| Summary: | 從實踐中體現： 匯聚而生一個多元文化「Hackerspace」社群 === Hackerspaces are open and public workshops where participants pro-actively engage with technology in a social context. From origins in 1990s Germany, the global propagation of hackerspaces has been grassroots, decentralized, and extra-institutional. How does a new hackerspace emerge? What are some key social processes at work within a hackerspace and how are they conditioned by a multilingual, multicultural setting? What roles do values and ideology play? The present study addresses these questions through immersion in the social world of a hackerspace in Taipei, Taiwan. Participant observation and in-depth interview data were analyzed using grounded theory techniques. The results emphasize that initial organizing depends on catalysts and relevant prior experience may be crucial. Local conditions in the form of a multicultural, multilingual environment are shown to affect social processes, sometimes as a source of friction. Ideological and political concerns do not seem salient to Taipei Hackerspace participants generally, though values implicit in practices present alternatives to institutional conventions. In addition, four primary processes are proposed: “Project-ing,” Sharing, “Making it one’s own,” and Negotiating. Finally, support is given to the concept of a transferable hackerspace model that is adapted to local conditions. The values and principles observed—sharing and openness norms, “do-ocracy”, ad hoc organizing, resistance to rules and hierarchy—can be traced to various influences in hackerspaces’ historical development, particularly the open source movement, and serve to optimize hacking potential while fostering a heterogeneous community network.
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