Re: [Debconf-discuss] DebConf conference policy on profanity

["Margarita Manterola" <marga@debian.org>]

Hi,

Thanks Russ for raising this issue, I think it's worthy of discussion.

My feeling is that completely forbidding profanity (or whatever the right word for it is, profanity also seems wrong) doesn't benefit DebConf.

Personally, I do want people to "be excellent to each other", to treat each other with respect and to not use foul language if it's not needed.  However, I feel that calling out attention to quotes that include these words, or one-time uses of these words is excessive, and not inclusive as the paragraph title goes.

I would prefer the "Be inclusive" paragraph to be modified like this:

Original:
================
 Any public presentation which is part of any event, including but not limited to keynotes, presentations, lightning talks, addresses, mailing list posts and forums, is subject to this code of conduct and thus may not contain:

    Sexual or violent imagery;
-    Adult or expletive language;
-    Language which is not appropriate for an all-ages audience.

If presenters are unsure whether their material is suitable, they are encouraged to show it to the DebConf Talks Team before their session. 
================

Proposal:
================
 Any public presentation which is part of any event, including but not limited to keynotes, presentations, lightning talks, addresses, mailing list posts and forums, is subject to this code of conduct and thus may not contain:

    Sexual or violent imagery;
+    Insults or ad-hominem attacks;

+ We also ask you to avoid language which is not appropriate for an all-ages audience as much as possible.

+ If the content of the presentation requires including language that could be considered offensive, this should be pointed out in advance, at the beginning of the talk and in the schedule.

If presenters are unsure whether their material is suitable, they are encouraged to show it to the DebConf Talks Team before their session. 
================

This is of course a proposal and better wording might be found. The main point is to convey that we want to keep the talks "clean" without making people feel that they'll be thrown out of the conference if they use an expletive by mistake / as required for a presentation (when quoting or so).

-- 
Regards,
Marga