Resolving General Conflicts
General Principles
The goal of our community process for resolving conflicts is reconciliation between members so that we may enjoy together our shared passion about Drupal. Similar to good software security principles of least priviledges this process is based on least resources. It aims to resolve conflicts as simply and directly as possible, increasing in complexity only when simpler methods have not succeeded.
Process
Direct Communication
When a member is upset at the conduct or decision of another member, the member should directly and clearly communicate with the one who has offended. Both members should strive to listen, understand and reach common ground. Email and IRC are not mediums conducive to reconciliation because they have limited "bandwidth" for interpersonal communication. Arrange to meet in a public venue.
Trusted Mediation
If direct communication is unsuccessful or either member feels that mediation would be more productive, a member trusted by both members will be asked to mediate.
Community Process
If mediation does not produce reconciliation or if the issue affects a significant portion of the community, the issue will be placed on the agenda for the next meetup. A trusted mediator will be asked to facilitate a community discussion to achieve consensus about the issue.
Wider Drupal Community
If local community process is unsuccessful the local community will request mediation from a member of the wider Drupal Community or Drupal Association.
Community Standards
Both the NYC Drupal community and the wider Drupal Community have adopted community standards for behavior. These currently are:
Statement Against Violence in the Drupal Community
IRC Guidelines
How to enact change within the Drupal community
Leadership and Expectations
Leaders in the NYC Drupal Community include both Admins on groups.drupal.org and Ops on #Drupal-NYC IRC channel. Leaders are expected to both exhibit and enforce adopted community standards.
Enforcing Community Standards
When members do not respect our community standards, the first response is not a conflict resolution process but leadership as the standards already reflect community consensus.
General Members
When a general member acts in a way that does not respect our community standards, a community leader will explain to the member how the action is inappropriate. If the member continues in inappropriate actions or the community leader finds the first occasion to be serious enough, the leader will instruct the member to leave the community until the member is willing to abide by our standards, and will block the member's account.
Community Leaders
Leaders are understood to be already aware of our standards. If the majority of our Community Leaders agree that another leader has acted inappropriately, they will act to remove the offending leader from leadership. They may also instruct the leader to leave the community under the same terms as a general member.
Community Process
Any member may appeal a leader's decsion with regard to Community Standards to the whole community at the next meetup.