ETA

Why isn't an ETA given for something?

TL;DR: When someone asks for an ETA, there's an expectation set that volunteers will provide their own time to get a tool repaired by a certain date.

Isn't PS1 supposed to be a shop that's functional?

PS1 is a volunteer run non-profit organization. Aside from paid services by 3rd parties that are needed to keep our non-profit status working (i.e. lawyers), no one gets paid at PS1 to make PS1 go, keep the lights on, repair tools, etc. What does keep PS1 going is our membership pool, and if you're reading this that probably includes you! The definition of voluntary is:

Acting or done of one's own free will without valuable consideration or legal obligation.

We all have our own lives to manage and (most of us) day jobs to go to. Whatever time we put into making PS1 better is of our own that we're freely giving to the space. All of PS1 is the way it is because some current or past member made it that way, no one has gotten paid to do that. That's the beauty of a community run hacker space, we as a community get to decide how it works.

But I've got a project that's on a tight schedule, can I get an idea of how long a tool will be down?

PS1 doesn't have a guaranteed service availability. If you're needing a more maintained shop by a paid staff, and less of a community of makers, possibly check out the great people at the Chicago Maker Space or other awesome spaces throughout the city. There's a bunch of them offering various space and services.

What about the money I pay for my membership to get access to these tools?

You're paying membership dues in order to be part of the non-profit (and its community). That money goes to various needs, like keeping the lights on, stuff that's needed to keep the non-profit going, supplies/parts/consumables, tools, etc). You are welcome to talk to an area host on what their budget gets used for, or come to a board meeting to get a financial update.

What if I just ask for an ETA?

You can, but like the TL;DR at the top says, it does come off as you setting an expectation that unpaid volunteers will take time out of their lives to fix tools for you by a certain date. Even just answering the question takes time away from other volunteers.

But asking for an estimate isn't me setting any expectations

Consistently, volunteers attempting fixes experience pressure to have something working by a certain date. It would be nice if that historically weren't the case, but it is.

It also comes off as pushy to everyone else.

I get it now, I'm also a volunteer who can help! How can I help fix a tool?

Ask in Discord! Here's a good example of how to ask:

Hey I see a tool is down, I've got some experience with similar tools, how can I help fix it?

And here's a sort of rude way of asking:

I'm on a deadline and really need this tool to finish it. I haven't seen anyone try to fix it. What needs to be done so I can just fix it myself?

And here's a jerk way of doing it:

The tool was broken, and so I tried to fix it, and now it's more broken, but I'm not even telling anyone, so why does this example even exist?