[OSGeo-Conf] Code of Conduct

Wed Jan 14 03:01:30 PST 2015

+1 to Peter

Wed Jan 14 2015 at 11:25:28 odesílatel Peter Baumann <
p.baumann at jacobs-university.de> napsal:

>  hm...a little worrying how technology oriented people get ideologic.
>
> Why do I say "ideologic"?
>
> - belief structures. "One has to" and "obviously" lack a clear subject in
> charge of giving the instructions (which effectively is happening).
> As a consequence, someone not agreeing (read: not sharing this belief) is
> subliminally put on the side of the assumed not-so-good-doers: "Are you
> afraid of that commitment?"
>
> - attacking non-believers and suppressing free discussion. Examples:
>
> > "more than a little annoyed that we’re even having this conversation."
>
> - obscured authority. No institution/person/etc is named which is
> responsible for requirements and soliciting actions. Citing:
>
> > How do you know what’s genuinely awful and what’s “kind of bad”?
> Who is the authority answering this, and doing so for the whole planet and
> all its cultures?
>
> - lack of evidence. At "some" conferences "some" "incidents" are said to
> have happened. Notice the 3-fold fuzziness which disallows others to gain
> their own opinion and participate in discussion. "conferences ... do not
> fair [ie: fare] so well" likewise excludes communication partners from
> discussion as the assumed underlying evidence is not shared.
> FWIW, I have attended all sorts of conferences all around this planet for
> decades now and have not witnessed a single "incident" that would require
> normative action.
>
> - pseudo-evidence. Examples are listed to underpin that codes of conduct
> are a rulle. A clean statistical argument would indicate a percentage of
> conferences. Also note this pattern: 2 conferences have a CoC, so we must
> also have one, end of discussion. Next conference: 3 conferences have a
> CoC, so we must also have one, end of discussion.
>
> So, ideologic it is along the definition of Steger & James: "Ideologies
> are patterned clusters of normatively imbued ideas and concepts, including
> particular representations of power relations. These conceptual maps help
> people navigate the complexity of their political universe and carry claims
> to social truth." [1]
>
> Personally, I have an uneasy feeling going to a conference that assumes
> that I (or my community, for that matter) needs tight behavioral control.
> Next step is an obligatory "conduct police" that patrols conferences to
> spot non-conforming behavior. Inverting the below sentence, "I would have
> had to seriously consider if I wanted to keynote at a conference _with_ a
> code of conduct".
>
> All that said, Darrell is raising the core questions indeed, I try to
> honestly give my 2 cents:
>
> > What if something genuinely awful happens? What will you do?
> step in. done that earlier (in private situations, again: never necessary
> at any conference)
>
>  > What about something kind of bad? How will you recognize that, and how
> will you handle it? Who will do it?
> > How do you know what’s genuinely awful and what’s “kind of bad”?
> based on common sense and the good education my parents gave me. Which is
> inherently risk prone and delicate when getting intercultural, so requires
> a _lot_ of care and, if ever possible, seeking advice from members of the
> cultures concretely involved.
>
>  -Peter
>
> PS: sorry a scientist's response. Best just take Jachym: keep it simple
> and friendly.
>
> [1] James, Paul; Steger, Manfred (2010). *Globalization and Culture, Vol.
> 4: Ideologies of Globalism*
> <http://www.academia.edu/4510893/Globalization_and_Culture_Vol._4_Ideologies_of_Globalism_editor_with_Manfred_B._Steger_Sage_Publications_London_2010>.
> London: Sage Publications.
>
>
>
> On 01/14/2015 04:22 AM, Darrell Fuhriman wrote:
>
> I agree with Kate here, and want to emphasize this line:
>
>  "Conferences where bad things happen and there is not a clear plan often
> do not fair so well.”
>
>  It’s really great to say “can’t we just assume everyone will be nice.”
>  The answer is “no”. We can assume that *nearly* everyone will be, but
> occasionally things happen, most of them minor, some of them genuinely
> awful.
>
>
>  A CoC isn’t a feel good statement. It’s a public commitment to providing
> a safe and welcoming environment to all members of the community. Are you
> afraid of that commitment?
>
>  To be honest, I’m a lot baffled, and a more than a little annoyed that
> we’re even having this conversation. That conferences need a CoC and a plan
> to enforce it should be taken for granted at this point. Really. I’m not
> going to have the discussion here. It’s been had in a thousand forums
> already. CoCs won. Accept it and plan for it.
>
>  Examples:
>
>  All O’Reilly Conferences:
> http://www.oreilly.com/conferences/code-of-conduct.html
> ApacheCon NA: http://gi106.gondor.co/code_of_conduct/
> PyCon: https://us.pycon.org/2013/about/code-of-conduct/
> State of the Map US: http://stateofthemap.us/2014/codeofconduct/
> EclipseCon: https://www.eclipsecon.org/na2014/news/code-conduct
> LinuxConf: http://linux.conf.au/cor/code_of_conduct
>
>  Shall I go on?
>
>  So my questions to the people who question whether a CoC is necessary:
>
>  What if something genuinely awful happens? What will you do?
> What about something kind of bad? How will you recognize that, and how
> will you handle it? Who will do it?
>  How do you know what’s genuinely awful and what’s “kind of bad”?
>
>  These aren’t idle questions. these are exactly the kind of things that
> you have to plan for. Do you have answers for them?
>
>  Darrell
>
>
>
>  On Jan 11, 2015, at 19:41, Kate Chapman <kate at maploser.com> wrote:
>
>  Hi All,
>
>  There are people that have pledged not to attend conferences without a
> code of conduct. Honestly, I asked for one to be put in place for
> Nottingham. I would have had to seriously consider if I wanted to keynote
> at a conference without a code of conduct if the team hadn't understood the
> need and put one in place.
>
>  We say that things are common sense and people should just follow that,
> but honestly that isn't enough. It is important to have clear guidelines
> spelled out. I've been a conferences where there was a code of conduct
> where incidents did happen, but there was a clear plan to manage them.
> Conferences where bad things happen and there is not a clear plan often do
> not fair so well.
>
>  The Ada Initiative has great resources for designing a code of
> conduct(1). There are also many other open source foundations we could look
> up to such as the Python Foundation that have codes for their events and
> have required such since 2012(2). Recently the QGIS community adopted a
> code of conduct(3), a move which I applaud.
>
>  Thanks,
>
>  -Kate
>
>  (1)
> https://adainitiative.org/2014/02/howto-design-a-code-of-conduct-for-your-community/
> (2)
> http://pyfound.blogspot.co.nz/2012/12/psf-moves-to-require-code-of-conduct.html
> (3)
> https://www.qgis.org/en/site/getinvolved/governance/codeofconduct/codeofconduct.html
>
> On Mon, Jan 12, 2015 at 10:00 AM, Jachym Cepicky <jachym.cepicky at gmail.com
> > wrote:
>
>> I agree with Cameron's points lower.
>>
>>  I'm also not sure, that the lack of CoC will "lower gender diversity"
>> (do I assume correctly, number of female attendees will be somehow "lower",
>> right?) and that it's presence on the web site automatically means
>> welcoming conference.
>>
>>  Sanghee is writing it perfectly: " No Discrimination, No Harassment are
>> the baseline morals of our general life to live". He also expresses my
>> feelings, about cultural context difference. We should try to understand
>> everybody's cultural context, that's also one of the reason, why FOSS4G is
>> moving around the globe and we can experience all the various cultural
>> aspects.
>>
>>  From what Sanghee is writing, I have no doubt, LOC will try to make the
>> conference as open and as welcoming to *everybody* as possible.
>>
>>  Anyway: this e-mail is not about "banning CoC for FOSS4Gs", but asking
>> question, whether CoC is really *the* thing, which will safe the conference
>> and guarantee, that everybody will feel great there. Do what you think, is
>> needed.
>>
>>  Jachym
>>
>> Thu Jan 08 2015 at 21:12:52 odesílatel Cameron Shorter <
>> cameron.shorter at gmail.com> napsal:
>>
>>  David,
>>> I'm in favour of a Code Of Conduct, but suggest there should be some
>>> tweaking of the words (if using https://2015.foss4g-na.org/code-conduct
>>> text)
>>>
>>> Reasons:
>>> 1. At the moment, I think some wording is a bit loose, and open to
>>> misinterpretation between cultures and geographic regions. What does
>>> "Sexual images" mean? Is it nudity? Does a photo of a field trip with naked
>>> natives constitute a "sexual image"? Is the clique advertisement of a
>>> pretty sales girl standing next to a car considered a "Sexual image"?
>>> Should we be using a Middle East definition of "Sexual image" or "American"
>>> where the norm for acceptable clothes are different? Is wearing a
>>> mini-skirt considered acceptable? (I don't have good words to address this,
>>> but suspect there would be template material somewhere which could be used).
>>>
>>> 2. We should be careful to try and avoid attendees feeling that they are
>>> being lectured to, as if organisors expect attendees to be guilty. Maybe
>>> start with, "In order to ensure a pleasant experience for everyone, all
>>> attendees are *expected to*  ... (instead of *required to* ...)"
>>>
>>> David,
>>> Once finalised, I suggest adding a section about "Code of Conduct" into:
>>> http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G_Handbook
>>>
>>>
>>> On 9/01/2015 4:28 am, Steven Feldman wrote:
>>>
>>> There was also a short CoC for 2013 at
>>> http://2013.foss4g.org/code-of-conduct/ which corresponds to the short
>>> version of the 2015 NA CoC
>>>
>>>  David, this is a great initiative. Can we consider mandating a
>>> standard (and evolving through experience) CoC for all FOSS4G branded
>>> events and any other vents that claim to be affiliated to OSGeo?
>>>
>>>
>>>  ______
>>> Steven
>>>
>>>
>>>  On 8 Jan 2015, at 17:08, David William Bitner <bitner at dbspatial.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>  Great! Thanks Sanghee!
>>>
>>>  Has your team considered adding a code of conduct to your website?
>>>
>>>  The past two FOSS4G global events have included CoC's on the website
>>> as well as asking registrants to agree to the CoC by a checkbox on the
>>> registration form.
>>>
>>>  https://2014.foss4g.org/attending/code-of-conduct/ and
>>> https://2015.foss4g-na.org/code-conduct are some examples that have
>>> been used.
>>>
>>>  We have received a lot of positive response from attendees since
>>> adding these to the conferences and have certainly seen an impact in gender
>>> diversity since incorporating CoC's into our websites along with other
>>> outreach and diversity initiatives. It is a very easy step towards ensuring
>>> that everyone is assured of the expectation of a welcoming conference! I am
>>> sure that other past conference chairs on this list can speak up to their
>>> experiences as well.
>>>
>>>  I hope all is going well with planning for the event!
>>>
>>>  Sincerely,
>>>
>>>  David
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Jan 8, 2015 at 10:52 AM, Sanghee Shin <endofcap at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi David,
>>>>
>>>>  I’m on the list. You can talk to me directly.
>>>>
>>>>  With regards,
>>>>
>>>>  Sanghee
>>>> ---
>>>>     Sanghee Shin, Chair of FOSS4G 2015 Seoul
>>>> "Toward Diversity! FOSS4G Bigbang from Seoul!"
>>>> http://2015.foss4g.org
>>>> Twitter: @foss4g
>>>> Facebook: FOSS4G2015
>>>> email: foss4gchair at osgeo.org
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  2015. 1. 8., 오후 4:22, David William Bitner <bitner at dbspatial.com> 작성:
>>>>
>>>>   Dear Conference Committee,
>>>>
>>>>  It has recently been brought to my attention by a member of our
>>>> community that she noticed the absence of a Code of Conduct for the
>>>> upcoming Seoul FOSS4G. I took this as a huge sign that the work that has
>>>> been done by LOCs in recent FOSS4G, regional OSGeo events, and other
>>>> technology and geography events towards encouraging diversity and a
>>>> welcoming atmosphere to all is indeed being noticed. I have also been
>>>> excited to see based simply on the measure of gender diversity that the
>>>> numbers of female speakers has been steadily moving up over the past couple
>>>> years.
>>>>
>>>>  I would like to encourage the Conference Committee (and I am
>>>> volunteering to do much of the leg work) to provide guidelines for
>>>> implementing a Code of Conduct at events for all FOSS4G/OSGeo related
>>>> events and to include diversity initiatives as part of future calls for
>>>> proposals for the international event.
>>>>
>>>>  While I believe it is too late for the conference committee to make
>>>> any mandates to the Seoul team, is there anyone who knows the folks on the
>>>> LOC that would be willing to help me reach out to explain the importance of
>>>> these initiatives?
>>>>
>>>>  Thanks!
>>>>
>>>>  David
>>>>
>>>>  --
>>>> ************************************
>>>> David William Bitner
>>>> dbSpatial LLC
>>>> 612-424-9932
>>>>    _______________________________________________
>>>> Conference_dev mailing list
>>>> Conference_dev at lists.osgeo.org
>>>> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/conference_dev
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>  --
>>> ************************************
>>> David William Bitner
>>> dbSpatial LLC
>>> 612-424-9932
>>>  _______________________________________________
>>> Conference_dev mailing list
>>> Conference_dev at lists.osgeo.org
>>> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/conference_dev
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>>
>>>  --
>>> Cameron Shorter,
>>> Software and Data Solutions Manager
>>> LISAsoft
>>> Suite 112, Jones Bay Wharf,
>>> 26 - 32 Pirrama Rd, Pyrmont NSW 2009
>>>
>>> P +61 2 9009 5000,  W www.lisasoft.com,  F +61 2 9009 5099
>>>
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>>
>>
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>
> --
> Dr. Peter Baumann
>  - Professor of Computer Science, Jacobs University Bremen
>    www.faculty.jacobs-university.de/pbaumann
>    mail: p.baumann at jacobs-university.de
>    tel: +49-421-200-3178, fax: +49-421-200-493178
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