We _were_ attempting to finalize a Code of Conduct which could be provided
to speakers, in the hope of avoiding future instances of the sort of
"harmless fun" we experienced during Mr. Stallman's keynote at the Gran
Canaria Desktop Summit, as I recall.
What happened there is that some people misunderstood a joke in my
speech, and others mistakenly accused me of intentionally disparaging
people.
Rules of conduct can't prevent misunderstandings, but they can help us
deal with them better. If those who accused me had followed the draft
Code of Conduct (http://live.gnome.org/CodeOfConduct), particularly
this rule
Disagreement is no excuse for poor behaviour or personal
attacks. Remember that a community where people feel uncomfortable
is not a productive one.
and this one
If something seems outrageous, check that you did not misinterpret
it. Ask for clarification, but do not assume the worst.
they might have responded differently to the misunderstanding,
and things would have been over very quickly.
All the points in the draft Code of Conduct seem good to me.
_______________________________________________
foundation-list mailing list
foundation-list@gnome.org
http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-list
