Hacker Dojo

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Community center and hackerspace in Santa Clara, California, United States

title: "Hacker Dojo" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["hacker-groups", "computer-clubs", "hackerspaces", "hackerspaces-in-the-san-francisco-bay-area", "buildings-and-structures-in-santa-clara,-california", "culture-in-the-san-francisco-bay-area", "2009-establishments-in-california"] description: "Community center and hackerspace in Santa Clara, California, United States" topic_path: "general/hacker-groups" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_Dojo" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Community center and hackerspace in Santa Clara, California, United States ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox organization"]

FieldValue
nameHacker Dojo
imageHackerDojo_logo.png
size180px
alt
map
msize
malt
mcaption
formation2009
typeNGO
purposeHackerspace
headquarters855 Maude Avenue, Mountain View, CA, 94043
locationUnited States
coords
region_servedSilicon Valley
membership200+
language
general
leader_titleOrigin
leader_nameMountain View, California
leader_title2Platforms
leader_title3Founders
leader_name3David Weekly, Jeff Lindsay, Kitt Hodsden, B Klug, Melissalynn Perkins
leader_title4Products
key_peopleEric Hess (Executive Director)
main_organ
parent_organization
affiliationsNoisebridge, NYC Resistor, Pumping Station One, SuperHappyDevHouse
num_staff1
websitehackerdojo.org
::

| name = Hacker Dojo | image = HackerDojo_logo.png | image_border = | size = 180px | alt = | caption = | map = | msize = | malt = | mcaption = | map2 = | abbreviation = | motto = | predecessor = | successor = | formation = 2009 | extinction = | type = NGO | status = | purpose = Hackerspace | headquarters = 855 Maude Avenue, Mountain View, CA, 94043 | location = United States | coords = | region_served = Silicon Valley | membership = 200+ | language = | general = | leader_title = Origin | leader_name = Mountain View, California | leader_title2 = Platforms | leader_name2 = | leader_title3 = Founders | leader_name3 = David Weekly, Jeff Lindsay, Kitt Hodsden, B Klug, Melissalynn Perkins | leader_title4 = Products | leader_name4 = | key_people = Eric Hess (Executive Director) | main_organ = | parent_organization = | affiliations = Noisebridge, NYC Resistor, Pumping Station One, SuperHappyDevHouse | budget = | num_staff = 1 | num_volunteers = | website = hackerdojo.org | remarks = | former name = Hacker Dojo is a 6,000 sqft community center and hackerspace that is based in Mountain View, California. Predominantly an open working space for software projects, the Dojo hosts technology classes for biology, computer hardware, and manufacturing events.

The Dojo is run mostly democratically by its membership. The Dojo is primarily financed through membership dues ($150/mo), but has accepted 3rd party sponsorships from Microsoft, Google, Isocket, Twilio, AMS Dataserfs, and Palantir Technologies.

Physical space

| align=center |caption1=Original location at 140 South Whisman Road in 2009 |image1=Hacker_Dojo_Mountain_View_California.JPG|width1=200 |caption2=599 Fairchild Drive in 2013 |image2=Planned new Dojo home.JPG|width2=200 |caption3=3350 Thomas Road in 2016 |image3=3350 Thomas Road in Santa Clara, California.jpg|width3=200 |caption4=855 Maude Avenue in 2022 |image4=Dojo855Front.jpg|width4=200 |header=Hacker Dojo in California

The Hacker Dojo was originally located at 140 South Whisman Road in Mountain View, California. The facility started as only 140A, but the space expanded to include 140B in October 2009, and further expanded in October 2011 to lease units C and D, thus taking over the entirety of 140 South Whisman. The expansion party was attended by several hundred individuals, including Steven Levy.

Because of zoning violations, the City of Mountain View blocked the use of units C and D and restricted the use of units A and B to events no larger than 49 occupants.{{cite news |first=Daniel |last=DeBolt |title=Hacker Dojo wins reprieve from city |date=January 31, 2012 |work=Mountain View Voice|url=http://mv-voice.com/news/show_story.php?id=5222|accessdate=February 13, 2012}} 140A was formerly an industrial artistic glassworking facility, though it has gone through a series of renovations. The Dojo staged an "underwear run" on Saint Patrick's Day as a fundraiser.

Construction bids to bring the 140 South Whisman space up to building code requirements came in much higher than expected, and on Monday, October 15, 2012, the Dojo signed a lease to rent a building at 599 Fairchild Drive, also in Mountain View. Move-in occurred on February 13, 2013, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on February 27, 2013. The lease on the building at 599 Fairchild Drive ran through May 31, 2016, at which time the Dojo moved to its third home,{{cite news |title=Rising rents present new threat for Hacker Dojo Organizers consider moving out of Mountain View |date=September 4, 2015 |author=Mark Noack |publisher=Embarcadero Media |work=Mountain View Voice |url=http://mv-voice.com/news/2015/09/04/rising-rents-present-new-threat-for-hacker-dojo |accessdate=April 6, 2016

Controversies

Denial-of-service attack

Members at Hacker Dojo could not access the Internet during several outages occurring between June 22 and July 14, 2013. The problem was eventually traced to an amplified distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. In this case, the perpetrator was sending forged Domain Name Service (DNS) requests to multiple domain name servers, causing the servers to send large amounts of data records to the Hacker Dojo, thereby overloading the system and preventing legitimate use of the network. Dojo managers made several unsuccessful attempts to stop the attacks. Eventually, they requested help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which determined the outages were the result of a criminal act by Jason David Miller, a former Dojo member.

According to the indictment, Miller had become a member on May 19, 2013, using the first name "ad" and the last name "min," such that his username became "ad.min" and his email address was "ad.min@hackerdojo.com." Dojo management forbids misleading usernames, and terminates his email account. On June 1, 2013, Miller re-registered as "Dallas Smith" and began attacking the Dojo's internet service a few weeks later, starting on June 22, 2013. He is charged with violation of Title 18 U.S.C. §§ 1030(a)(5)(A) and (c)(4)(B)(i)—Intentionally Causing Damage to a Protected Computer. Miller was indicted in May 2014. He was scheduled to be sentenced on October 3, 2016, in the courtroom of Judge Edward J. Davila in San Jose.

Embezzlement

In March 2016, a local newspaper published an article saying the Dojo was facing a leadership crisis and that an employee had been accused of embezzlement.{{cite news |title=Disarray at the Dojo |author=Mark Noack |date=March 31, 2016 |publisher=Mountain View Voice |url=http://mv-voice.com/news/2016/03/31/disarray-at-the-dojo |accessdate=April 4, 2016}} Since 2016, the organization's new board members have brought back some of the founding team of SuperHappyDevHouse. The organization currently holds a Platinum badge of Transparency with GuideStar.

Uses

The 140B building has been turned into a place where events such as Random Hacks of Kindness, Startup Weekend, and BayThreat, among others, have been hosted. It has invented and run its own events, such as a reverse job fair called the Hacker Fair, where candidates present booths to company engineers and the Startup Fair, where young companies have booths for investors to consider. Members can hold events at the Dojo for free, subject to approval from the Dojo events committee. The Dojo also does movie nights, a weekly Happy Hour, and Friday Night Socials.

A large number of Silicon Valley startups work daily out of the Hacker Dojo, which is their primary location, and the Founders Institute, which is located nearby.

Notable startups

Gallery

||Lounge with Art |File:Mainspace.jpg|Main space |File:Laser room.jpg|Laser-cutter room |File:Classroom2atnewDojo.jpg|Classroom ||Wall Art

|title=Dojo on 2022}}{{gallery |File:Foyer at Hacker Dojo.JPG|Inside front entrance |File:Stairs to deck at Hacker Dojo.JPG|Stairs leading to deck |File:Stained Glass at Hacker Dojo.JPG|Some of many stained glass windows |title=Original Dojo}}

References

References

  1. (August 13, 2009). "HackerDojo: Finally A Hangout Where Coders Can go 24/7". VentureBeat.
  2. (August 24, 2009). "Hacker Dojo Opens Its Doors". Gigaom.com.
  3. (March 10, 2011). "WSJ: Techies Get to Work at Hacker Dojo". Online.wsj.com.
  4. "Hacker Dojo / History". Wiki.hackerdojo.com.
  5. (May 14, 2010). "Hacker Dojo / Who are the directors". Wiki.hackerdojo.com.
  6. "Microsoft supports the HVAC fund". Twitter.com.
  7. "AMS Dataserfs supports the HVAC fund". Twitter.com.
  8. (August 17, 2009). "Hacker Dojo Opens in Silicon Valley". Geek.com.
  9. DeBolt, Daniel. (March 20, 2012). "Hackers hit MV's streets in "underwear run"". Mountain View Voice.
  10. "A New Home for Hacker Dojo". HackerDojo.com.
  11. (February 27, 2013). "Grand Opening: Hacker Dojo's New Digs". Eventbrite.
  12. (March 5, 2014). "Indictment". U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.
  13. "USA v. Miller". PlainSite.
  14. (August 26, 2016). "Calendar for Judge Edward J. Davila". U.S. District Court.
  15. "HACKER DOJO - GuideStar Profile".
  16. (January 6, 2010). "The Hacker Fair". Tech Crunch.
  17. "The Startup Fair". Earthtimes.org.
  18. (September 27, 2010). "Startup Fair". Mercury News.
  19. (November 11, 2009). "Hacker Dojo and the Bay Area Founders Institute Partner Up". Founderinstitute.com.
  20. "Contact Skydera". Skydera.com.
  21. [http://hotdevz.com/2010/07/07/waleed-abdulla/ "Waleed Abdulla, founder of NetworkedBlogs"] {{Webarchive. link. (July 12, 2011 HotDevs.com. July 7, 2010.)
  22. (December 4, 2010). "Micromobs, inside a social network startup". Pcworld.idg.com.au.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

hacker-groupscomputer-clubshackerspaceshackerspaces-in-the-san-francisco-bay-areabuildings-and-structures-in-santa-clara,-californiaculture-in-the-san-francisco-bay-area2009-establishments-in-california