoI went to one and when I was young and homeless. Could never get a job anywhere. Never knew how to get a job, turned down by almost everything, then I heard one of the men's shed was doing some charity bike repair thing. I figured I had nothing else to do, and chatted with one of the blokes, who had a brother that needed some IT help, and from there I was able to build up. But exceedingly rare case, I'm aware
- bjornasm 3y ago>that 5-10 year window for guys that are retired but not yet ready to spend their day in a nursing home. Totally unrelated, but this was very bleak. I think people ideally should have a couple of decades as a functioning but retired person.
- incompatible 3y agoI've always wondered why they need to be so sexist. Is it so terrible to have women around? But not so long ago, I saw an article about women trying to open a similar shed but finding there was a funding program which was specifically only able to men's sheds. I'm surprised they can get away with it. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-21/huon-she-shed-project-to-offer-a-supportive-place-for-women/102752688 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-21/huon-she-shed-project... "While the local men's shed welcomes women, Ms Reardon said there were many women who wanted their own space." It gets stranger and stranger.
- throw932490 3y agoWomen are not allowed there because they are violent and abusive! Compare money that goes towards women's only shelters, organizations and charities. With money spend on those "sheds". Even dog shelters have better funding!
- incompatible 3y agoDomestic abuse is a real thing, I can understand the need for women's shelters.
- DeWilde 3y agoWhy would it be sexist to have men's only spaces for the purposes of men's mental health?
- incompatible 3y agoIf it's good for men's mental health, wouldn't it be good for women's mental health too? I just don't see how using a community workshop is related to gender.
- DeWilde 3y agoThat is true, such spots should exist as well. But the point of the men-only ones is to allow men to socialize with other men and talk about problems that affect them only or problems they don't feel comfortable talking about in a mixed setting.
- incomingpain 3y agoI had this idea a few years ago. I wanted a place where you could get access to say car lifts, welders, cnc machines, etc. The usual stuff that's hard to keep at your own home. I lived in a condo where car work was prohibited. But I also wanted loud machines etc. I wasn't concerned with cost, but what's the liabilities? What if someone kills themselves accidentally with this dangerous equipment. Also for this reason, insurance companies won't touch you and there's legal regulations which basically make it impossible. For the record gender doesn't matter.
- marssaxman 3y agoThat sounds like a makerspace. I started one of those twelve years ago, with a group of friends, and put all my tools into it. We had none of the trouble you describe with insurance or regulations - perhaps such things work differently in the US, rather than wherever you are? The organization is still operating to this day, and while I am no longer involved, it was a good experience which has left me with a lingering sense of satisfaction. If it still interests you, I would recommend taking another look at the idea.
- penguin_booze 3y agoThere seems to be one for the UK: https://menssheds.org.uk/ https://menssheds.org.uk/.