In light of OSCON adopting a code of conduct and anti-harassment policy, I was wondering, and even asked today, if the Desktop Summit has adopted an anti-harassment policy. Unfortunately I’m not going to make it to the Desktop Summit this year, but I searched a bit and all I could find was Dave Neary promising that Desktop Summit would adopt one [1, 2].
Can anyone tell me if the Desktop Summit has adopted a code of conduct? and if so, where I can find it? or if not, why the heck not?
Update: I have been contacted by an organiser to say that a draft attendees code of conduct has been written and will be published before the conference. Thanks for getting in touch so promptly 🙂
Update 2: the policy has now been published.
Has that ever been a problem in a GNOME conference?
@Claudio: unfortunately yes. Off the top of my head: there was someone who kept photographing women at the last desktop summit, Richard Stallman’s EMACS virgins joke and an incident on the boat in Istanbul.
But even if nothing had ever happened, that wouldn’t be a reason not to have a code of conduct. We wouldn’t remove the law against assault, even if we lived in a society where no one was ever assaulted. It is my belief that all communities should stand up and say “this sort of treatment will not be tolerated here”.
I don’t think we *need* a code of conduct other than *use common sense and don’t be a jerk*.. I feel like the very fact that a code of conduct is ‘needed’ obsoletes itself.. if you need to read a code of conduct in order to know how to act in public, then you probably shouldn’t be in public…
I don’t remember an incident on the boat in Istanbul… hope it wasn’t anything critical.
Anyways, too bad you’re not coming this year, I guess I’ll see you some other time.
@Youness: I disagree. Just like we need law we wish we never have to enforce, we need to make sure people understand what is and isn’t acceptable in our community. You’re right in that people should just act decently, without having to read what decency encompasses, but unfortunately that doesn’t always happen 🙁
Hi Danni,
Mea Culpa on getting the policy online… many moons ago I copied the Geek Feminism one, made some small changes to tone, proposed it, got some suggestions, never really reached what you might call a conclusion, and then just didn’t get it online. Life got in the way, so to speak. So when Lydia asked two weeks ago “what’s blocking the publication?” I answered “Nothing”. And when she asked what she could do to help, I appreciated her offer – and it got published straight away.
As the person driving it, I should have done better. But we do have a policy, and more importantly, I plan to ensure that it is enforced. Plus, we’ve deliberately trimmed the party calendar and removed SMASHED from the agenda again this year, to ensure that we’re not asking for too much trouble. Hopefully things will go swimmingly.
Cheers,
Dave.