DrupalCon Code of Conduct (Revised Draft)

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gdemet's picture

Update November 28. 2016 - The finalized version of the DrupalCon Code of Conduct can be found in a template version at: https://www.drupal.org/node/2512690

Update July 6, 2012 - Final draft version submitted to the Drupal Association: http://groups.drupal.org/node/235308#comment-781048

Here's the revised draft of the DrupalCon Code of Conduct based on community feedback and input to the original draft. Please offer your comments, questions, and suggestions below.

In order to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to provide feedback, we'll be leaving comments open through at least 12pm (noon) Central US Time on June 11. If no significant changes are required, the finalized draft could be presented to the Drupal Association as early as June 12, but if we need to make additional changes, then the timeline will be extended as necessary to ensure that as many people as possible can participate in the process and that all voices are heard.

In addition to all of the folks who have helped with the development of the code so far and everyone who participated in the discussion online, I also want to publicly thank a few individuals who provided information and context that was particularly helpful in the development of this version of the draft: MortenDK, Paul Johnson, Jeff Eaton, Donna Benjamin, and Tiffany Farriss.

I understand that we're dealing with some difficult issues that have a very personal impact on many people; I would ask those of you participating in the discussion to please continue to keep an open mind and consider the perspectives and experiences of others. As always, if you have any comments, questions, or perspectives that you'd like to share privately, please feel free to reach out to me directly or on Twitter (@gdemet).

Thanks!


DrupalCon Code of Conduct

DrupalCon brings together people from around the world who use, develop, design, and support the Drupal platform. Many attendees at DrupalCon are newcomers evaluating both our platform and our community.

The Drupal Code of Conduct (http://drupal.org/dcoc) outlines our shared ideals and values. This document expresses how we hope to make these ideals real at our conferences and other events. Our goal is to ensure that all participants can freely and openly share ideas in a friendly, safe, and welcoming environment that encourages and inspires mutual respect and collaboration.

Come for the software, stay for the community.

Drupal would simply not exist without its community. We want all attendees at DrupalCon to have an awesome experience, both in and out of formal conference sessions.

The purpose of this document is not to restrict the diversity of ideas and expression in the Drupal community; rather, it's to raise awareness of the potential for actions that could alienate valuable members — and potential members — of the community.

Be considerate.

DrupalCon is an international event that attracts diverse people from a wide variety of ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds. We acknowledge that cross-cultural communication can often be complicated and encourage everyone to consider both the impact of their actions on those with different backgrounds and experiences and the honest intentions of those who may have unknowingly caused offense.

Be welcoming.

One of the greatest strengths of the Drupal community is our inclusiveness. Making all attendees feel welcome and included at DrupalCon is everyone’s job, including exhibitors and sponsors. If you are sponsoring DrupalCon and have questions or concerns about working with our community, please reach out to Sales & Business Development Director Megan Sanicki [contact info]

Be respectful.

Sponsors, volunteers, speakers, attendees, and other participants should strive to treat all people with dignity and respect, regardless of their culture, religion, physical appearance, disability, race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation.

Be collaborative.

If and when misunderstandings occur, we encourage people to work things out between themselves whenever possible. People are encouraged to take responsibility for their words and actions and listen to constructively-presented criticism with an open mind, courtesy, and respect.

When we disagree, we consult others.

If people are unable to work out issues between themselves, they are encouraged to seek the advice of a mutually trusted third party or a designated community volunteer [contact info] to help mediate.

When we need it, we ask for help.

We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants in any form. If you feel threatened or violated as a result of intimidating, harassing, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory or demeaning conduct, please immediately notify a conference staff member. Likewise, please immediately notify a staff member if you notice that someone else is being subjected to such behavior.

If the matter is especially urgent, please call/contact any of these individuals:
[DrupalCon Staff Member]
[DrupalCon Staff Member]
[DrupalCon Staff Member]
[Community volunteer]

The DrupalCon team wants everyone to feel safe for the duration of the conference. If necessary, conference staff are empowered to take appropriate actions that may include, but are not limited to, warnings, expulsion from the conference without refund, and referrals to venue security or local law enforcement.

We’re all in this together

Thanks for making DrupalCon awesome for everyone!

The DrupalCon Code of Conduct is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) and is available for others to use and adapt for their own events.

Comments

Perfect

redndahead's picture

I've been reading on the sidelines during these discussions and I think you have stricken the right balance in this version. Excellent work.

Asking for help

Rick Nashleanas's picture

Great work.

My question is really more pragmatic. In the discussions that you've had, do you anticipate that we need to recruit and/or assign specific people from the community for these roles? Job name and description? Think there might be a local and global role?

Rick Nashleanas
www.monarchdigital.com

That's a great question, and

gdemet's picture

That's a great question, and one I'd love to hear people's thoughts on. I would think having at least one local team volunteer would make sense (as they're going to be most attuned to local culture), but there is probably also a place for a global role that could provide continuity, and perhaps have some more formal dispute resolution experience/expertise.

One word

chx's picture

wow.

I second that :-) Great job

Isabell's picture

I second that :-) Great job with the second draft and amazing job moderating, being patient, taking it all in and coming up with this.

While I'm still digesting the

drnikki's picture

While I'm still digesting the document as a whole, I'd like to point out how great this addition is "and the honest intentions of those who may have unknowingly caused offense." I've had memorable encounters with community members who simply misspoke and didn't mean any harm. A debrief after the fact went a long way towards mending these relationships and I would have missed out on getting to know some wonderful people.

I'll second that, having

EclipseGc's picture

I'll second that, having unintentionally offended at least one member of our community at my first Drupalcon (Boston) this resonates (we worked it out), but cross cultural communication is a tricky thing sometimes and this is a welcome addition.

The document as a whole feels very measured and well stated. I have zero problems supporting this in its current form.

Eclipse

Very good

pjcdawkins's picture

Very good

Wow! This is a great

kreynen's picture

Wow! This is a great re-write!

As a note to everyone asking for my mom's contact information... my mom was NOT actually at DrupalCON CPH, but I would feel comfortable inviting her to the next con/camp using this version of the CoC and I don't see any reason why we couldn't both enjoy it.

HUGE thanks @gdemet and everyone else who contributed!

I like it a lot more than the

forgenator's picture

I like it a lot more than the previous. I just have one gripe, hopefully nobody will shoot me because of this :)

It's a bit too long still in my opinion :) Would it be possible to shorten it to something like, from 8 points to something like 4-5 ? This is only the nuances and i'm really happy how it came out. So just a thought for now :)

A work of art is done when

emmajane's picture

A work of art is done when there is nothing left to add or take away. What do you propose taking away?

I don't want to take anything

forgenator's picture

I don't want to take anything literally away, I just think it would be nice if we could combine some parts. I know it might not be possible but something like;

Come for the software, stay for the community.
Be welcoming.
Be considerate + Be respectfull.
Be collaborative + And if you disagree we work on it together
When we need it, we ask for help

I have no idea if that would screw up the logic. But it would make it a bit more manageable maybe and help if we want to write it into a pamflet for future drupalcons?

I like this idea. It could

RobW's picture

I like this idea. It could move it towards being more digestible and create a better overall narrative.

Aside from laying out guidelines, a big part of this document's job is creating the feeling of inclusiveness and safety in anyone who reads it. I think one of the better ways to accomplish this is to create a strong narrative -- not just presenting an outline of the the what, why, and how, problems and solutions, but leading a reader through them, giving them agency by including them in the language ("we" as in "all of us", instead of "we" as in "the organizers"), and helping them feel in control when they come out the other side.

This could be a good small revision

laura s's picture

...leading a reader through them, giving them agency by including them in the language ("we" as in "all of us", instead of "we" as in "the organizers")...

The "we" in the current document is a bit fuzzy. I'm not sure if a preamble including "We, the members of the Drupal Community..." would be too ponderous ... or American-sounding ... but it would be nice to position this as a document of mutual consensus and consent, as opposed to a a document of acceding to rules established by those "we" folks.

Laura Scott
PINGV | Strategy • Design • Drupal Development

Nice job, congratulations! :)

omissis's picture

Nice job, congratulations! :)

sweet

mortendk's picture

Thanx George - for listening to the concerns and taking the time to be middle man in these highwaters, between 200 hot heads screaming their loungs out.

Im plesently surprised - I was a bit afraid that the first version would be steamrolled through - you proved me wrong :)
I simply love that were are accepting that people are gonna screw up (yes i try not to write the f word, cause that is how i speak, i try not to though ;) But its not necessarily meant because your evil, dumb or wanna cause harm ...."and the honest intentions of those who may have unknowingly caused offense"
- That is a rule we should all have in the back of our mind.

Discussions like this is actually why people like me (frontend design loving white men from copenhagen) loves this community :)

/morten.dk king of rock
morten.dk | geek Royale

Thanks

Robert Castelo's picture

Agreed, thanks George and all involved for the time, enthusiasm, and patience it's taken to manage the process of getting this done right!

Really happy to see the

ashedryden's picture

Really happy to see the positive responses to the revised draft. Thanks to everyone who voiced their concerns and opinions and everyone who helped us make this a possibility <3

Lots of respect and

AmyStephen's picture

Lots of respect and appreciation for your work, too. Well done; huge step forward. =)

Much improved

mikl's picture

Great job, George and the others. Creating a something that we can all get behind is no mean feat :)

Spot on

adamelleston's picture

Really good job with this version.

Great balance between rules, advice and people using common sense.

Well summed up in the headings as well with a nice tone

Great work!

Very positive document

woeldiche's picture

This reads as a very different and much more positive code to me. One that you can be proud to support, not fearful of offending and also designed in a way to counteract the fear of a slippery slope.

If the code still satisfy the need that it became apparent that group of people perceive, then it is a great document. This process however painful actually manage to give me back a bit of my confidence in the community.

Good work to George and the others.

// Jesper Wøldiche

Love it

rachel_norfolk's picture

That is a really fab #coc - a set of values rather than a set of laws. I love it!

Thank you for the effort you and others have put into this - it can't have been easy over the last few days!

Rachel

I concur (approve). It gives

Nick_vh's picture

I concur (approve).

It gives the right vibe when reading it. Is this going to be in the Drupalcon booklet? Or how will this be spread?

In the booklet and on each

jyee's picture

In the booklet and on each con's website should be required, but it would also be nice if the DCoC was included or linked to at some point in the registration process. That way registrants are aware of it prior to attending.

This draft really works well.

dkinzer's picture

This draft really works well. I'm for it.

I almost cried whilst reading

seutje's picture

I almost cried whilst reading that.
In risk of offending anyone that worked a lot on the previous draft, this one is infinitely better.

It was the same folks who put

gdemet's picture

It was the same folks who put together both drafts. As I mentioned on Twitter, it's very important to me that we get this right, even if it means extra time and effort. If having a code of conduct makes good people feel uncomfortable, we're doing it wrong.

plusplus

bertboerland's picture

I was a hard ride, as a community we lost some love along the way, but this document is something most people including me seem to like. thanks for this rewrite!

--

bert boerland

Awesome

wizonesolutions's picture

I was hoping to see a "benefit of the doubt"-style line in the revised version, and you it did not disappoint! When I read the KDE Community Code of Conduct http://www.kde.org/code-of-conduct/, I really liked the line they had/have under the Be Respectful section: "In a disagreement, in the first instance assume that people mean well."

To me, that's the most important aspect of cross-cultural communication, and you guys nailed it. You referenced their CoC, didn't you? ;)

WizOne Solutions - https://wizone.solutions - Drupal module development, theme implementation, and more
FillPDF Service - https://fillpdf.io - Hosted solution for FillPDF

Others in the group may have

gdemet's picture

Others in the group may have referenced it, but I personally didn't look at KDE's community code, as it's not specific to events.

I think that's a perfect way

RobW's picture

I think that's a perfect way to say it. A little more direct and positive than the current wording.

Direct, positive and simplify

Chris Johnson's picture

Agree with RobW.

The intent and meaning of the entire DCOC is fine as written. Understanding it, however, has the following caveats.

It may only be completely clear to someone who is:

(1) a native American English speaker,
(2) experienced in open source communities,
(3) wise in interacting with people from other cultures and languages.

That may be too a high a bar. (a perhaps unclear idiom to non-native speakers, for example!)

First, I'd recommend editing the DCOC to use the clearest, most succinct and simplest language possible. That means good writing in general. I'm not saying the writing is bad writing, but rather note that "quality of writing" is a broad, continuous scale. I believe the importance of this document and the scope of its audience makes efforts to improve writing quality very worth while.

Secondly, keep in mind the broad cultural backgrounds of numerous people for whom American English is a second language. If you've ever tried to learn a foreign language, you know simple, declarative sentences are easier to translate and understand -- compared to more complex grammatical constructions or those containing idioms. Thus, strive for such simple, unambiguous sentences.

This is why I agree with RobW's remark. The sentence (and paragraph) containing the point about "best intentions" is less simple, direct and clear to non-native speakers than it could be.

Yes, it's true that such a simplified result may sound a bit like a child's beginning reading book to sophisticated native speakers. Striking a balance is hard; good writing does take some effort and skill. But I think the results will definitely be worth it.

Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style" is among your friends. :-)

Can you clarify what you mean

gdemet's picture

Can you clarify what you mean when you say the document may only be clear to American English speakers? We had both British and Australian English speakers working on the draft, and it was also reviewed by non-native English speakers. We also deliberately avoided idiomatic expressions.

If you are seeing anything specific that you or others can identify as uniquely "American", please let us know.

I think it's overall very

RobW's picture

I think it's overall very good, with just a hint of academic-ness. Some stuffy language (rather), a lot of multisyllabic words in close proximity, some more complex sentence structure.

Good with me

chx's picture

I understood it -- and I certainly had quite grave misunderstandings in the previous threat...

George, to be honest, I think

Chris Johnson's picture

George, to be honest, I think it was just the way it sounded "to my ears" and the use of American spellings

I just wanted to err on the side of caution, and not personally assume that I know that all native (or even non-native) speakers of British, Australian, Indian, New Zealand, Canadian (etc!) English would read it as clearly.

The only examples of things which sound American I can point to are: "an awesome experience" and "reach out" (an awful business phrase that ought to be killed dead anyway).

So, yes, you all did a very good job of avoiding uniquely American style and idiom.

However, the FOG factor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunning_fog_index) is too high -- as described in a similar fashion by others, e.g. RobW. Active voice, shorter sentences, fewer multisyllabic words adjacent to each other, etc. would all help the readability. I'm looking for sentence and paragraph structure that is clear and succinct both to native speakers and non-native speakers. I acknowledge this a difficult task.

Let's see if I can give an example:

"DrupalCon is an international event that attracts diverse people from a wide variety of ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds. We acknowledge that cross-cultural communication can often be complicated and encourage everyone to consider both the impact of their actions on those with different backgrounds and experiences and the honest intentions of those who may have unknowingly caused offense."

Rewrite it as perhaps:

"DrupalCon is an international event. It attracts people from a wide variety of ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds. We acknowledge cross-cultural communication can be complicated. For this reason, we encourage everyone to consider the effect of their actions. Assume people mean well, before feeling offended by someone's behavior or disagreement."

Much better!

HaloFX's picture

Reflects the positive, open nature of the community, with a more uplifting tone.

Echoing forgenator, only criticism is it still just seems a little long. Only in words, not in meaning. Makes my wonder about delivery method. Smaller it is, the easier to deliver and ensure consumption. Specially if delivered in print, the shorter it is the more economical it is to deliver as well.

Good.

bangpound's picture

Thank you George for your careful and thorough work on this. These are values I can easily identify with, and I hope others feel the same way.

Bravo!

Jacine's picture

Much, much, better.

Excellent job!

Dries's picture

Much better! Excellent job.

Consensus...

Alex UA's picture

achieved!

I agree that this is much better, and agree the benefit of the doubt passage is a great addition.

Alex Urevick-Ackelsberg
ZivTech: Illuminating Technology

Very nice job! A few minor

RobW's picture

Very nice job! A few minor suggestions:

I agree it could be shorter.

Pushing the voice even more personal/ conversational would be nice too. For example:

The purpose of this document is not to restrict the diversity of ideas and expression in the Drupal community; rather, it's to raise awareness of the potential for actions that could alienate valuable members — and potential members — of the community.

Could be:

The Code of Conduct isn't here to restrict the diversity of ideas and expression in the Drupal Community. Instead, it helps us be aware that some actions can alienate members and potential members of the community, and gives us a safe way to address issues when they happen.

...Hmm, ok, I added some things so it's not really shorter. Less formal though, maybe you get the idea.

I like the suggestion in the last thread that a basic or abridged CoC should fit on the back of a ticket, maybe outlining key expectations, what to do if you have a problem, and what to do if you don't feel safe; a kind of quick reference card.

Focus on inclusiveness instead of respectfulness.

Be respectful.

Sponsors, volunteers, speakers, attendees, and other participants should strive to treat all people with dignity and respect, regardless of their culture, religion, physical appearance, disability, race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation.

I think we can do one better than respectful -- let's strive for inclusive. Being respectful is passive and involves mostly avoiding direct offense. A person can be outwardly respectful while telling me that I don't belong here and should probably go back to where I came from. Being inclusive is active, and involves welcoming and pulling diverse people into your circle. That seems like what we're all pushing for here.

Once again, thanks for listening, working through the controversy, and putting this together. Great job so far.

Shorter + informal

Robert Castelo's picture

Yep, agree with @RobW that it would be more effective if we can make it shorter and make the tone more informal/personal.

Will have a think about how we can do that.

Shorter, in addition to....

laura s's picture

I like the suggestion in the last thread that a basic or abridged CoC should fit on the back of a ticket, maybe outlining key expectations, what to do if you have a problem, and what to do if you don't feel safe; a kind of quick reference card.

I like this idea, too. However, I believe such brevity would lose some of the context set in the current language. Perhaps it could be a parallel thumbnail version, with a QR code URL linking to the full code?

Laura Scott
PINGV | Strategy • Design • Drupal Development

I like this suggestion, and

gdemet's picture

I like this suggestion, and agree that we should have a "short version" that focuses on how folks can get immediate assistance if they need it.

Great guideline

emptyvoid's picture

Great job!

So essentially you are saying, "Be excellent to each other".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVXGC896Jdw

:)

Robert Foley Jr
Solutions Architect
http://www.robertfoleyjr.com

Excellent!

mjohnq3's picture

Thoroughly practical and based on common sense.

Love it

rootwork's picture

There are words here and there that could be massaged as those above have proposed, but 98% of what here is perfect, and in the spirit of the emerging consensus I'd like to support it 100%!

Thanks for all your hard work on this.

The headings are seriously inconsistent

LeeHunter's picture

Overall it's great but I wonder why the headings make a big shift in voice halfway through. In the beginning it's all commands, as if they are orders being given by an authority figure: "be respectful", "be collaborative" etc and in the second half, it shifts to a more descriptive tone "when we disagree, we consult others", "we're all in this together".

I find the tone of the second set of headings far more appealing. Could the first set be reworked as "We come for the software, we stay for the community". "We are considerate", "We are welcoming" etc. I'd also take out the "should" in sentences like "sponsors, exhibitors ... should strive".

If those changes could be made I'd also suggest changing the name from "Code of Conduct" to something like "Statement of Values" which again would give it a less of a prescriptive, authoritarian tone.

The headings come directly

gdemet's picture

The headings come directly from the existing drupal.org community Code of Conduct (http://drupal.org/dcoc), which also serves as our "statement of values".

This document is intended to illustrate how put those ideals into place at our conferences and other events.

I'd like to fix both documents

LeeHunter's picture

I've made a comment on the dcoc page to propose that those changes happen there too. http://groups.drupal.org/dcoc#comment-766993 This is actually a bit of a bug in the wording that needs to be fixed in both places..

I agree that's a problem.

RobW's picture

I agree that's a problem. Even if they come from another doc, no reason not to fix them here.

Amazing

bleen's picture

I've been lurking in the wings during this debate because I frankly wasn't sure about my own opinion. I read every single post on the previous thread (by the way, there is a great sociology paper in there somewhere...) and I did not think a document could be drafted that would satisfy both the most passionate and the most pragmatic opinions being expressed. I'm stunned at how wrong I was.

This is an utterly positive document and it walks an incredibly fine line with grace and with absolute respect for the community. Ya know... kinda like it says we should be acting. I can't express how impressed I am.

And George, I've never seen a more skillful example of cat-herding. Take a well-deserved bow...

Overall very nice. Excellent

laura s's picture

Overall very nice. Excellent work!

Laura Scott
PINGV | Strategy • Design • Drupal Development

A new culture that crosses all the others!

DevElCuy's picture

Drupal community has its own culture that welcomes everybody, so this Code of Conduct is an expression of that culture. Can't wait to see the final version :)

--
[develCuy](http://steemit.com/@develcuy) on steemit

Nice work -- Intent is a great addition

chrisstrahl's picture

I think this is much improved, and I'm glad that the language about honest intentions made the cut.

Nice work!

Don't you just love this community?

BarisW's picture

I've spent an hour this morning to read all comments on the previous draft and I was one of those being very sad that a document like this would be enforced on us non-americans. It's great that after a long but good debate, we seem to end up with a short and positive document which we all can be proud of. And best; people like seutje, woeldiche, chx, jacine, morton: are all back on board and positive!

Looking forward again to the coming DrupalCon.

Great work George. Hats off for being so thoughtful and patient.

Kind regards, Baris Wanschers

Will non-native speakers understand?

marcvangend's picture

I think this version is well written and positive, so thanks for the hard work that has gone into this.

That said, I wonder if all DrupalCon attendees will be able to digest and fully understand the text. For some people in the community, English is a difficult foreign language. There are some long sentences (eg. "We acknowledge that [...] unknowingly caused offense.") that I, as a non-native English speaker, needed to read twice in order to really understand them. Many people hardly read once, and certainly not twice.

It's hard to estimate how many DrupalCon attendees will have difficulties reading this Code of Conduct, and how many will not even start reading a text this long, but I'm sure they exist. I would like us to think about ways to get the message across to those people. Some ideas:
- Split long sentences into shorter ones
- Replace difficult words with simpler synonyms
- Write a concise version
- Translate

Any thoughts?

This revision is great.

lisarex's picture

Any non-native English speakers have problems understanding the CoC the way it's currently written? Speak up now! :)

Agree that in general, all writing for the web should have simple, plain language and concise wording.

Having translations available in predominate non-English languages seems like a good idea.

==================================
http://about.me/lisarex

Simplify, then translate

wizonesolutions's picture

I think we can rephrase things more clearly and less repetitively. Beyond that, we should translate it. It will lose some of the tone that makes it so appealing if we rewrite it too much.

WizOne Solutions - https://wizone.solutions - Drupal module development, theme implementation, and more
FillPDF Service - https://fillpdf.io - Hosted solution for FillPDF

We recently had a

kreynen's picture

We recently had a conversation about translating documentation on D.O. at http://groups.drupal.org/node/233048. Right now, there are no plans to host translated nodes or any type of translation workflow on Drupal.org. I don't know if @gdemet intended/hope the Creative Commons license on the CoC to be used this way, but I went ahead and started translating it here http://drupalcon.codeofconduct.cc/. I'm just using Google Translate and since I'm not fluent, I really have no idea how well this is translated.

This is just a proof of concept site at this point. Once it's finalized, there's really no reason the community can't manage the process of translating the DrupalCon CoC itself using localize.drupal.org.

I'd actually like to take translations a bit further though and do something like the community audio book created for Lawrence Lessig's Free Culture (http://www.turnstyle.org/FreeCulture/). Instead of just audio, I'd like to use video to show the diverse faces of the Drupal community.

The process will be simple. Just pick part of the CoC to read/translate, record yourself in your native language, upload the file to YouTube, submit the url to http://drupalcon.codeofconduct.cc/ with the section you've recorded. With enough videos, we can randomize the playlist picking one video for each section so the CoC video would be different each time you load it.

I'm hoping to get a mix of people from different parts of the world shooting with backgrounds that show where they are as well as illustrate the diverse culture, religion, physical appearance, disability, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation that makes the Drupal community so great.

.

waako's picture

.

How to contribute

waako's picture

Nice idea, only thing I would ask is, on the site it doesn't give any information on how to contribute to translation of this document!
So not sure how to add do the brilliant beginning

I don't think we should start

kreynen's picture

I don't think we should start translating until the final language is approved, nor do I think the process I used on http://drupalcon.codeofconduct.cc/ is the right way to do it. I just created a few translated nodes. I was throwing something up to show how it could be done and to highlight that by using the CC license, @gdemet was pre-permissioning the CoC for this type of community mashup/remix. I really don't have time/interest in trying to decide between user contributed versions of translations for languages I don't understand, but I've started http://drupal.org/project/drupalcon_coc so we can leverage the structure that's already in place at http://localize.drupal.org/.

If anyone wants to help "modularize" the CoC and document the process for translating it, let me know.

If any Drupal.org document is

Chris Johnson's picture

If any Drupal.org document is translated, the DCOC or some other similar statement of Drupal Community Principles should be the first.

Floored!

brian_c's picture

I am absolutely amazed that you took a document that generated so much controversy and heated debate many wondered if it was even POSSIBLE to get something everyone agreed on, and then proceeded to do exactly that with the very next revision. An incredible job, major kudos!

I think the shift in tone from "negative & restrictive" to "positive & encouraging" makes a world of difference.

Excellent!! Bravo.

techgirlgeek's picture

Excellent!! Bravo.

And in the midst of this, a

drnikki's picture

And in the midst of this, a celebrity made a well-intentioned joke that offended people. I think this is a thoughtful and well-considered apology and it would be good for organizers dealing with divisive situations to have examples of how others have amended the situation they may have caused. A lot of times the offenders want to make it right and don't understand the best way to do that. I'm not claiming this is a gold standard, but it's pretty darn good.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpmoore/jason-alexander-calls-cricket-a-gay-spor...

This might be more appropriate for a separate discussion later re: a toolbox for enforcers of the CoC

Curious...

kappaluppa's picture

It says the staff is empowered to take action... Are any and all staff members free to make this decision at any time, on their own? Are there warnings/notifications, or one breach and you are out, can they be contested? When is the agreement made to abide by this code? Is attendance at a con dependent on agreement to this?

Thanks for all your work, everyone...
K

Guidelines for organizers

woeldiche's picture

I think it would be natural for the Drupalcon team to have a set of written, public guidelines to adhere to - as for almost any larger event with more than one person making decisions.

I would assume such a document already exists, otherwise I would be happy to help draft it. It think that is the place to keep the practical, boring but (in the spirit of the BBC) important details about how to handle warnings, expulsions, appeals and so on.

I don't think any such document would take away from the positive aspect of the Drupalcon Code of Conduct, and keeping it in a separate document helps keep the #dcoc brief.

I was really happy to see, that the revised draft moved any mention of expulsion or consequences into the paragraph about harassment, abuse and threatening behavior, thus making the punishment and the offence match instead of - as it unintentionally was before - mentioned in general next to bullets about swearing :-)

// Jesper Wøldiche

There should be some internal

gdemet's picture

There should be some internal guidelines for staff and organizers to use in these situations, but every situation is going to be different, so there shouldn't be a set of hard and fast rules; staff need the flexibility to be able to use their judgment and discretion. Expulsion should be reserved for only the most serious situations; I would hope that most issues could be resolved with a warning or request to desist.

I especially like this

gargsuchi's picture

I especially like this one
"Come for the software, stay for the community." IMO - this is and will always remain the core of Drupal.

maybe a short note should be

batigolix's picture

maybe a short note should be added to credit the Ubuntu community for inspiring this code
http://www.ubuntu.com/project/about-ubuntu/conduct

We already credit the Ubuntu

gdemet's picture

We already credit the Ubuntu community as part of our community code (http://www.drupal.org/dcoc); in the interest of brevity, we chose not to repeat that language for the conference code.

Great!

ifrik's picture

I love the fact that this CoC describes what kind of community and meetings.
That way any future (re)actions can be tested against those ideals, instead of having to deal with arguments whether any behaviour that is not explicitly forbidden is allowed.
And I love the fact that the headers give a short summary that can fit into any booklet or any registration form.

Site builder and Documentation WG member

Fantastic

alarcombe's picture

This draft is clear and concise - thanks for listening to the feedback!

Thank you!

jojototh's picture

Thanks to everyone involved! This document really is describing the nature of the Drupal community. Welcoming, including and positive!

Once again - great work!

twitter: @jojototh
drupal.org user: mogdesign
CEO http://mogdesign.eu

You should be proud

jurgenhaas's picture

This is really great. I mean the rewritten CoC is a big step forward but what's at least as good is the whole process that happened over the last few days. There has been a heated but always valued discussion about a very important topic and everyone involved has their contribution to the result. I'm not sure if I had seen any community effort recently that came close to this. Glad to be part of it.

Pura Vida!

renattissimo's picture

Clear, to the point! Great work!. We appreciate it!

Pablo Aviles

Co-founder | CTO.
4Koodi, CRC
Site: http://4Koodi.com
blog: http://paviles.net

What a transformation. Thank you!

horncologne's picture

Another example of why our community is strong: we work this stuff out!

Thanks, everyone!

Initial Discussion

Robert Castelo's picture

@gdemet could you add a link to the initial discussion on this in case people want to read through the thinking that went into this document.

Good idea

gdemet's picture

I added a link to http://groups.drupal.org/node/232633 in the first sentence of the post.

Responsibility to not be offended

Chris Johnson's picture

The one minor tweak I'd make to the policy is to place more emphasis on the need to take responsibility for oneself in NOT being offended. This may sound like blaming the victim, but it's not. instead, it acknowledges two facts.

First and foremost is that any DrupalCon's primary purpose is to share knowledge and build community, and not to serve as any kind of platform for any kind of bias or further any traditional cultural, religious, etc. beliefs. By attending I believe you are agreeing that you will be MORE tolerant of people different from you.

Which leads to the second fact. There is no way such a large, diverse group can formulate rules which will prevent anyone from ever being offended. This is really just another way of saying that there is a very large variation in cultural, religious, etc. beliefs in the world, and some beliefs are in opposition to others.

I hear what you're saying,

RobW's picture

I hear what you're saying, but I disagree. I don't think emphasizing a burden of not being offended on the attendee helps to solve the problems a CoC is meant to address.

A good conflict resolution policy lowers the barrier to discussion of anything that makes someone feel uncomfortable or excluded. It should help a person feel safe and empowered, and tell them that talking to another attendee or presenter about an issue they have is normal, community supported, no big thing. They should feel comfortable walking up right after a presentation and saying hi, and expect an open reception and an eagerness to learn from the other party. Too much emphasis on not being offended creates the perception that you're expected to just deal with little offenses (and what is a little offense? that's different for everybody), which prevents issues from being addressed early when they're small, and lets them grow and fester until they reach a critical mass where people feel like they have to speak out.

The current draft doesn't actually say offense. I think what we're working towards preventing is exclusion. I want to include men and women, people of all sexual and gender preferences, of all ethnic backgrounds and beliefs. I don't want to only make sure they're not offended, I want them to be included as equals in Drupal events and the community as a whole.

I think the CoC is not asking people to specifically avoid offense, it's asking people to act in a way that is inclusive. People may rally against self censorship (as we saw in the previous thread), but who can rally against inclusiveness?

[edited for readability after the caffeine kicked in]

Agree

Chris Johnson's picture

Good points, and I agree with you. I did not mean to place the burden of not being offended on the attendee. I was more thinking that if attendees at least made some effort to think "oh, maybe I misunderstand that person's meaning or intention" before assuming the worst. But that's more part of the discussion and resolution, rather than the empowerment and inclusiveness, which comes first.

I guess I've seen too many disasters precipitated by someone assuming the worst, and exploding, before simply asking "did you really mean X?"

much better

JurriaanRoelofs's picture

I didn't even want to comment on the previous one because I felt so "excluded" by the harsh tone of the document that I was afraid to offend someone by expressing how I felt.
This doc is much more sensible and positive IMHO.

Excellent

Kevin P Davison's picture

I wasn't aware of this draft until reading The Weekly Drop today, and this is excellent. I'm glad this is being written. I know a lot of work has gone into this already, and the only suggestion I'd have have at this point is to change the order of "Be welcoming" to come before "Be considerate." As I would read it this way, the topics of being considerate and respectful follow a friendly, welcoming progression. Nice work!

Kevin Davison, Web Development Manager

I am totally late on reading

nomonstersinme's picture

I am totally late on reading this but I think its really great! Kudos on listening to everyone's input!

Final draft submitted

gdemet's picture

Hi Everyone -

I just wanted to let you all know that the final draft version has now been submitted to the Drupal Association's Executive Committee, who will decide if, when, and how the code of conduct is adopted.

The final draft is virtually identical to the revised draft posted above; the only alteration was to change several of the headers to read "We are..." instead of "Be...", which makes the language of the document more welcoming and consistent.

Based on the feedback in the comments above, we also provided a "short version" of the code intended for use in the conference booklet and other locations where publishing the full code would not be practical:

DrupalCon is an event where all participants can freely and openly share ideas in a friendly, safe, and welcoming environment that encourages and inspires mutual respect and collaboration. Attendees, speakers, sponsors, volunteers, and others should treat all conference participants with dignity and respect.

Misunderstandings sometimes do occur, and people should work things out between themselves in a courteous and respectful manner whenever possible. Otherwise, seek the advice of a mutually trusted third party or a designated community volunteer [Contact information].

Harassment of conference participants is not tolerated in any form. If you feel threatened or violated as a result of intimidating, harassing, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory or demeaning conduct, please immediately notify a conference staff member [Contact information].

For more information, please consult the full DrupalCon Code of Conduct at [URL]

This version should also be easier to translate into other languages if desired.

Thanks to everyone for all their comments, feedback, and support during this process!

people will hate me for saying this

bertboerland's picture

hi

Really like the latest version and disliked the first version. I do think that you and your team have done a great job in communicating, listening and following up in actions. Seldom seen

However, wrt
"I just wanted to let you all know that the final draft version has now been submitted to the Drupal Association's Executive Committee, who will decide if, when, and how the code of conduct is adopted."

Could you explain to me what the DA has to say about the DCOC, what is their jurisdiction on this code being content on d.o and why one should submit it in the first place toward the DA?

--

bert boerland

It's very simple

gdemet's picture

As written, the code is intended for use at DrupalCon, and the Drupal Association organizes and runs DrupalCon, so they'd be the ones responsible for implementing it at those events.

If other folks want to adopt this code (or a modified version of it) for use at non-Drupal Association-organized events, that's totally cool too; that's why it's available under a Creative Commons license.

thanks

bertboerland's picture

I was under the impression that this dcoc was bigger then drupacon.

In might be bigger rin due time (local caps adopting this code for example, would welcome that) but thought

so thanks for the work and this feedback. this case closed.

--

bert boerland

DrupalCon Code of Conduct Approved!

gdemet's picture

I'm happy to report that at today's Drupal Association board meeting, the finalized draft of the DrupalCon Code of Conduct was approved by unanimous consent!

Link to the final page!

geek-merlin's picture

Searching "drupalcon code of conduct" shows this page on top, @gdemet, it might be useful to set the link to the final version on top of the page:

https://www.drupal.org/node/2512690

Thanks!

gdemet's picture

I've made this update and also added the "short version" to the template page.