Hi,
This has just been published on the Mozilla community blog by Emma Irwin and I thought it
could interest some of you here.
It brings insight into the experience of enforcing a code of conduct in an open source
community.
Wikilove!
Nattes à chat
Envoyé de mon iPhone
Le 12 sept. 2020 à 05:23, Zainan Zhou (a.k.a Victor)
<zzn(a)zzn.im> a écrit :
I might be wrong, but I couldn't help noticing some disagreements of whether we
should have a Universal CoC lies in the different mindset of how conflicts should be
governed, just like legal systems of Common Laws vs Civil Laws.
> On Fri, Sep 11, 2020 at 9:25 AM Natacha Rault via Wikimedia-l
<wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org> wrote:
> {{trigger warning : French joke included}}
>
> Dear Pete, let me explain why this is problematic.
>
> First I am sorry to say there is no hidden agenda or awful witchery plot to uncover
including WMF influence. I have myself severely criticised the WMF in the course of the
branding process (and was never scolded for that so I think we can express criticism).
Maybe not all the time, maybe not just in any format.
>
> I made the initial comment, and no one pushed me into. If it has offended people, I
am sorry, maybe I should in effect have reached out to Dan privately first. Dan I am sorry
of the attention, your wording is being given, and I would like us to move on, as
suggested by Alphos to a more constructive debate.
>
> Pete, because your are asking repeatedly for clarification and only because of that,
what I have learned from my #black lives matter friends, it that s not my obligation to
educate you on why this is problematic. In fact when you ask for clarifications, you are
putting pressure on people who find the use of disrespectful language a problem instead of
asking why the initial comment had to include flatulistic scenery (and this for French
speakers has nothing to do with Brice de Nice’s expression « ça farte » see for reference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhZ_kkVzx18
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhZ_kkVzx18>) which blurrs the actual meaning
behind the criticisml, especially for people whose language is not English in the first
place. Then one could argue that it is targeting people of an institution. Full stop.
>
> I wish to move on to why I believe spaces should be moderated, which basically would
mean enforcing a code of conduct, that many members of our community have been asking for
for years.
>
> « As I am a nice guy » I will give a few ressources explaining why I think lists,
and wikimedia spaces should be moderated. Basically it is because you can :
>
> 1- allow free roaming speech and leaving agressive behaviours unchecked creating a
space where only certain social groups are over represented but thus you can’t claim to be
designing the sum of all human knowledge
>
> OR
>
> 2 - design free open source inclusive spaces that are allowing anyone to participate
but you then have to moderate content because, people have different « cultures" and
may not understand what offends others, there is a learning curve.
>
> Here is a timeline of incidents
https://geekfeminism.wikia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_incidents#2018for
<https://geekfeminism.wikia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_incidents#2018for>
>
> This time line of incidents is often cited by women as a reason for having OS code of
conducts (which includes moderation of mailing lists most of the time)
>
> History tells us, that in the early internet days, the first experiments of virtual
spaces encountered less harassment and more women. This is told in the following book :
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35953464-broad-band
<https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35953464-broad-band>, where the story of Stacy
Horn and how she actually designed the Esat Coast Hanger (ECHO) see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stacy_Horn <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stacy_Horn>
is detailed. Why? Because Stacy Horn moderated each chan and reached out to every member
that left the community so that she would eventually know about abusive behaviours and
document it.
>
> Designing a safe space does not mean you cannot address just any topic, it just means
that you do so paying attention to how you treat potential readers, and contributors to
create a discussion that is actually evolving around the subject, and not the format of
it.
>
> A 2018 incident about wether or not a joke should be removed
https://lwn.net/Articles/753646/ <https://lwn.net/Articles/753646/> questions wether
there is a need for a safe space or not in open source projects. I’m taking this example,
because it shows how power and privilege iin a community can be used to influence «
keeping a joke that is upsetting to some ».
>
> So the question of « censorship » is central, but it usually has a pending side : who
is silenced, whose voice is not being heard? I like the way the Django FAQ adresses the
problem of « censorship » in a community
>
>
https://www.djangoproject.com/conduct/faq/
<https://www.djangoproject.com/conduct/faq/>
>
> Quote from the above :
> This is censorship! I have the right to say whatever I want
>
> You do -- in your space. If you'd like to hang out in our spaces (as clarified
above), we have some simple guidelines to follow. If you want to, for example, form a
group where Django is discussed using language inappropriate for general channels then
nobody's stopping you. We respect your right to establish whatever codes of conduct
you want in the spaces that belong to you. Please honor this Code of Conduct in our
spaces.
>
>
>
https://web.archive.org/web/20141109123859/http://speakup.io/coc.html
<https://web.archive.org/web/20141109123859/http://speakup.io/coc.html>
>
> Quote from the above :
>
> It's important to remember that a community where people feel uncomfortable or
threatened is not a productive one
>
>
> If people do not know how to issue gracefully formulated criticism, we should have
ressources to them to study, maybe even courses on non violent communication.
>
>
> So I hope I have provided {{useful}} context and I will not answer anymore so that we
can move on to something else.
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Nattes
>
>
>
> > Le 11 sept. 2020 à 13:29, Peter Southwood <peter.southwood(a)telkomsa.net> a
écrit :
> >
> > There was no clear statement of "this is the problematic text and this is
why it is considered unacceptable", which is a thing that I consider a reasonable
expectation, as it is possible to learn from it, understand it, pass constructive
criticism or agreement, and use as it a precedent for future expectations.
> > Cheers,
> > Peter
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Wikimedia-l [mailto:wikimedia-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of
Adam Wight
> > Sent: 11 September 2020 11:56
> > To: wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> > Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] A Universal Code of Conduct draft for review
> >
> >> Is there somewhere we can refer to the list of offensive and unacceptable
> >> expressions, and how they are determined?
> >
> > There were been several explanations already. It's possible to use mild
> > words in a cruel way, for example a father telling their child "You've
> > always had beans for brains." Editors are aware of this simple truth
> > and any feigned outrage must be disingenuous.
> >
> > It's interesting that I've voiced some extremely harsh criticism of the
> > WMF, even suggesting that the editors form a union and sue for control
> > of the Board, yet I've never once been moderated. Had my job threatened
> > perhaps, but never blocked.
> >
> > The point here is that petty hostility only achieves the goal of
> > creating an unpleasant and unwelcoming environment. If you (speaking to
> > the people here who are critical of the UCoC) want to make real change,
> > please organize yourselves somewhere else, come up with a coherent
> > argument, and present it here. The constant attrition of "why can't I
> > say 'fart'?" is tiresome and dilutes any conversation of
substance.
> >
> > Kind regards,
> > U:Adamw
> >
> >
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