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

Blake Girardot bgirardot at gmail.com
Fri Dec 1 22:48:58 UTC 2017


Dear Rory,

I really just want to +100 everything you said below, it is an
extremely important point.

It fits exactly one of the documents that Clifford shared as well:

https://adainitiative.org/2014/02/18/howto-design-a-code-of-conduct-for-your-community/

They point out exactly the same issue.

I believe that Clifford's proposal is basically the "We should adopt a
Code of Conduct" and then if we can get consensus or a vote or the
board votes to move forward, the actual drafting of the CoC would be a
new and separate process. I would guess the board would ask a WG to
draft a CoC with community consultation etc. Or maybe we go radical
and just try and have the whole osmf community draft it
collaboratively :)

At that time, it will be vital that your point and the larger issue of
"Be specific in what is not acceptable" and avoid the "Be Nice" type
of directives is remembered and used for guidance in drafting an OSM
CoC.

Thank you for raising this specific and often overlooked issue.

Respectfully
blake



On Fri, Dec 1, 2017 at 8:54 PM, Rory McCann <rory at technomancy.org> wrote:
> 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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>>
>
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-- 
----------------------------------------------------
Blake Girardot
OSM Wiki - https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/User:Bgirardot
HOTOSM Member - https://hotosm.org/users/blake_girardot
skype: jblakegirardot



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