[Linux-aus] Linux Australia Code of Conduct

[Brent Wallis]

Hi,

On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 2:12 PM, Russell Coker <russell at coker.com.au> wrote:

> On Tue, 29 Nov 2011, Brent Wallis <brent.wallis at gmail.com> wrote:
> > But does not any conference in Australia have to adhere to their state/NZ
> > equivalent of Worksafe (as is called in VIC)?
> >
> > If so, then would not the framework associated with such institutions be
> > sufficient?
>
> Presumably conferences such as "Sexpo" comply with all relevant worksafe
> laws.
> But the consensus of opinion is that we don't want LCA to be like Sexpo
> (even
> though it would be quite legal to do so provided that children were
> excluded).
>
> Touche...
But surely a G rating would cover this?


> So it seems quite clear that the minimum standards of workplace
> legislation do
> not address the issues that are being addressed by the CoC.
>

Not so sure on that one.
Based on the discussions so far, I would say that just about all situations
would be covered by Worksafe and a G rating.
Is there a specific example that wouldn't?



>
> > Rules concerning bullying and discrimination are already there.
> > What's more, these rules are backed up by real laws with real bite should
> > the need arise.
>
> Of course there is nothing stopping someone from making complaints to the
> police about criminal behavior.  In fact the CoC indicates that the
> conference
> organisers will assist in filing a police report if appropriate.
>
> One thing to note is that criminal cases take a long time to process and
> for
> sexual offenses the probability of getting a conviction is extremely low.
>

Via Worksafe, the process is very rapid.

When the conference organisers deal with the issue they can do so rapidly
> and
> not be subject to a misogynist judge who thinks that the victim deserved
> it.
>
>
Conference organisers could still act immediately.
The law and consequences would come later.

Surely we are not qualified to make judgements on what could or could not
happen in a court of law?

> IMHO the conference (any conference) is a place of work, and individual
> > behaviour should adhere to the same rules as any place of work.
> >
> > Would that not cover what is needed?
>
> Every company that I have worked for has had some sort of CoC that
> significantly exceeded the legal requirements.  It may not have been
> printed
> but everyone has a good idea of what is acceptable.
>
> One could argue that what you talk about here is company culture, not a
code.
The code provides the framework for a culture to develop.

Why should LCA be different from all the other workplaces which have rules
> that are more strict than legally required?
>
>
No need to be.
There is nothing I can find in the current proposals that would not be
covered by:
A G rating.
and
Adherence to the relevant Worksafe laws.

My suggestions here are about "leveraging" protections and laws that are
already in place to achieve the required outcome.
A form of code re-use if you will.

BW
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