[Linux-aus] Linux Australia Code of Conduct - revised draft

Simon Lyall simon at darkmere.gen.nz
Sat Nov 26 09:26:26 EST 2011


"Harassment includes" has "disability" while "Discriminatory behaviour 
includes" has "ability". I'd suggest "disability" since "ability" could 
mean something else.

In "unwarranted exclusion" the "or other attributes" seems a little 
broad. There are a number of events at LCA that are explicitly or 
implicitly limited to certain groups of people. The last thing we need is 
100 post arguments over when these terms applied.

"making unjustified assumptions about attendees" makes the unjustified 
assumption that I know what the hell the sentence means. I'm guessing 
something to do with everybody being 'dateless, 20yo, male, white, 
heterosexual, nerds' but perhaps it could be more explicit.

"all communication should be appropriate" - does that mean I shouldn't use 
rude words when talking to somebody else? Perhaps remove that whole 
paragraph since it is redundant.

"Linux Australia Event staff" , I think that "Event" doesn't need to be 
capitalised.

If somebody is only an "alleged offender" offender why are the measures 
being taken against them? Surely they should have graduated to just plain 
"offender" since the allegations are now determined to be true?


On Sat, 26 Nov 2011, Alice Boxhall wrote:
> I agree, it is a little bit of a "wall of text" as a text-only document. Our
> intention is for it to be primarily read as formatted text, so I have added
> a draft to the website to give a better idea of how it will look once
> published: http://linux.org.au/draft-linux-australia-code-conduct
> We deliberately tried to be specific and clear about what is expected of
> attendees, and what is and is not considered acceptable. To be honest, I
> think anything with the words "Code of Conduct" or similar at the top will
> at best be skim read by most people, no matter the length, so we have tried
> to design the document so that the general gist can be taken in at a glance,
> and the text is clear and specific on a full reading.
> 
> Any further feedback on the format, and/or the contents of the Code, would
> be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Alice
> 
> On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 5:45 PM, David Lloyd <lloy0076 at adam.com.au> wrote:
>
>       It could be a layout issue and there is nothing stoping Linux
>       Australia from producing the setr (rtm) version.
>
>       DSL
>
>       [short enough to read[
>
>       On 25/11/2011, at 3:51 PM, Silvia Pfeiffer wrote:
>
>       > Actually, I disagree.
>       >
>       > I have a tl:dr approach to such things but the explicit
>       listing of
>       > good and bad actions and of consequences made it really easy
>       to have a
>       > quick check of what is expected of me and what I may get
>       threatened
>       > with.
>       >
>       > I admit, I would not read the paragraphs in between the lists
>       unless I
>       > am in a concrete situation, but it seems to me easy enough to
>       read as
>       > it is.
>       >
>       > Cheers,
>       > Silvia.
>       >
>       > On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 3:58 PM, Donna Benjamin
>       <donna at cc.com.au> wrote:
>       >>
>       >> It's really important we have a code like this... but I feel
>       this is too
>       >> long, and too specific.  We need a short, grokkable version -
>       perhaps it
>       >> refers to this full length version... but as it stands it
>       will suffer
>       >> from tl:dr
>       >>
>       >> I strongly advise seeking guidance from Susanne Ruthven
>       before this
>       >> document is finalised.
>       >>
>       >> On Fri, 2011-11-25 at 11:55 +1100, Alice Boxhall wrote:
>       >>> Greetings,
>       >>>
>       >>> The council has received a lot of excellent feedback for the
>       initial
>       >>> draft for a Code of Conduct to cover all Linux Australia
>       events, sent
>       >>> to the linux-aus list on 13 September
> >>>(http://lists.linux.org.au/pipermail/linux-aus/2011-September/019082.html).
> .
> >>> We have tried our best to incorporate these suggestions into our
> >>> revised draft, included below.
> >>>
> >>> We hope to make this, or something very similar to it, our
> official
> >>> Code of Conduct for Linux Australia events as soon as possible.
> Thus,
> >>> we would like to ask the Linux Australia community once more for
> any
> >>> comments or suggestions on this draft, prior to our posting a
> final
> >>> version.
> >>>
> >>> Thanks,
> >>> Alice
> >>>
> >>> =====
> >>>
> >>> ## Linux Australia Code of Conduct
> >>>
> >>> Linux Australia events invite diverse groups of people -
> regardless of
> >>> age, race, gender identity or expression, background, ability,
> >>> appearance, sexuality, walk of life, or religion - to discuss and
> >>> learn about all things Free and Open Source.
> >>>
> >>> We wish all attendees at our events to enjoy an environment of
> mutual
> >>> respect, tolerance and encouragement, in accordance with the Linux
> >>> Australia statement of values [http://linux.org.au/values].
> >>>
> >>> This, in turn, is the responsibility of all attendees: each
> attendee
> >>> is expected to show respect and courtesy to all other attendees
> >>> throughout the event and at all associated events, whether
> officially
> >>> sponsored by Linux Australia or not. To this end, all delegates,
> >>> speakers, exhibitors, sponsors, suppliers, venue and media
> personnel,
> >>> event organisers and volunteers at any Linux Australia event are
> >>> required to agree to and abide by the following Code of Conduct.
> >>> Organisers will enforce this code throughout the event.
> >>>
> >>> # Appropriate behaviour
> >>>
> >>> Attendees and speakers must not engage in any intimidation,
> >>> harassment, or abusive or discriminatory behaviour.
> >>>
> >>> Harassment includes, but is not limited to:
> >>>
> >>> - offensive verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation,
> >>> disability, physical appearance, body size, race or religion;
> >>> - sexual images in public spaces (including presentation slides);
> >>> - deliberate intimidation;
> >>> - stalking or following;
> >>> - unwanted photography or recording;
> >>> - sustained disruption of talks or other events;
> >>> - inappropriate physical contact;
> >>> - unwelcome sexual attention.
> >>>
> >>> Discriminatory behaviour includes, but is not limited to:
> >>>
> >>> - sexist, racist, or other exclusionary jokes;
> >>> - exclusionary language;
> >>> - unwarranted exclusion from conference or related events based on
> >>> gender, sexual orientation, ability, physical appearance, body
> size,
> >>> race, religion or other attributes;
> >>> - making unjustified assumptions about attendees.
> >>>
> >>> Participants asked by event staff to stop any inappropriate
> behavior
> >>> are expected to comply immediately. Consequences for refusal to to
> >>> comply with such a request are explained below.
> >>>
> >>> # Appropriate content
> >>>
> >>> As we wish all of our attendees to feel welcome and comfortable at
> all
> >>> times during the event, all communication should be appropriate
> for a
> >>> professional, diverse audience.
> >>>
> >>> Any public presentation which is part of the conference, including
> but
> >>> not limited to keynotes, presentations, lightning talks and
> addresses,
> >>> is subject to the appropriate behaviour guidelines above and thus
> may
> >>> not contain:
> >>>
> >>> - sexual or violent imagery;
> >>> - exclusionary language;
> >>> - exclusionary humour of any kind;
> >>> - language which is not appropriate for an all-ages audience.
> >>>
> >>> Any presenter who violates these guidelines will be given a
> warning at
> >>> the first violation if it is minor, and the presentation will be
> >>> stopped if either a second minor violation occurs or any major
> >>> violation occurs.
> >>>
> >>> If presenters are unsure whether their material is suitable, they
> are
> >>> encouraged to show it to the conference’s speaker liaison before
> their
> >>> session.
> >>>
> >>> # Reporting and consequences
> >>>
> >>> If you see or hear a speaker/attendee displaying any behaviour
> which
> >>> is disallowed by the code of conduct and which is distressing to
> you
> >>> or another attendee, or have any other concerns, please contact a
> >>> member of the Linux Australia Event staff.
> >>>
> >>> All complaints made to Linux Australia or event organisers will
> remain
> >>> confidential, be taken seriously, investigated, and dealt with
> >>> appropriately.
> >>>
> >>> The event organisers or Linux Australia may take any or all of the
> >>> following measures:
> >>>
> >>> - The alleged offender may be asked to stop or modify their
> behaviour.
> >>> - The alleged offender may be warned that enforcement action will
> be
> >>> taken if the behaviour continues.
> >>> - If the behaviour continues, the alleged offender may be asked to
> >>> immediately leave the venue and/or be prohibited from continuing
> to
> >>> attend the event (without reimbursement).
> >>> - The incident may be reported to the appropriate authorities.
> >>>
> >>> Linux Australia is aware of the responsibility required to ensure
> a
> >>> successful and productive event. If an incident occurs, Linux
> >>> Australia will formally apologise to those affected. A record of
> the
> >>> incident will be kept and future measures will be taken to ensure
> that
> >>> it does not happen again.
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> linux-aus mailing list
> >>> linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au
> >>> http://lists.linux.org.au/listinfo/linux-aus
> >>
> >> --
> >> Donna Benjamin - Executive Director
> >> Creative Contingencies - http://cc.com.au
> >> ph +61 3 9326 9985 - mob +61 418 310 414
> >>
> >> Drupal Downunder - 13-15 January 2012
> >> Jasper Hotel, Melbourne - http://drupaldownunder.org
> >>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> linux-aus mailing list
> >> linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au
> >> http://lists.linux.org.au/listinfo/linux-aus
> >>
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > linux-aus mailing list
> > linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au
> > http://lists.linux.org.au/listinfo/linux-aus
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
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> linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au
> http://lists.linux.org.au/listinfo/linux-aus
> 
> 
> 
>

-- 
Simon Lyall  |  Very Busy  |  Web: http://www.darkmere.gen.nz/
"To stay awake all night adds a day to your life" - Stilgar | eMT.


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