RE: Add Code of Conduct (issue 575620043 by address@hidden)

[Mike Solomon]

Mike Solomon <address@hidden> writes:

> The preamble and intent is one thing; adding a corrective committee with the 
> authority to enact punishments based on anonymous reports is another.  It 
> implements hierarchies and institutions exerting coercive power based on 
> incomplete and secret information.  That is inherently an entity offering an 
> opportunity for "pulling strings".  I am not really a fan of constructs with 
> a life and dynamics of their own.

It's a big responsibility. I think the way to do it is talk to successful 
committees (ie the Facebook Open Source CoC Committee) and learn how they've 
dealt with challenging situations.

One example: in communities that are more gender balanced, I've heard of 
situations where a man starts writing inappropriate messages to a woman and she 
reports the messages to the CoC committee.  In this case, I think secrecy, 
hierarchy and coercive decision making power is important to preserve the 
dignity of all parties.  It also encourages people to come forward, which is 
much harder to do in the open.

I don't know of many communities with good gender balance that don’t have codes 
of conduct, probably for this reason.  Ultimately, I think the benefits of 
secrecy, hierarchy and possible coercion in matters of conduct outweigh the 
negatives, although I agree with you that secrecy and hierarchy should be the 
exception and not the rule. Most communication should be in the open and 
hierarchy free.

Thanks,
~Mike