Re: Speaker Guidelines

[Philip Van Hoof <pvanhoof gnome org>]

On Fri, 2010-03-26 at 11:31 +0100, Murray Cumming wrote:
> Brian Cameron wrote:
> > > Oops, missing link here:
> > >  http://live.gnome.org/CodeOfConduct/SpeakerGuidelines 
> 
> I cleaned up some of the text on this page, though I didn't think deeply
> about the content.
> 
> However, I think it is currently an invitation to the same old
> philosophical discussion every time there's a problem. I think we should
> state our position clearly, so it doesn't have to be said each time, at
> the end of a long thread. So I would add this text to the "Dealing With
> Problems" section:

I very much agree with stating the position clearly. 

> "We are not interested in a debate about whether someone should feel
> offended. You should avoid offending people even if you do not share
> their views."

A clear position will avoid a lot of discussions, I agree. But then
somebody of the board (or a appointed person) should also as soon as
possible halt such offending statements with a reply like:

"Please follow our guidelines as stated in the Code Of Conduct which,
 since it is a requirement for all members, you agreed with. End of
 discussion."

> "We do not consider this to be excessive censorship. It does not stop
> you from offending outside of the community."

Exactly. Outside of GNOME's infrastructure people are free to do what
they want. When using its infrastructure, foundation members are a guest
and should stick to the principles and guidelines of the house. If they
disagree they can try to vote the guideline away or don't be a member.

A clear position makes happy people. Happy people contribute more.



Cheers,

Philip

-- 


Philip Van Hoof
freelance software developer
Codeminded BVBA - http://codeminded.be