Re: [Ksummit-discuss] Call to Action Re: [PATCH 0/7] Code of Conduct: Fix some wording, and add an interpretation document

Laura Abbott
2018-10-24T08:49:19Z

On 10/21/2018 02:20 PM, NeilBrown wrote:

<snip>

> I call on the community to consider what *does* need to be said, about
> conduct, to people outside the community and who have recently joined.
> What is the document that you would have liked to have read as you were
> starting out? It is all too long ago for me to remember clearly, and so
> much has changed.
>

I joined much more recently than many and what I would have wanted
then is an interesting question. I probably would _not_ have wanted
a code of conduct when I first started working in open source. I also
said things in my younger years I regret and probably wouldn't have
said if I was held to a higher standard of conduct. Younger me frequently
put up with behavior I wouldn't tolerate today. Younger me also
greatly benefited from the experience of other kernel developers
giving me firm feedback in a helpful way and saying no to bad approaches.
I don't believe I would have continued if I hadn't been given that
feedback in a useful way.

Today, I think the code of conduct is a very important addition to
the community. It's a stronger assertion that the kernel community
is committed to raising the bar for behavior. I have no concern about
patch review or quality dropping because most maintainers demonstrate
every day that they can give effective feedback. We're all going to
screw that up sometimes and the Code of Conduct reminds us to do our
best. Most issues that arise can be resolved with a private e-mail
going "you might want to rethink your wording there."

What the Code of Conduct also provides is confidence that more serious
community issues such as harassment not related to patch
review can be handled. It spells out certain behaviors that won't
be tolerated and explains how those problems will be dealt with.
Will those problems actually be handled appropriately when the time
comes? I can't actually say for sure, but the kernel community works
on trust so I guess I have to trust that it will. I really hope I never
have to report harassment but I'm glad there's a process in place.

Thanks,
Laura