hi,

a lot of good comments have been given already. As a person not involved and without knowledge of the case, but on occasion teaching cross-cultural management, I just want to piggyback on what James stated and add: sometimes a person can act in 100% good faith, and yet for the comfort and safety of everyone else, they may be requested to step down from their volunteering, and that's ok. 

It is perhaps worth reiterating that in mixing cultures different norms and expectations are 100% inevitably resulting in conflicts and misunderstandings, period. There is zero doubt about it. 

We should all assume good faith, and understand that even the conflicting norms and cultures alone, with the addition of a hearing problem, may have resulted in some sort of misunderstanding(s). It still does not mean that the safety team request was premature. We want the participants to feel safe and comfortable. 

I'd suggest that we refrain from digging into this particular case and discussing it further, except for remembering clearly that the decision was never meant as a punishment. 

best,

Dariusz ("pundit")


On Fri, Jul 20, 2018 at 1:24 PM, Dhaval S. Vyas <dsvyas@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi,

I think we need to consider that we have participants from different countries and hence different cultures. Touching might not be considered bad behaviour at all in one culture but could be completely unacceptable in another.

E.g. in India it is very common for 2 male friends to walk with hands on eachother's shoulder or hand in hand, but when I first arrived in UK I learned that such intimacy is linked with particular group of males and hence not considered good in public.

In my opinion, what someone personally feels about other's such gestures is entirely up to the individual, should not be generalised when we have a culturally diverse participants. Being little more tolerant or inclusive is all what we should learn and implement.

Regards,
Dhaval Vyas

On Fri, 20 Jul 2018, 11:37 Sterkebak, <sterkebak@gmail.com> wrote:
I think we forget the mention of touching, even if its a shoulder. Touching can be very uncomfortable.... 

On Fri, 20 Jul 2018 at 12:17, Mykola Kozlenko <mycola-k@ukr.net> wrote:
Hi,

I am very sad to see this happen. I think this is a case when we cannot gave a win-win implementation of the policy
* On one hand, Romaine *has* to be close to a person he is talking to, otherwise he is unable to hear them. I know him, he really is.
* On the other hand, in some cultures standing very close to a person who is not a friend can be really impolite. Some people prefer to keep more distance when they are talking to someone. (See  https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_space )
* On one hand, entering a room when someone needs an item urgently can be normal. A person quite legitimately may want to help as quickly as possible when they are asked to.
* On the other hand, a person entering and immediately leaving the room can indeed be a significant distraction for a speaker. A speaker may come from a culture where such behaviour is considered impolite.

We are all coming from different backgrounds, and what is normal for one person might be offensive to another. Looking forward, can we probably assume more good faith? We might not be aware what another person's background is, so perhaps we should begin with asking them why they are doing that and why you are not OK with that.

Best regards,
Mykola (NickK)

--- Оригінальне повідомлення ---
Від кого: "Lodewijk" <lodewijk@effeietsanders.org>
Дата: 20 липня 2018, 10:23:49

Hi all,

while I have much sympathy for Romaine, and cannot comprehend the decision with the available information, I do want to guard us to continue discussing this further here. We (even Romaine) have only a limited part of the information available to us. I trust that Romaine works with the very best intentions, and also that the Trust & Safety team has the best intentions in their implementation. I also trust that the team will make a full evaluation after Wikimania is completed as their default practice. 

As part of this conversation, both here online and offline, I seem to hear several people who are unhappy with how the policy is implemented. Let us also recognize that it is important to have a friendly space - and that this is a Hard Thing to accomplish. Agreeing or disagreeing in public with a decision while only having part of the information can only make that job harder and/or harm individuals.

If you have beef with the policy and how it is implemented, I suggest that you try to set up a meetup with the Trust & Safety team, and you can have a conversation with them about the broader policy. They can perhaps share some rough broader statistics as part of that. Otherwise, it is probably more appropriate to have this online discussion after the conference has concluded, based on the policy and practices as a whole, and not an individual case. 

Just my two cents...

Lodewijk

On Fri, Jul 20, 2018 at 10:15 AM Andy Mabbett <andy@pigsonthewing.org.uk> wrote:
On 19 July 2018 at 20:30, Romaine Wiki <romaine.wiki@gmail.com> wrote:

> - People say I have been talking to loud

> Please be aware I have a hearing problem and I do hear myself

> Because of these complaints, it was demanded to step down as a volunteer
> organiser for this year's Wikimania.

As someone with family members who are profoundly hard of hearing and
affected by tinnitus, I am sorry to learn that you have been
discriminated against in this way.

I hope that whoever is responsible for our safe spaces policy will
ensure that this does not happen to you - or anyone else - again.

--
Andy Mabbett
@pigsonthewing
http://pigsonthewing.org.uk

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Met vriendelijke groet, 

Huib Laurens
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--
________________________________________________________
prof. dr hab. Dariusz Jemielniak
kierownik katedry MINDS (Management in Networked and Digital Societies)
Akademia Leona Koźmińskiego
http://NeRDS.kozminski.edu.pl 



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