Rabbi David broke the long silence about CubeSpace’s future with this post: It’s the End of CubeSpace as We Know It… And since I’d been talking to both Eva and David quietly behind the scenes while negotiations dragged on, I wasn’t surprised.
The outpouring of support and thanks I’ve seen all evening on Twitter or in email isn’t at all surprising, either. And as ever, Rick Turoczy does a stellar job of detailing just why CubeSpace mattered.
But I’m here to tell you, in typical bossy fashion, that thanks alone aren’t enough. David alludes to this in his farewell post:
Many of you have asked what you can do to help. Eva and I have been unable to answer, until now. What we need now are jobs. We have mountains of debt, no assets, and are facing the possibility of personal bankruptcy.
I’ve been there, barely lived through that. And I didn’t handle it well. I pretended it wasn’t happening. Refused to reach out to my friends. Sang the ‘la la la la everything’s FINE’ song.
And finally, once I finally opened up to what was going on just a little teeny tiny bit, a good friend of mine oh-so-politely reamed me. She was hurt. She was offended. And she felt that my holding everything in meant we really weren’t friends after all — that I didn’t trust her enough to be there for the heavy lifting. That made her feel small. It also made her angry.
I have to believe that a few of us feel at least one of those ways — hurt, offended, angry, small — when we read that neither David or Eva were ever taking a salary from CubeSpace, for example — while we enjoyed the ability to hold free non-profit tech events there.
And so now I’m going to lead the charge to ask them, on behalf of us all: “How can we help? What do you need?” And just like my friend a few years ago, well — I’m not going to take ‘nothing, really’ for an answer.
David’s pretty clear about what they don’t need right now:
Finally, please be aware that Eva and I need your emotional support as we go through this tough period. As I said in the beginning, we are very tired, emotionally drained and sad. Please do not tell us what we might have done better. Trust us, we know far too well all the mistakes we’ve made. Now is not when we want to rehash them. We welcome your support, your friendship and your caring. We would love suggestions for our future. But right now, we aren’t in a good position to be second-guessing past decisions.
And I’m working with them both to identify clear, tangible things we can do to help. I’m also talking to those who had been collecting money or services on their behalf: Chris and Elizabeth from Slate Technologies behind savecubespacepdx.com; Roger from Tofino spearheading the CubeSpace auction. I’ve asked them both to hold on to any money that they’ve collected until we can be sure of legalities here; anyone who’s donated money and now wants it back will, of course, be welcome to request a refund, no questions asked.
I’ve also been talking to several people who’ve donated who feel very strongly about using that money in a way that will help David and Eva now — even if that meant it wasn’t going to sustain CubeSpace as we knew it. They gave it to support friends, because that’s what friends do.
What will that support look like now? I’m not sure. Perhaps it’s movers and a truck when it’s time to leave CubeSpace. Storage space, maybe. Or other business expenses that will help them leave with a slightly lighter spirit. When I find out? I’ll post more here, or email several dozen of you all.
Now, it’s up to us to write the second chapter of the CubeSpace story — in a way that allows Eva and David to exit with as much peace of mind as is possible, knowing that the community who may have loved them ‘wisely, but not too well’ in the early days has figured out how to help them make as graceful a transition as is possible.
Who’s in here?
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Thank you for the kind words. Obviously, that was an incredibly difficult one to write.
Ready to help. However I can.
Thank you for posting this, and particularly for wrangling the tech community.
Add me to the list of ‘people you email when you know what needs doing’.
Thanks for writing this. Add me to the list please.
Bravo Betsy.
Anything to make a difficult transition easier for David and Eva is exactly the kind of activity I can get behind, 100%. Here’s hoping we can all turn our sadness at the loss of CubeSpace in to something constructive to help the people who made it the place we knew and loved.
Well put, Betsy. Anything I can to do help out, say the word.
I’m in.
I’m also happy to help in any way. Moving boxes, hauling stuff, moral support, whatever. Just let me know.
I remember meeting Eva at the 2007 OSCON and wished that something like Cubespace is available in Indiana. Such a great person. Tell them that they have my prayers and that they are more than happy to e-mail me for moral support.
Yes, I will help as much as I can. I’m bad at guessing what Eva and David might need, but I take direction quite well.
A question: What kind of jobs? I know the desperation of “I’m going to go work in the paint department at Home Depot, if they’ll have me,” but ideally? What type of work/jobs would approach desirable?
Janet, I know that David & Eva will have more information up on the newly-formatted/designed CubeSpace website next week – including bios, experience & other information that should give you more information. There will also be information/availability info there for CubeSpace staff as well: Robin, Beth & Emily.
Thanks for sharing their story with us all. I only just found out about them 3 weeks ago, and was happy to join the rally to save them on Twitter. I’m very sorry things didn’t work out (sigh), and am also equally happy to try to help and support them any way I can during this difficult transition. Thanks for keeping us posted.
If the “CubeSpace pioneers” have profiles on LinkedIn, I suggest that the people who know them write LinkedIn-based recommendations that will then appear in their profiles. If they are not yet in the LinkedIn group “PDX Technical Professionals,” then they should be added (regardless of their technical skill level). Then someone can write a discussion item on that LinkedIn group that suggests hiring them, perhaps to take advantage of their highly networked status in the PDX tech community. (FYI: I’m the author of “The Creative Problem Solver’s Toolbox.” Just ask if you want more creative solutions.)
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