Re: Code of Conduct final draft?

[Dave Neary <dneary free fr>]

Hi,

Adrian Custer wrote:
> The foundation could certainly impose a code of conduct on its members;
> an elegant requirement might also be "an hour a month dedicated to
> helping newcomers". 

s/"impose"/"suggest"

Or perhaps codify.

The idea of a code of conduct is to document what is already
acceptable/inacceptable behaviour in our community, to allow it to be
more easily identified. When unacceptable behaviour arises, a code of
conduct may be a useful document to point to when saying "this is how we
expect people to behave". It also sets expectations for a tone and
environment for new people coming to the project.

> However, the foundation has *nothing* to require of the general GNOME
> participant. Its role was originally to provide commercial entities with
> a point of contact. It has taken over a role in helping GUADEC and the
> SUMMIT. It is not a steering committee nor a politburo.

Let's separate the board and the foundation. The board is certainly not
a steering committee or politburo (although at the start of the
foundation, it was certainly envisaged in that role). It has morphed
into a hands-off, handle commercial and legal relationships entity
(although looking through the minutes and resulting action items, we do
a fair bit more than that).

The foundation is the GNOME community (or at least a substantial part of
it). The code of conduct is not a foundation initiative, it's a GNOME
community member's initiative. If Murray is asking for a board stamp of
approval, it is only because that is perhaps the best way we have right
now to say "this represents the concensus of the community, and we're
running with it".

Cheers,
Dave.

-- 
David Neary
bolsh gimp org