[Tech] Handling Partimus Tech Issues

[Grant Bowman]

Greetings everyone,

One of the things I have been thinking about quite a bit recently is
the capacity of individuals to act independently and to make choices.
I would like to encourage this behavior at our six computer sites and
would like your help brainstorming possible solutions.

We support five sites in San Francisco and one site in Oakland.
http://partimus.org/projects.php  Rather than thinking of reported
issues as "support problems" I want to try to recognize that these are
also "learning opportunities" where people can acquire valuable
skills.

Fixing computers, after some practice, isn't technically all that
difficult, yet things don't get done because nobody feels any
responsibility or authority to take action. We provide some
recognition for those that do but I think not enough for part time
volunteers. When nobody acts to resolve an issue it is bad for
everyone - computer users, our sites and Partimus. The best effort
model we have used so far isn't reliable. Internet connections, power
and physical space are provided by the sites we support. The software
is freely downloadable. http://www.ubuntu.com  Most but not all
hardware is generously donated.  http://www.mcrc.org  We have found
ways to provide network equipment and volunteers to set up the
hardware and software. However we still haven't found a way to grow a
sustainable effort. We are quite close but our offering isn't scalable
yet.

We share a desire to help middle school youth but we need something
more. We have already identified that key people at each location are
missing from our equation. How best to get people involved is
something we need to address better. Student helpers might play a role
as well. Maybe a new structure for teaching how to solve the issues
that come up is required.

What is actually required to keep the shared computers we provide
fully functioning?

* a small stock of parts - a spare monitor, a spare machine,
keyboards, mice & network cables
* basic knowledge to troubleshoot simple issues
* a place to ask questions & report issues
* a few minutes each week to assess and act on reported issues
* access for trusted volunteers to do the more complex work and help
train those interested in taking on more responsibility
* a capacity to manage local accounts locally if needed rather than
the default shared account setup

Luckily, we have not had much problem with vandalism, just keeping
things running with normal wear and tear. For printing we don't have a
good solution in place right now due to the variable costs of supplies
and maintenance. Submitting documents via email or using commercial
printing solutions are currently recommended and saves both trees and
power.

Any other ideas for how to make our offering more sustainable?

Cheers,

Grant Bowman
Partimus Board Member