X-Git-Url: https://sipb.mit.edu/gitweb.cgi/wiki.git/blobdiff_plain/1729dc369fa56f984473abf690494d9664a72087..6a4ad229e3d88d85ac611d120437ae991e5013c2:/join.mdwn diff --git a/join.mdwn b/join.mdwn index 1232681..5180e16 100644 --- a/join.mdwn +++ b/join.mdwn @@ -1,42 +1,50 @@ -# Joining SIPB - -We are MIT's volunteer student computing group, improving computing at -MIT since 1969. Today, SIPB projects provide innovative services and -special expertise to the MIT community. We have an office just -outside the Athena cluster in the student center W20, and you are -welcome to come by to ask us for help or to hang around and use our -computers. +[[!meta title="Joining SIPB"]] ## Membership If you are interested in contributing to SIPB's computing services and in helping users with unusual computing questions, consider becoming a -member. Full membership in SIPB is granted after sustained +member. Full [[membership|members]] in SIPB is granted after sustained contribution to the organization, and confers several benefits: - + +* A permanent Athena account. +* A key to the SIPB office in W20, and a storage drawer in the SIPB office. +* A vote at SIPB meetings and (for current students) elections. + Prospective members interested in becoming full members should attend -our weekly meetings regularly, participate in SIPB activities like -hackathons, cluedumps, and IAP classes, and either create a new SIPB -project or help with some existing SIPB projects. This process -generally takes about a term of active participation. +our weekly meetings regularly (they're Mondays at 7:30 PM), participate in SIPB activities like +hackathons, [cluedumps](http://cluedumps.mit.edu/), and [IAP classes](http://sipb.mit.edu/iap), +and either create a new [[SIPB +project|projects]] or help with some existing [[SIPB projects|projects]]. This process +generally takes about a term of active participation. Our [[calendar]] contains the full schedule of our events. + +To get involved in SIPB projects, you can contribute to an existing +project—begin by talking to the people currently working on +it—or start a new one. The best way to start +a SIPB project is to pick some computing-related problem that is +important to you, find some like-minded individuals, and try to solve +it, discussing your ideas and plans around the SIPB office, and +reporting on your progress to the SIPB. The most successful SIPB +projects have often been things that the people involved really wanted +to do, and found resources or collaborators to do them through SIPB. + +You don't have to be a coding ace to become a SIPB member! There are plenty of ways for nontechnical people to get involved: you can write documentation, help organize events, work on publicity or advocacy, or contribute design skills. If you want to contribute to SIPB by coding but don't think you're a good enough programmer, there are many SIPB members willing to work with you to help you get better, and for many people working on a project and learning as you go along is a great way to build your programming skills. + ## The office +The office fills with people working together in a hackathon. + Prospective members are encouraged to hang out in the SIPB office anytime it is open, which it is on a typical weekday afternoon and evening. We strive to make it a fun and comfortable place to work on projects, homework, or anything else by providing an array of amenities: - + +* Nice chairs, big monitors, many computers, table space for laptops +* Music: ours (CDs or [LAMP](https://lamp.mit.edu/)) or yours (via a certain ["printer"](http://sipb.mit.edu/sipbmp3/)) +* Tons of equipment and supplies from video adapters to an oscilloscope to Band-Aids +* A diverse technical library, including popular textbooks +* Soda and snacks for late-night sessions, cheaper and closer than Verde's ## You