From: pat@... Date: 2016-01-22T12:00:20+00:00 Subject: [ruby-core:73155] [Ruby trunk - Misc #12004] Code of Conduct Issue #12004 has been updated by Pat Allan. Ted Johansson wrote: > I am a strong proponent of having **a** code of conduct. It is important to be clear with what we expect of each other. However, I think the proposed document is far too focused on punitive action, and I see a lot of cries for "laws" and "enforcement." This apparent thirst for retribution is, in my humble opinion, anathema of the spirit of our community. I can't say I'm getting quite the vibe you are regarding a thirst for retribution. My take is more that it's not enough to say 'be nice to each other' but also 'we have some idea of what to do when people aren't nice'. Otherwise it's not a Code of Conduct, just a mission statement - it may make people happy, but doesn't address *how* we support each other's right to be safe. Being clear about how incidents are handled provides accountability: if shit things happen, then we know they'll be dealt with. (The thoughts that follow are sparked by this thread generally, not Ted's quoted comment above.) For those who are getting hung up on the idea of kicking someone out of the community: as Strand has noted, expulsion from the community is a tool of last resort. It's not a tool used joyfully, it's not the default response to problems. There's certainly room for dialogue between parties, and warnings if things continue, allowance for the situation, etc. I don't think anyone here is saying: "Pat said something sexist, so we ban him from everything Ruby related, no ifs, no buts." I don't think anyone *likes* the idea of absolute bans, but the worst end of behaviour (which would be *extremely* rare!) may sadly warrant it. Looking outward for inspiration: from what I understand, the push to have a Code of Conduct for Go came from within their core team, and perhaps similarly for Swift. I think that's very helpful, because it means their teams have a passion to walk the talk. If Matz and the rest of the core team don't have that drive, I don't think it can be forced, and I'm not sure what the way forward is. I do not like the idea of separating technical and community responsibilities completely - I can easily see that leading to a disconnect between the two groups, focused on completely different aspects of the Ruby community. If there was some group that included both some Ruby core team members and others in the community, that might be better? Also, Go's Code of Conduct is quite detailed, which is not a bad thing at all: https://golang.org/conduct (I'm not sure how their Working Group is managed, mind you.) Jeremy and others have mentioned that they're not keen to list all potential types of harassment, and I can understand that - having a list that covers absolutely everything is difficult (if not impossible). However, I've also found (especially through helping manage Ruby Australia's Code of Conduct and Anti Harassment Policy) that those suggesting the specific types of harassment are those who have experienced them personally, and can you blame them from wanting to be sure they don't experience that again? For wanting to be sure that this community will not tolerate similar behaviour? (Again, I don't have an answer here, I just want to point out there *are* reasons for having such lists.) To be clear: I would love to see a Code of Conduct for Ruby. I don't view it as an indication of a problem, but rather an indication that those behind Ruby care about their community being safe and respected, and are willing to act to ensure that as much as possible. I don't want it because I'm supposedly part of some authoritarian conspiracy - I want it so the Ruby community becomes even stronger and safer and welcoming for everyone, especially those who often are victims of bigotry and harassment. ---------------------------------------- Misc #12004: Code of Conduct https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/issues/12004#change-56382 * Author: Coraline Ada Ehmke * Status: Assigned * Priority: Normal * Assignee: Yukihiro Matsumoto ---------------------------------------- I am the creator of the Contributor Covenant, a code of conduct for Open Source projects. At last count there are over 13,000 projects on Github that have adopted it. This past year saw adoption of Contributor Covenant by a lot of very large, very visible projects, including Rails, Github's Atom text editor, Angular JS, bundler, curl, diaspora, discourse, Eclipse, rspec, shoes, and rvm. The bundler team made code of conduct integration an option in the gem creation workflow, putting it on par with license selection. Many open source language communities have already adopted the code of conduct, including Elixir, Mono, the .NET foundation, F#, and Apple's Swift. RubyTogether also adopted a policy to only fund Ruby projects that had a solid code of conduct in place. Right now in the PHP community there is a healthy debate about adopting the Contributor Covenant. Since it came from and has been so widely adopted by the Ruby community at large, I think it's time that we consider adopting it for the core Ruby language as well. Our community prides itself on niceness. What a code of conduct does is define what we mean by nice. It states clearly that we value openness, courtesy, and compassion. That we care about and want contributions from people who may be different from us. That we pledge to respect all contributors regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, or other factors. And it makes it clear that we are prepared to follow through on these values with action when and if an incident arises. I'm asking that we join with the larger Ruby community in supporting the adoption of the Contributor Covenant for the Ruby language. I think that this will be an important step forward and will ensure the continued welcoming and supportive environment around Ruby. You can read the full text of the Contributor Covenant at http://contributor-covenant.org/version/1/3/0/ and learn more at http://contributor-covenant.org/. Thanks for your consideration and I look forward to hearing your thoughts. -- https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/ Unsubscribe: <mailto:ruby-core-request@ruby-lang.org?subject=unsubscribe> <http://lists.ruby-lang.org/cgi-bin/mailman/options/ruby-core>