Hi Andy, On Sat, Mar 19, 2022 at 12:36 PM Andrew M.A. Cater <amaca...@einval.com> wrote: > > We've had the Code of Conduct for about eight years now and the Community Team > for about as long. There are still significant differences about how some > people feel about them, despite the Code of Conduct having been adopted by the > Project as a whole. > > How do _you_ feel about the Code of Conduct - and the role of a Community > Team? > > More widely: where something is adopted by the Project but opposition remains > - > how would you deal with differences of opinion and attempt to reconcile > different viewpoints to consensus?
Sorry about the delayed response. I had to think about a good way to balance the parts. First off, I'll point out that you recently received a delegation to the Community Team. [1] Please accept my congratulations! Like some recent questions about legal matters here, your question may also not belong in the public realm. According to Debian custom, our disciplinary process is entirely private and generally not even open to the accused. My answer here can never be complete, but like before—feathers and all—I'll try to do my best. The Code of Conduct reads great but I disagree with how it is applied. I think it's one of those proverbial cases where "the way to h--- is paved with good intentions." My concerns revolve mostly about the Code's arbitrary and capricious enforcement, which appears to apply only to some folks and never to people in leadership positions (except for me, more below). I also think the Code should be simpler. I would prefer something like George Carlin's "Seven Words You Can't Say on TV" (warning, offensive) [2] plus maybe another dozen words or so. Personally, I dislike "wtf" a lot, but it is popular with some of my friends. Your team, however, is taking the opposite approach. You are making the Code longer and even more open-ended. Earlier today, you posted a message [3] with a link to what appears to be your team's proprietary interpretation [4] of our Code of Conduct. Did that text receive any kind of community review? To me, your "interpretation" looks too pliable to serve as a reliable basis for any disciplinary action. It is "a living document" and offers several "non-exhaustive lists." It could hardly be more clear that the rules are of your own team's making and subject to your adjustment, as needed. Ideally, I'd like to see some rules governing the conduct of the Community Team, as well. For example, I found it worrisome that you investigate members. In January of 2021, I received an unsolicited email that I perceived as fishing: "I don't know if other incidents have happened since this, but I wanted to know if everything was ok from your point of view." At the time, it seemed like the person was being considered for a delegation. The message read like a background check to me. I declined to cooperate with the investigation, and never told the affected member. The delegation went to someone else. I am also uncomfortable that you, as a Community Team member, would look to the candidates for answers. Maybe I would be your boss, but you should really seek input from the people. I plan to listen to the members. In Fremont, we hold monthly "Coffee with the Cops" events to foster trust and stronger community ties. At those events, I like to tease the Chief of Police that the library has many books on how to reach a "consent of the governed." I wish that our Community Team, too, would embrace better relationships with the public. You should especially reach out to your critics. Please appease them—or explain to me why they are crazy—and you won't have any problems with me. Despite any worries you may have, my goal is not to abolish the Debian Account Managers or to get rid of the Community Team. I would like to cure Debian of what I perceive to be a dangerous and persistent social condition. As outlined in Eckart Tolle's books (especially, the second) no task is more hazardous than to show a society its own mirror. I, too, sometimes pick the wrong words. Please help me with that. Let's make Debian a happier place together! Finally, this reply would not be complete if I did not address my own situation. By running, I ceded some rights to my privacy when I applied for the job. As potentially your sole elected representative, my own conduct is a matter of public interest, even if I do not like it. In the second half of 2021, I was censured by the Debian Account Managers (DAM) for an interaction on IRC. I do not wish to re-litigate it here or anywhere else. I also ask that no one else does, please. At the same time, I believe that voters should be free to discuss their candidate's flaws without any fear of reprisal. After careful consideration, I hereby declassify all parts of my private censure to which I could reasonably have rights, but please without violating the rights of others. (Yes, that includes my goofy letter with the video from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off.") This message is signed. In the spirit of transparency that I hope is a theme in my campaign, I included at the bottom of this message my redacted plea for mercy to the d-private list. (I received no reply.) It outlines some of my grievances with our enforcement activity. If elected, I look forward to working with you, Andy, with the Debian Account Managers, and with the Community Team to resolve those issues together. I know you all love Debian, too. The message below may also help you and everyone else find more answers to the questions you posed here. Thank you for asking about a topic that is dear to my heart! Kind regards, Felix Lechner [1] https://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2022/01/msg00000.html [1] WARNING: offensive, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_dirty_words [3] https://lists.debian.org/debian-project/2022/03/msg00081.html [4] https://www.debian.org/code_of_conduct_interpretation * * * Hi [Debian Account Manager], Throughout the process of my DAM warning and the melee that followed, no one ever asked for my side of the story. This message is intended to complete the record. You will also find a request for mercy, at your pleasure. [excerpt from violation notice omitted] From my perspective, I sent the apology at the earliest possible time. I was not contacted by anyone from DAM or the Community Team until after the warning was issued. For the time in between, I did not think the word "freak" was an insult, much less actionable by DAM. Debianites use a lot of invective, and DAM allows all of it. (Just on this list, I recently read the words d----bag, a--hole, and f--ing without any apparent consequences.) Upon realizing my error, I immediately wrote a letter to [the victim], which everyone can see below this message. I sent it the day I got the warning. Given the extraordinary leeway you enjoy when doling out warnings, I am truly terrified by the meager compassion you expend for your fellow human beings, all while holding high office. For example, you could have pointed out that my apology was most certainly a product of real contrition. After your warning, I could no longer evade punishment. The apology was a free-will offering from my heart. Similar apologies that DAM considers from people before a warning are probably not entitled to the same presumption of sincerity. Aside from a lack of due process, I do not believe I was afforded the procedural protections for non-native English speakers enshrined in the Code of Conduct's rule #2. [1] I was twenty years old when I left my native Germany and transferred to an American university (Harvard) on an academic scholarship from the German President ("Studienstiftung"). In early schooling, English was my third language. From my recollection, the word "Freak" is commonly used untranslated in German to denote someone who is overly eager, especially around computers. That meaning is marked as humorous and pejorative in Leo [2] but not in TFD. [3] Should DAM have considered my explanation before issuing the warning? Or, did it not matter because the word "freak" was simply too egregious a transgression? Was my behavior truly so vile that it deserved one of the harshest punishments available to you? How could it, compared to the other awful words we read so often on Debian channels? I did not even repeat the word "freak" during the incident, or thereafter. Is there a way DAM would please consider withdrawing the warning in light of the new information presented herein? By the way, the "over-eager" meaning is supported by the record. I thought [the victim] and a fellow member were ganging up over an old Lintian research tag that was never shown to the public (except for a description on the website [4]). There had been a similar but unrelated interaction a day prior. To make their point as forcefully as possible—as many in Debian like to do—the other [redacted] later filed a release-critical bug (wow!) against Lintian. [5] Again, I resolved the matter on the same day. Please allow me to briefly thank everyone who sent friendly private messages during the past month. I received many dozens, but with my dream of working on Debian in the balance I was too shy to reply. [The victim] also never responded to my apology. I hope that one day [pronoun] will forgive me. We had a brief exchange on IRC a few days ago. Perhaps it was a start. Thanks to everyone for indulging one more email on this subject. Debian is like a dream! Kind regards Felix Lechner [1] https://www.debian.org/code_of_conduct [2] https://dict.leo.org/german-english/freak [3] https://www.thefreedictionary.com/freak [4] [redacted for privacy] [5] [redacted for privacy] ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Felix Lechner <felix.lech...@lease-up.com> Subject: An apology Hi [victim's first name], As I am sure you saw, DAM issued a disciplinary action today in connection with our exchange on IRC a week ago. Their letter did not prohibit me from writing. and you helped me on #[redacted] yesterday. (Thank you!) With this letter I hope to reach a gentle reconciliation so we can interact and perhaps help each other again in the future. First of all, please accept my apologies for calling you a freak. Aside from my poor choice of words, it is also not what I meant. The primary meaning of the word is a kind of monster or other aberrant creature, and that is not you. I pondered a few approaches to explain myself, but all of them would detract from the purpose of this message, which is to make peace with you. I almost did not write and hope this letter was not too much of a burden to you. Please forgive me. Thank you for everything you do for Debian! Kind regards Felix Lechner
signature.asc
Description: PGP signature
