A hackerspace according to the all knowing Wikipedia.org is found to be:

A hackerspace or hackspace (also referred to as a hacklab, makerspace or creative space) is a location where people with common interests, often in computers, technology, science, digital or electronic art (but also in many other realms) can meet, socialise and/or collaborate.

For the purposes of Chatt*lab and our content, we will use makerspace most of the time simply for the reason that it is more palatable to a public that has been led astray on the term hacker. A hacker is someone who simply tinkers with any system and has nothing to do with illegal activity, thank you news media and Hollywood.

Whether we like it or not, the way the community perceives us is important to our existence and even success.

Oh yeah, and what is the * about in the name? If you know grep you know the faithful asterisk is a wildcard character. It is an indication within the logo that it is a lab for many purposes i.e. you get to fill in the *! (If you don’t know grep then you should get a grip.)