Infrastructure Updates

Mon, 04 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Join Page

We added a “Join” page and added a link to the navbar. This page presently contains links to a Discord server, Matrix space, and Mastodon profile, all of which are quite barebones and should be fleshed out in the coming days. In the future, we should also add information about meatspace meetings and provide clear and transparent information re: onboarding newcomers.

CoC and Other Documents

A number of documents have been created to set expectations and avoid future conflict. This includes a Code of Conduct (adopted from the Contributor Covenant), a Financial Transparency page detailing moneys in and out, and a Governance Document describing the requirements of membership, voting procedures, and the like.

As of now, the Governance Document calls for consensus-based decision-making with a supermajority vote as a fallback if consensus cannot be reached. Active members with voting rights are defined as people who have attended at least 2 meatspace meetings in the last 12 months. It is worth considering modifying the Governance Document to put stricter conditions on membership, e.g. requiring a certain number of existing members to sponsor new members, in order to ensure group integrity and prevent hostile takeovers.

SOPs Planned

The following is a list of SOPs that we should consider creating… They should be triaged, and the most important ones created first. We should also consider a discussion to determine where/how they will be stored: this website will become quite cluttered and increase administrative overhead if we keep them all here, but moving them elsewhere may create unnecessary informational friction. Some solutions could be to house the documents in this website’s GitHub Wiki, create a secondary site using a Hugo template more conducive to this type of content, or simply create a page on this site which aggregates links to documents as they are created. In any case, vcs should be used to transparently track changes, any aggregate lists should be kept up-to-date, and informational friction should be kept to a minimum given the restraints of whatever system we adopt.

SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures)

Event setup & teardown: venue checklist, timeline, room layout, equipment hookup, accessibility checks, cleanup.
On-site safety & incident response: immediate actions, who to notify, documentation template, privacy handling.
Code of Conduct enforcement: reporting steps, investigation timeline, temporary measures, documentation form.
New-member onboarding: welcome script, membership criteria verification, orientation checklist.
Facilitator handover: role responsibilities, account/access transfer checklist, handoff notes template.
Financial handling: petty cash procedure, receipt tracking, monthly reconciliation, expense approval flow.
Equipment lending: inventory log, checkout/return procedure, damage/loss policy.
Volunteer recruitment & management: role descriptions, shift signup, volunteer briefing checklist.
Venue booking & negotiation: contact script, room requirements, accessibility/access keys, insurance/liability checklist.
Emergency contact & medical response: local emergency numbers, nearest clinic/hospital, consent & data handling.
Privacy & data handling: membership list storage, event photos consent procedure, retention policy.

Event Toolkits

New-player tabletop session kit: beginner rules cheat-sheets, pregenerated characters, quick-start adventure, table signs (open/closed/looking for players).
Linux workshop kit: install media checklist (USB images), common distro cheat-sheets, step-by-step installation guide, troubleshooting flowchart.
Hybrid event toolkit: A/V checklist, mic/camera placement, streaming settings, remote-participant facilitation tips.
Accessibility & inclusion kit: sensory-friendly room setup, quiet space checklist, pronoun badges, accessibility accommodations request form.
Game-night essentials: dice/pen/paper stash list, timers, rule-reference binder, table assignment templates.
Beginner tech-help station: common fixes checklist, backup procedures, privacy-safe data-handling script for assisting others’ devices.
Outreach & recruitment kit: event flyer templates, social-media post templates, welcome email template, partner-org contact list.
Onboarding/Info packet: printable one-pager about group purpose, CoC summary, how to get active membership, upcoming events.

Templates & Forms

Proposal template: title, summary, rationale, resource needs, timeline, decision method.
Meeting agenda & minutes: standard agenda format, decision log, action-item tracker.
Incident report form: anonymized template with facts, witnesses, actions taken, follow-up steps.
Consent forms: photo/recording consent, data-sharing consent.
Expense request & reimbursement form: itemized fields, receipts attached, approver signature.
Volunteer signup form: role, availability, contact, emergency contact, accessibility needs.
Working-group charter: scope, deliverables, members, sunset date, budget.
Event feedback survey: Likert-scale items and open feedback fields for safety, accessibility, enjoyment, and logistics.

Checklists

Pre-event checklist (1 week / 24 hours / 1 hour before): venue confirmation, supplies, signage, accessibility, facilitator brief.
Post-event checklist: attendance log, lost-and-found, finances tallied, feedback collected, follow-ups assigned.
Monthly admin checklist: membership active roster update, financial summary posted, upcoming events planned.

Communication Kits

Crisis communication script: templated messages for attendees, volunteers, venue, and public statements.
Moderator guidance for online channels: escalation rules, banned-content handling, welcome message templates.
Newsletter template: events, volunteer needs, highlights, finance snapshot.

Training Materials

Facilitator training deck: consensus process, running inclusive discussions, consent checks.
Safety & de-escalation training: role-play scenarios, contact/resource list.
Linux basics workshop slides: command-line essentials, package management, common troubleshooting.

Introducing Dice & Distros

Sun, 03 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

There really is a weird intersection between the LGBT+ community, tabletop gaming, and open source. There’s also a shocking lack of community in Jackson, Michigan.

My goal in starting this group is to help build sustainable, scaleable, grassroots community infrastructure. I know that sounds lofty, so I won’t dwell on it much. For now, I’ll just say that I hope to create and disseminate standard operating procedures (SOPs), event toolkits, and the like to make it easier for anybody to run similar events and groups without having to replicate quite so much of the logistical work.

In the meantime, our real goal is to play some games and talk about Linux!

This group was conceived as a half-joke earlier today. The website was developed and deployed, and the domain purchased, over the course of the afternoon and evening. In the coming days, I plan to set up some basic infrastructure on Discord, Mastodon, Matrix, and/or MeetUp. Scheduling and location will be announced once they are determined.

While things are getting set up, feel free to reach out to info@dicendistros.com with any ideas, questions, or concerns. You can also find my personal blog at evelynpark.com if you want to learn a little about me before placing your DnD character’s life in my hands.

Bad at conclusions. Pretend I said something appropriately aspirational.

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