[Osmf-talk] Proposal - OSMF Should Adopt a Code of Conduct

[Rory McCann]

Hi,

I support having a strong CoC, but I'm skeptical of "always be polite &
respectful" rules.

Must I always be polite to someone who lies to me? Is calling someone a
racist as bad as saying racist stuff? Am I disrespecting them? Some CoCs
imply so. If someone very reasonably, civilly and politely says that the
LGBT people are a threat to children, and I reply "F**k off scum", have
I broken the CoC?

Adding "Be respectful to people who follow the CoC/who you have no
history with" would solve that. Or 2 parts: Unacceptable behaviour, and
Suggested Best Practices.

Requiring politeness can also be used to tone police marginalized
people, who sometimes have just had enough and might snap at someone.

What is the purpose of a CoC? Is it to make the space polite and
acceptable to BigCo? Where we all speak corporate speak?

Simple test: Should this sentance be a CoC violation? (My opnion: No)

> If you want to explain the rise of Neo-Nazism, start by looking at 
> white America.

It's not a theoretical issue. Earlier this year, L'Oréal hired a black
trans woman to model for campaign. They sacked her after learning of a
emotive FB post where she criticized white supremacy and a neo-nazi
rally in the USA[1], claiming "they support diversity".

Ubuntu launched 10+ years ago, and had a "be nice and welcoming" CoC. At
the time the Linux community could be unfriendly to new users. Questions
were answered with "RTFM". The CoC was an attempt to stop that.

Now-a-days CoC's are designed to tackle sexism, racism, etc in tech
spaces, so it's good to write a CoC which tackles, and bans, *that*.
Prioritize marginalized people’s safety over privileged people’s comfort.

My recommended starting point would be LGBT in Tech Slack CoC[2].

Some say we don't need one now, but we had a copyright licence before
people used the data, and we have contributor terms which allow a
licence change even though there's no problems with the ODbL. Why not
start now. OSM already bans people who breech certain norms.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munroe_Bergdorf_race_row_incident
[2] http://lgbtq.technology/coc.html

-- 

Rory


On 01/12/17 04:25, Clifford Snow wrote:
> OpenStreetMap is one of the few open source initiatives that operates 
> its mailing lists without a formal Code of Conduct. Many [1] of the 
> large open source projects have adopted a Code of Conduct for their 
> mailing lists, forums and conferences.
> 
> 
> Why would we want to have a formal standard for contact? OpenStreetMap 
> longevity depends on our being able to attract and keep new mappers, 
> developers and third party users. Good behavior means more people feel 
> comfortable engaging in community discussions. Bad conduct not only 
> drives people away but can lead to giving OSM a bad reputation. Our 
> reputation is key to raising funds needed for operation and growth. The 
> OSMF Board has a fiduciary responsibility to protect our project. 
> Adopting and enforcing a Code of Conduct is a step in that direction.
> 
> 
> Some examples of CoC guidelines are:
> 
>   *
> 
>     Be respectful
> 
>   *
> 
>     Be friendly and patient
> 
>   *
> 
>     Be civil and considerate
> 
>   *
> 
> 
>             Be collaborative
> 
>   *
> 
>     Assume good intentions.
> 
>   *
> 
>     Respect time and attention
> 
>   *
> 
>     Disclose potential conflicts
> 
>   *
> 
> 
>             Take responsibility for our words and our actions
> 
>   *
> 
>     Be welcoming
> 
>   *
> 
>     Be careful in the words that you choose
> 
>       o
> 
>         Discriminatory remarks based on stereotypes
> 
>       o
> 
>         Violent threats or language directed against another person.
> 
>       o
> 
>         Discriminatory jokes and language.
> 
>       o
> 
>         Posting sexually explicit or violent material.
> 
>       o
> 
>         Posting (or threatening to post) other people's personally
>         identifying information ("doxing").
> 
>       o
> 
>         Personal insults, especially those using racist or sexist terms.
> 
>       o
> 
>         Unwelcome sexual attention.
> 
>       o
> 
>         Repeated harassment of others. In general, if someone asks you
>         to stop, then stop.
> 
>       o
> 
>         Deliberately spreading FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt)
> 
>       o
> 
>         Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior.
> 
> 
> Adopting a CoC is just one step in the process. If we only post the CoC 
> when members sign up on a mailing list or attend our conferences, 
> nothing will change. Instead the Board should:
> 
>   *
> 
>     Define the scope of the policy: may include mailing lists,
>     conferences and other in person gatherings, forums, comments on
>     changesets, IRC,
> 
>   *
> 
>     Decide who is responsible for responding to reports of abuse
> 
>   *
> 
>     Determine consequences for violating the CoC
> 
>   *
> 
>     Provide appropriate avenues to report abuse
> 
>   *
> 
>     Periodically remind members of our CoC
> 
> 
> 
> [1] Example of Codes of Conduct by Open Source organizations:
> 
>   *
> 
>     Linux Foundation -
>     https://www.linuxfoundation.org/events/code-of-conduct/
> 
>   *
> 
>     Ada Initiative -
>     https://adainitiative.org/2014/02/18/howto-design-a-code-of-conduct-for-your-community/
> 
>   *
> 
>     Open Source Initiative - https://opensource.org/codeofconduct
> 
>   *
> 
>     OSGEO - http://www.osgeo.org/code_of_conduct
> 
>   *
> 
>     Ubuntu - https://www.ubuntu.com/about/about-ubuntu/conduct
> 
>   *
> 
>     Mailman - https://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/coc.html
> 
>   *
> 
>     HOTOSM - https://www.hotosm.org/hot_code_of_conduct
> 
>   *
> 
>     Django - https://www.djangoproject.com/conduct/
> 
>   *
> 
>     Mozilla -
>     https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/about/governance/policies/participation/
> 
>   *
> 
>     Rust - https://www.rust-lang.org/en-US/conduct.html
> 
>   *
> 
>     Eclipes -
>     https://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/Community_Code_of_Conduct.php
> 
>   *
> 
>     Fedora -
>     https://docs.fedoraproject.org/fedora-project/project/code-of-conduct.html
> 
>   *
> 
>     Climate CoLab (crowdsource climate change)  -
>     https://climatecolab.org/wiki/Community%20philosophy%20and%20policies
> 
> 
> Resources
> 
>   *
> 
>     Defining and Developing an Effective Code of Conduct for
>     Organizations -
>     http://www.icaew.com/~/media/corporate/files/technical/ethics/defining%20and%20developing%20an%20effective%20code%20of%20conduct%20for%20organizations.ashx
> 
>   *
> 
>     Ada Initiative How to design a code of conduct for your community -
>     https://adainitiative.org/2014/02/18/howto-design-a-code-of-conduct-for-your-community/
> 
>   * The Geek Feminism CoC Evaluations-
>     http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Code_of_conduct
> 
> 
> Respectively,
> Clifford
> 
> 
> -- 
> @osm_seattle
> osm_seattle.snowandsnow.us <http://osm_seattle.snowandsnow.us>
> OpenStreetMap: Maps with a human touch
> 
> 
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