[OSGeo-Conf] Code of Conduct

[David William Bitner]

I really want to thank everyone here for engaging in this issue. I do
appreciate all the different voices that have contributed to this
conversation -- they all certainly speak to the diversity of thoughts and
experiences that we already have in this community.

Cameron -- thank you very much for putting forward a first draft of a
potential CoC for us to use. Before drafting and wordsmithing a CoC I want
to step back and make sure we answer a few questions that would certainly
impact how a CoC gets written. When we get to the point of drafting, we
should certainly do so on the wiki (or other trackable collaborative
medium) rather than in an email thread.

With some of the wording in this draft as well as seeing the discussion
from the last Board Meeting, is the conference committee the correct venue
for this discussion or should this be at the Board level so that this
applies to all OSGeo activities (mailing lists, events, etc)? I am certain
that many of the same people would remain engaged in helping draft a Code
of Conduct either for the foundation as a whole or just for our events, but
this certainly impacts the scope and wording required in a draft.

Many of the comments that I read as against having a CoC seem to stem from
people wondering what does a CoC solve. Sadly, having a CoC does not
"solve" anything. There will still be issues. A CoC simply provides one
tool for us to help resolve those issues when they come up as well as
providing a proactive statement that we aim to be a welcoming and diverse
community to hopefully prevent some of those issues in the first place. A
CoC is not the end point of diversity initiatives, but it is a very low
hanging fruit to start with. Other initiatives that I know have been tried
that we should continue to look at their effectiveness include author blind
public program review, scholarship initiatives, proactively seeking out
diversity in key notes, and many more things that we haven't tried.




On Wed, Jan 14, 2015 at 3:26 PM, Cameron Shorter <cameron.shorter at gmail.com>
wrote:

>  Hi Kate,
> No intent to offend. "Geek Girls" [1] is the name of a group here in
> Australia (I thought it was a global term, but I may be wrong). Maybe a
> cultural difference.
>
> Maybe you are in a position to help craft a suitable concise definition of
> "sexualized images" which could be incorporated into a CoC? (Or possibly
> point us at others definitions)?
>
> [1] https://www.facebook.com/GirlGeekCoffees
>
>
> On 15/01/2015 7:15 am, Kate Chapman wrote:
>
> Hi Cameron,
>
>  I'm going to assume good faith that you are not trying to be offensive,
> but I am having a difficult time with some of what you wrote.
>
> On Thu, Jan 15, 2015 at 8:42 AM, Cameron Shorter <
> cameron.shorter at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>> I also think it adds little value, and will likely offend a number of
>> attendees, to enforce everyone to tick a "I will abide by the CoC" box. Do
>> obviously reference the CoC, including using a 1 sentence version of it
>> which gets read.  If people are going to break the CoC, they will do so
>> whether they tick a box or not.
>>
>
>  I'm indifferent to a tickbox, but some of the better run conferences
> that do have codes of conduct include the tickbox as well as make
> references to the Code of Conduct in multiple places on the site and at the
> conference.
>
>>
>> I do have an outstanding question about definition of "sexualised image",
>> which I expect will be challenging to resolve. Does someone have links back
>> to the geek girls community to see if they can help with ideas?
>>
>
>  It is a bit insulting for you to ask if anyone has any links to the
> "geek girls community"  for multiple reasons. The first being that we are
> women, not girls. The second is you are implying that all the women who
> have responded on this thread that are involved in OSGEO are not
> geeks....One specific women is on the advisory board of a non-profit(1)
> that has the entire mission of helping women in open culture and open
> source.
>
>  Also you keep saying "kick people out" I do know of instances where
> people have been kicked out of conferences, but it is typically for repeat
> offenses. For example wearing an offensive shirt, being offered a new one
> from the conference organizers and refusing it. Or continuing to speak
> offensively or harass people after being initially warned.
>
>  -Kate
>
>  (1) https://adainitiative.org/
>
>>
>> --
>> 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
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Conference_dev mailing list
>> Conference_dev at lists.osgeo.org
>> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/conference_dev
>>
>
>
> --
> 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
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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
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