[Board] Fwd: OSGeo CoC committee proposal

Jeff McKenna jmckenna at gatewaygeomatics.com
Wed Aug 12 10:36:22 PDT 2015


I agree that it is hard to put into writing, but I think it's great to 
talk openly about it, and I'm glad to hear that you already have this in 
mind.

I'll start compiling a few ideas for suitable members from the global 
community and will send them to you both offline.  I'm sure you will 
also be sending out a call for participation once the board approval 
happens.

Thanks!

-jeff




On 2015-08-12 12:22 PM, Camille Acey wrote:
> Thanks for this response, Jeff. We have not as of yet approached anyone
> about joining the committee (we figured we'd wait for board approval
> first!), but it was always our intention that we have a
> diverse/international committee.
> However, we were reluctant to make this a *requirement* for the
> formation of the committee since it's one of those things that's hard to
> define (for example: a committee made up of Canadians and Americans is
> technically "international" but not necessarily the most "diverse"). As
> someone who is very familiar with our global community, I welcome your
> thoughts about who might be suitable members to approach.
>
> Camille
>
> On Wed, Aug 12, 2015 at 7:59 AM, Jeff McKenna
> <jmckenna at gatewaygeomatics.com <mailto:jmckenna at gatewaygeomatics.com>>
> wrote:
>
>     Hi Kristin, Camille,
>
>     I have reviewed the wiki, as well as your feedback here in this
>     thread.  Thanks for driving this.  I especially think that the
>     structure of the committee wiki page, describing the membership,
>     mission, scope, and communication is excellent
>     (http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/CodeOfConduct_Committee).
>
>     One thing that I haven't seen or heard from you (I'm not sure this
>     should be put in writing on the committee page), in regards to
>     membership, I'd like to make sure that you somehow have committee
>     members from different cultures represented (i.e. not all USA
>     members), especially for the proposed smaller voting committee.  As
>     the past chair of the OSGeo Conference Committee, although it wasn't
>     in writing, I would always be sure to have committee members from
>     all over the world, which turned out to be essential for voting; I
>     believe this is critical in this case for a committee focusing on
>     diversity.
>
>     Maybe this goes without saying, in an OSGeo committee, but I felt
>     that it is important to mention here at least.  "Conduct" can be
>     interpreted so differently between different cultures.
>
>     Also, please be sure to list all of the members of the committee on
>     that wiki page (including the smaller voting committee members).
>
>     Thanks again!
>
>     -jeff
>
>
>
>
>
>     On 2015-08-11 2:44 PM, Kristin Bott wrote:
>
>         Hi Jeff + all --
>
>         Thanks for your feedback on the proposed committee. Our responses to
>         your comments are summarized below. (See also the CoC committee wiki
>         page <http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/CodeOfConduct_Committee>[1].)
>
>
>         Let us know if you have additional concerns / thoughts; we look
>         forward
>         to seeing the board move this initiative forward.
>
>
>         cheers -
>
>
>         Camille Acey and Kristin Bott
>
>
>
>         Feedback
>
>           1.
>
>              Membership - include both voting and non-voting members to help
>              achieve the dual purposes of the committee (Goals: guide policy
>              around CoC and other initiatives to increase diversity;
>         deal with
>              reports of violations of the CoC).
>
>               1.
>
>                  Open email list, open membership. -- Discuss and help guide
>                  policy around the CoC as well as other initiatives that
>         can help
>                  increase diversity in our community
>         (COC-discuss at osgeo.org <mailto:COC-discuss at osgeo.org>
>                  <mailto:COC-discuss at osgeo.org
>         <mailto:COC-discuss at osgeo.org>>). No limits on the number of
>                  people involved in this capacity.
>
>               2.
>
>                  Private membership, limited to 5 people per committee
>         proposal.
>                  -- Receive and anonymize any reports of violations to
>         the CoC
>                  (COC-private at osgeo.org <mailto:COC-private at osgeo.org>
>         <mailto:COC-private at osgeo.org <mailto:COC-private at osgeo.org>>)
>         as well
>                  as provide support as a first line of response to incident
>                  reports (in cooperation with the board, LOCs and
>         moderators)
>
>
>           2.
>
>              Chairs - need to specify
>
>               1.
>
>                  Camille Acey and Kristin Bott will co-chair for the
>         first year
>                  of the committee
>
>
>           3.
>
>              CoC Reports - allow for anonymous report submission, fears
>         of “what
>              if someone on the CoC committee is out of line”
>
>               1.
>
>                  Allow for an option of anonymous submission via a
>         webform (no
>                  login, no identifying information collected). Invite
>         reporters
>                  to provide identifying information so the committee can
>         follow
>                  up re: reports, but do not require this (do not want to
>         create
>                  obstacles to reporting).
>
>               2.
>
>                  Reports against CoC committee members can be made to
>         the board
>                  (and vice-versa). If a CoC committee member is personally
>                  involved in a CoC report, they will be removed from the
>         intake
>                  and follow-up of that incident.
>
>
>           4.
>
>              Concerns re: blacklisting
>
>               1.
>
>                  The CoC committee has no desire to blacklist individuals or
>                  provide a heavy-handed police-like role. Instead, we aim to
>                  serve as a resource to LOCs, moderators and the board,
>         continue
>                  to iterate towards more inclusive practice/policy, and
>         help to
>                  maintain institutional knowledge about CoC violations
>         and the
>                  decisions the LOCs, moderators, and/or board make with
>         regard to
>                  those violations. “Violations” refers to any acts by
>         individuals
>                  or groups who repeatedly act in a way that is contrary
>         to the
>                  stated priorities of OSGeo as an organization (i.e. the
>                  board-approved CoC).
>
>               2.
>
>                  We intend for the committee to maintain an
>         archive/repository of
>                  such incidents as well as any organizational decisions
>         around
>                  individuals’ conduct/participation (e.g. names of banned
>                  individuals); the OSGeo LOCs, moderators, and/or board will
>                  absolutely continue to determine whether/not
>         individuals are
>                  welcome to participate in OSGeo events / projects / forums.
>
>
>           5.
>
>              Committee name + structure (rename? Create CoC as a
>         subcommittee?)
>
>               1.
>
>                  An explicitly-named committee evidences OSGeo’s
>         commitment to
>                  the CoC. As such we wish to retain the name of “Code of
>         Conduct
>                  Committee”.
>
>
>         [1] http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/CodeOfConduct_Committee
>
>
>
>
>         On Sat, Jul 25, 2015 at 9:55 AM, Jeff McKenna
>         <jmckenna at gatewaygeomatics.com
>         <mailto:jmckenna at gatewaygeomatics.com>
>         <mailto:jmckenna at gatewaygeomatics.com
>         <mailto:jmckenna at gatewaygeomatics.com>>>
>         wrote:
>
>              Hi Camille,
>
>              Thanks for taking all of this feedback so positively.
>
>              I believe the Board should again tackle this at the next Board
>              meeting on 13 August, so I've re-added this to the
>         agenda[1] as a
>              priority item.  I don't see the need to withdraw or
>         resubmit, but
>              the Board definitely needs clarification from you on the items
>              reported during the Como board meeting.  Maybe you and
>         Kristin could
>              take those notes and respond to them inline here?  That
>         might work.
>
>              I hope this plan works for everyone.
>
>              [1] http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Board_Meeting_2015-08-13
>
>
>              -jeff
>
>
>
>
>              On 2015-07-25 1:42 PM, Camille Acey wrote:
>
>                  Hey everyone,
>
>                  Thanks for all the constructive feedback. Kristin and I
>         (the two
>                  proposed co-chairs) are going to chat next week and
>         will get
>                  back to you
>                  with our thoughts and any amendments to the proposal.
>
>                  Just for clarification, is this proposal a tabled issue
>         that will be
>                  discussed/voted on at the next board meeting or does it
>         need to be
>                  withdrawn, revised, and resubmitted for the next meeting?
>
>                  Camille
>
>



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