Creating teachable moments when we really mess up
At events and online, a code of conduct, when executed, almost always means opening a dialogue about motivation and intention that was not present explicitly prior. It's a conversation about elephants in the room. Once in a while, it's about a really terrible thing that needs to stop right now or never happen again.
I have had to enforce codes of conduct on organizers and leaders, too. This is an average day in conf and community land. If you aren't hearing reports of violations, people aren't reporting. It is not extreme to have discussions about people messing up as adults or feeling uncomfortable.
Far less often, is someone kicked out, banned, or publicly shamed because it usually isn't the appropriate end. Really.
Codes of conduct are supposed to help community members be teachable and give them the space to learn. To fix mistakes.
The FUD that is spread about codes of conduct and us being able to behave as OSS colleagues is an interesting read to me on those who question the premise of having guidelines of social convention laid out explicitly in any workspace. It makes me want to understand more about how we as individuals do or do not embrace criticism, guilt, and discomfort. How to change THAT.
In Node.js, we are always working on moderation, which is the enforcement of our CoC. I've been hopeful with what I have witnessed in the project CoC execution in this past year, though we have had plenty of missteps(we are human). There are lots of folks learning and trying to do better. I will continue to spend my energy on removing barriers and encouraging awesome work in Node.js.
















