Hey Gaudenz, et al.,
I fear we may have toppled over ourselves here a little. I didn't
mean to cause problems. I wasn't trying to push the LCA
code-of-conduct for $agenda. See
http://lists.debconf.org/lurker/message/20130821.095555.f59c4a26.en.html
if you don't believe me. ;)
I simply wasn't aware of the existence of the DC13 anti-harrassment
policy, or maybe I was but remembered that there was pushback… When
I saw the topic brought up, I thought it would be best not to
reinvent the wheel but derive from an excellent conference, so…
However, Enrico spoke out of my heart and if we can have a short
statement rather than a long code of conduct, I would be all in
favour.
There are a few changes I would suggest to the DC13 statement, but
otherwise: are there any real reasons not to use it? Obviously, we
can spend the next months discussing and enhancing and making it
better (or worse) and solve world hunger while we're at it, …
But we could also just go with it. There's always more to be had and
things to be improved, but that's not going to get us anywhere. And
as it stands, the statement is IMHO clear and with a few changes
I would be very comfortable with it, too.
So here's the statement, and a few suggestions of mine inline:
> ****
> Anti-harrassment
>
> DebConf is committed to a safe environment for all participants. All
> attendees are expected to treat all people and facilities with respect
> and help create a welcoming environment. If you notice behavior that
> fails to meet this standard, please speak up and help to keep DebConf as
> respectful as we expect it to be.
"We realise that 'respect' is not the same to everyone. You can
also think about the comfort of other people. Make sure people are
comfortable, and be observant in case that changes. Your own freedom
ends where the comfort zone of your peers begins."
> If you are harassed and requests to stop are not successful, or notice a
> disrespectful environment, the organizers want to help. Please contact
> us at antiharassment@debian.org. We will treat your request with dignity
> and confidentiality, investigate, and take whatever actions appropriate.
What I am missing here is the ability for face-to-face contact, an
emergency number, and the promise to react *without* *any* delay.
I.e. I think every conference should have an emergency number,
a cell phone or whatever, ideally forwarded to multiple people.
I can only speculate, but if I'd just been molested, I'd probably
not want to write a message to antiharassment@debian.org and twiddle
my thumbs waiting for a reply. I'd want to talk to someone. Sure,
there may well be people around to comfort me, but what if there
aren't?
> We can provide information on security, emergency services,
> transportation, alternative accommodations, or whatever else may be
> necessary. If mediation is not successful, DebConf reserves the right to
> to take action against those who do not cease unacceptable behavior.
We don't mention "mediation" before, so I suggest to just remove
that if-clause. DebConf reserves the right… enough said.
Now we really should make people tick a checkbox on registering to
confirm that they have read this (I missed it for DC13…) and agree
to abide by it.
--
.''`. martin f. krafft <madduck@debconf.org>
: :' : DebConf orga team
`. `'`
`- DebConf14: Portland, OR, USA: http://debconf14.debconf.org
DebConf15: Heidelberg, Germany: http://debconf15.debconf.org
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