[LGM] Agenda and draft proposal for Libre Graphics Meeting Code of Conduct

Fri Apr 4 12:08:11 PDT 2014

Hi everyone,

Thanks to all participants of the meeting for a very constructive and
fruitful discussion!

The discussion was around the motivation and purpose of a code of
conduct for LGM, what style it should have, what procedures we should
have in place for enforcement. The meeting notes can be found at
http://piratepad.net/LGM2014conduct
A plain-text version is also attached for archival purposes.

Main outcomes (marked as bold in the notes)
==========================

* Do we as a group agree that we should go ahead with preparing a COC
for LGM2015 onwards?
Result: large majority in support, some abstained, none against.

* Can we form a group to prepare a proposed code of conduct over the
next month(s)?
People who volunteer to work on this document:
ginger coons
Femke Snelting
Susan Spencer
Jon Nordby
Steve Conklin
Michael Schumacher

Document should be ready and agreed upon: 1 may
We plan a first iteration of the draft in the coming 2 weeks.

Sincerely,
Femke Snelting
Michael Schumacher
Jon Nordby
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LGM2014 Code of Conduct Meeting 04.04.2014

35 people in the room

http://piratepad.net/draftcoc

On the mailinglist question was asked: do we have a code of conduct
discussion sparked on desirability .. style ..

General discussion:
Why we may want a code of conduct, what style, responses to posted draft

LGM should be pleasant experience for everyone

LGM is no longer a small group of friends gathering to talk about their projects - the community is growing, new people may not know how to act, the existing community may struggle to adjust to growth.

different people may find different things acceptable - a COC makes it clear to everyone - this is what we have decided as a group is appropriate/innappropriate.

setting some guidelines gives the opportunity to feel included

important that a COC is pre-emptive, not set up after problems occur, as in the case of PyCon.

LGM is a place for sharing ideas and experiences - for that to happen we need to feel free to express ourselves.
if/when problems occur we will be better set up to deal with them having been through the process of setting up a COC.

draft could use expansion in following areas:
 - specific examples of unacceptable behaviour
 - reporting to a single person may be a problem - should be a number of people responsible

 if rules and expectations are clear, other attendees feel empowered to point out and reduce breaches of those expectations.

 People who are designated to receive possible complaints should have a clear idea of what they are empowered to do about them.

 maybe we need to update every year?

 stability throughout the year is required - LGM is not just the meeting, there are other discussions and meetings where these standards should also apply.

 there are ways to phrase issues positively - it need not be a list of 'thou shalt not' s

LGM is a wonderful community, but not magically immune to normal human problems.

every staff member should at least be able to relay, pass on concerns to the right person.

do not encourage vigilante enforcement of a COC.

emphasis should be on reconciliation, not retribution.

hopefully we can progressively increase the standard of behaviour that we hold ourselves to.

the reporter of issues should be part of the discussion regarding the consequences of a complaint.

we must avoid retaliation and public shaming - we're trying to prevent victimization, our COC should not create it.

there should be a way to offer help when someone feels they may have done something wrong or offended someone, and they don't know how to proceed.

we should be modest about our ability to fix things ourselves. this document may help to keep the discussion alive about how mature (or not) we may be, and the ability to 'fix our own problems'

we are learing about how our group / community functions - writing a coc helps analyse / construct

once a coc is in place perhaps it is good that for a determined period possible follow up / consequences are reviewed

it's important that the projects which take part in LGM have the independence and freedom to choose not to apply this particular code of conduct outside of LGM.

mailing lists and physical meetings are very different environments with different forms of interaction (and abuse).

online communication should not be excluded from the COC but a distinction is there.

our COC was influenced by reading through various existing COCs, like django etc.

Do we as a group agree that we should go ahead with preparing a COC for LGM2015 onwards?
result: large majority in support, some abstained, none against.

Discussion about draft
we think first object of the code of conduct is the physical meetings but that we expect that bleeds over (?) / it is respected also in online communication

we should make sure that at the start of LGM2015 we make it clear that there is a COC, introduce certain people who are the go-to people to contact.

important for those receiving complaints to have guidleines or training so they know what their appropriate response and available actions are.

identify members of the crew, including persons to contact in case of complaints, at the start of the conference

some key issues:
should we have more explicit examples?

COC should allow for conflict of opinion while avoiding conflict of personality. 

regardless of whether a certain action is on a list of dos and don'ts or not, if you feel harrased, that is the issue. It's difficult to categorise exactly what will cause harrassment in every case.

we may not be able to list everything but there are clear examples that we would agree are not acceptable, eg a physical threat. being able to say what you want to say

important to remember that a code of conduct is not code: Not to be executed literally, but a set of guidelines for action

for reference on microagressions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression

we're trying to address both smaller, 'everyday' issues and aggression and also blatent, dangerous behaviour.

we should set a frame of reference for what is not acceptable behaviour but also make clear that some unacceptable behaviour may still fall outside of the examples we give.

in the case of harrassment, you may be unlikely to go to the official person in charge of conduct, if you don't know them and feel comfortable with them - you are more likely to go to a friend, someone you know and trust.

it could be useful to have an LGM event for newcomers.

Can we form a group to prepare a proposed code of conduct over the next month(s)?
People who volunteer to work on this document:
ginger coons
Femke Snelting
Susan Spencer
Jon Nordby
Steve Conklin
Michael Schumacher

Document should be ready and agreed upon: 1 may

People that have indicated willingness in being a contact person in the next LGM:
Susan Spencer
Michael Schumacher
Femke Snelting
Louis Desjardin