[python-committers] Making the PSF CoC apply to core developers

[Nick Coghlan]

On 28 February 2016 at 12:27, Steven D'Aprano <steve at pearwood.info> wrote:
> Nobody *has* to tolerate jerks, especially on an email forum. Just
> filter their emails into the trash.

This approach means every *future* participant in that community then
has to encounter the person that's behaving like a jerk, realise they
consistently behave that way, and add them to their own filters.
That's grossly disrespectful of everyone's time and energy, include
that of the person that's shouting into the wilderness rather than
receiving direct and constructive feedback on which aspects of their
behaviour are problematic.

Everyone ends up being much better off in the long run if we're
explicit about "Don't be a jerk in this environment", rather than
pushing the task of putting up with jerkish behaviour back onto
individual participants. Things only need to escalate to suspensions
and bans if someone proves to be utterly incapable of either
moderating their own behaviour or else realising that being involved
in Python core development may not be the right activity for them (and
I'm personally only aware of one case where we've had to resort to an
outright permaban to protect the interests of other volunteers)

> Or maybe people could be a bit more flexible in what behaviour they
> accept from others and a bit less quick to label others as jerks?
>
> This is an international group, and I'm an Australian, and the language
> I use with my wife, friends and co-workers is far more forthright and
> strong than the language I use here. But if I slip occasionally, and
> call a spade a bloody shovel as they say, I don't want those with more
> restrictive, less enlightened or even merely different standards to be
> able to formally rebuke me. Why should I have to change my behaviour
> more than I already do? Why can't they be a bit more flexible and
> accepting of differences and less judgmental?

This is why *writing things down* instead of just assuming that
everybody has a shared understanding of what the phrase "don't be a
jerk" means is so important.

>> And I would hope none of us are jerks to people in the community,
>
> If I knew what you considered "a jerk", then I might be able to say
> whether I agreed or disagreed. For all I know, you might consider this
> email to be nothing but me being a jerk.

It doesn't read to me as you being a jerk, but it does read to me as
you responding without actually reading the PSF Community Code of
Conduct that Brett linked to.

Quoting the document in its entirety:

===============================
The Python community is made up of members from around the globe with
a diverse set of skills, personalities, and experiences. It is through
these differences that our community experiences great successes and
continued growth. When you're working with members of the community,
we encourage you to follow these guidelines which help steer our
interactions and strive to keep Python a positive, successful, and
growing community.

A member of the Python community is:

Open

Members of the community are open to collaboration, whether it's on
PEPs, patches, problems, or otherwise. We're receptive to constructive
comment and criticism, as the experiences and skill sets of other
members contribute to the whole of our efforts. We're accepting of all
who wish to take part in our activities, fostering an environment
where anyone can participate and everyone can make a difference.

Considerate

Members of the community are considerate of their peers -- other
Python users. We're thoughtful when addressing the efforts of others,
keeping in mind that often times the labor was completed simply for
the good of the community. We're attentive in our communications,
whether in person or online, and we're tactful when approaching
differing views.

Respectful

Members of the community are respectful. We're respectful of others,
their positions, their skills, their commitments, and their efforts.
We're respectful of the volunteer efforts that permeate the Python
community. We're respectful of the processes set forth in the
community, and we work within them. When we disagree, we are courteous
in raising our issues.

Overall, we're good to each other. We contribute to this community not
because we have to, but because we want to. If we remember that, these
guidelines will come naturally.
===============================

For mailing lists, the enforcement procedures are the same as those
that have existed on all mailing lists since time immemorial: the list
moderators have full authority to impose forced moderation and
outright bans on folks that they consider to be interfering with the
list's ability to achieve its intended purpose.

There's a *different* document, which I assume is the one Stefan is
referring to given his mention of conferences, which is the one used
to define acceptable behaviour at PyCon US:
https://us.pycon.org/2015/about/code-of-conduct/

Again, that is about putting behavioural expectations in writing since
we *can't* assume a shared understanding of phrases like "don't be a
jerk" and "don't harass people" when attendees are flying in from all
over the world.

Regards,
Nick.

-- 
Nick Coghlan   |   ncoghlan at gmail.com   |   Brisbane, Australia