As you plan a visit or to be a part of activities, please be aware that our physical infoshop library is in a private creative space used by multiple individuals. This space is also rented in a capitalist context from people whose values may not align with ours. At present, we do not publish our address, and we do not announce to the landlord and tenants what we are. As our guest, we ask for your help in keeping this so – please be discreet and careful to not openly identify our location or building.
Security and caution are always on our minds, first to make it possible to continue carving out this space against a prevailing culture of fear and repression, and such that the means we use are consistent with the worlds we dream, all without letting paranoia take hold. We aim to think and act in a different way – as a practice of care, with an analysis of power, unlearning norms of domination and abuse that have been foisted on us.
Thus we feel it is important to have basic principles working towards accountable community now (and also to continually revisit and renew our relationship to this) rather than assume nothing bad could happen.
At the minimum, we ask for your understanding of this context and agreement to the following principles before visiting or engaging with our work:
We are committed to cultivating a safer, more accountable community with all invited to inhabit this shared environment.
As we do so, let’s be aware of and sensitive to one another’s autonomy, presence, and needs.
Harassment and harmful behaviour (abusive language or actions, intimidation, deception, unwanted contact, etc.) reproducing violences of this racist, cishetero-patriarchal, ableist, capitalist world are not welcome or tolerated.
As a visitor, please let an organiser know if you face such trouble from anyone in the physical space.
This also applies to the online spaces that we find ourselves in.
None of us are perfect, and we do fail, but let’s grow capacity to do better with each other through the course of our activity.
wares is not a business, nor a charity, and do not regard you as a "customer" or "client", but as someone in encounter who is or could potentially be a friend. We believe communication, boundaries, and mutual respect are important in any relationship, and especially so in our work to nurture long-term connections for interdependence based on shared goals and ethos.
As people informed by philosophies and practices of collective autonomy and liberation but not bound by any label, organisation, or dogma, we are accepting of anyone who does not seek to dominate, coerce, put down, or mislead others.
We will deny entry to anyone who does so and shows no desire and effort for change. If you cannot agree to this, please do not attempt to test us, deceive us, or play “devil's advocate”. We will take that as plain aggression.
Difference and divergence is necessary, and disagreement cannot be avoided – we just do not defer to authority and coercion (of the state, paternalism, social, cultural, and economic hierarchy, etc.) as a solution to interpersonal or collective problems. It is important that we do not remain isolated, and find ways to keep each other informed of and involved in things going on in our lives. Certainly, this can be uncomfortable and unfamiliar, something we too are learning, but we must try. What we emphasise and hold ourselves to is care for each other and the space, such that the communal activity of study, rest, support, and agitation – for life – can happen.
For questions, suggestions, and reports, you can reach us at: waresnotwarehouses@gmail.com
(coming soon / to be fleshed out) We ask that you corroborate any email reports through the Discord reporting channel as well, which is maintained by multiple server admins and moderators.
Published 2 February 2022
Updated 10 October 2022: added context for the new space, new wording on security, and changed the order of paragraphs to later in the page.