[diversity-talk] Neurodiversity and CoC

[Dan S]

2014-10-08 20:27 GMT+01:00 Serge Wroclawski <emacsen at gmail.com>:
> I don't know of any specific code of conducts that address
> neurodiversity, and in some ways that's because our community doesn't
> operate like any software project. It's closer to Wikimedia; I'll
> reach out to the Wikimedians and see if they have any ideas.
>
> It's a really delicate issue because you can't just say that a
> behavior is okay because of a diagnosis. I was at an event for another
> community and someone  put a serving utensil in their mouth and then
> back in the collective food. It is likely that this person was
> neurodivergent, but that doesn't make the behavior any less
> disgusting.
>
> Off the top of my head (without further research) I'd say we flip the
> "strikes" around, and make the first one private. This is often what I
> do as part of the DWG- I'll try to message someone privately before
> taking any public action like a 0 hour block).
>
> Secondly, I'd say we need to name very specific behaviors. ie not
> "When you're gross" but "When you put the public utensils in your
> mouth" and also why "People don't like it because they are afraid of
> germs" or "You're standing very close and when you do that, people
> feel uncomfortable".

This thing about specific behaviours resonates with something I posted
on github, about being more specific about unacceptable behaviours:
https://github.com/osmlab/CoC-mailing-lists/issues/7
I didn't post it for that reason but it seems to me that it's a good
additional motivation to be more concrete.

> The thing is not to shame people if at all possible. Shaming a
> neurodivergent[1] person will just increase their anxiety and
> discourage them from participating and I don't think that's what we
> want (at least it's not what I want- I just a place where everyone can
> participate).
>
> I'll do more research on this topic to see if Wikimedia has done any
> work on it. If not, we may be working on new territory.
>
> - Serge
>
> [1] This is apparently the correct term for non-neurotypical.
>
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