On Tue, Mar 1, 2016 at 10:51 AM, Stefan Krah <stefan@bytereef.org> wrote:
Sorry, this is a huge strawman. Core developers are already very much on a
level playing field.

The intent of the CoC isn't just about protecting the current community members. It's also about making it open and inviting to *new members*. The core-dev community, despite best efforts, can easily be seen as an "good old boys club". Making it clear that we don't *intend* for it to be that way is a good step to make.
 
If you want, I can post a IRC log where people who are
undoubtedly in favor of the CoC a) gossip about two core devs, b) ask if
said core-devs "had any influence", and c) make fun of the works of said
core-devs.

All the more reason to point them to the CoC and ask if they would be more considerate. 
 
Some of these people have impeccable manners on mailing lists, and not
addressing Machiavellianism is one of the most glaring flaws of this CoC.

It's proven quite hard to draft a CoC -- or any document -- that everyone agrees to *and* covers everything everyone wants. I wish it were more explicit about certain things, and more condemning, but I'm glad to have it to refer to anyway. (I frequently refer to it on #python on Freenode.)
 
I'm quite upset about you bringing in "kicking downward" (even if qualified
by a smiley).

It was not meant as a personal attack, merely a reaction to what I perceived as you making light of the idea of a CoC. I see that I was mistaken, so I'm sorry.

--
Thomas Wouters <thomas@python.org>

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