Debian Adopts a Code of Conduct

in linux on 2014-05-01 22:56 (#3JP)

The Debian project has adopted a code of conduct for participants to its mailing lists, IRC channels, and other modes of communication within the project. The main points of the code are:

Be respectful
Assume good faith
Be collaborative
Try to be concise
Be open

Seems obvious, what's the problem? (Score: 2, Insightful)

by zafiro17@pipedot.org on 2014-05-02 10:22 (#1AM)

Nothing ground-breaking on that list: basically, don't be a jerk. I wonder if this is in response to some unpleasant events, or is a preemptive move so that future asshattery can be swatted down with a "you're not complying with the code" kind of a thing.

Debian does a good job, I think, of being a well-run democratic kind of administration, not an easy thing with so many diverse expectations and personalities, and the need to balance transparency/fairness with getting things done. Lean too far in the direction of democracy and you get mediocrity and "design by committee." Lean too far in the opposite direction and you get dictatorship and complaints of heavy-handedness a la openBSD.

It almost seems too bad to have to put together a code of ethics like this, but sooner or later most teams find it necessary. Then they all make fun of how obvious/stupid it is. I manage a 10 person team and we put together a team charter that essentially came up with these same tenets. Then we occasionally forget and do mean things to each other.

Humans are tough to manage!

Re: Seems obvious, what's the problem? (Score: 1)

by songofthepogo@pipedot.org on 2014-05-02 15:36 (#1AY)

Yes, I was about to say, "seems like a good basic set of principles for any group or individual."

This is perhaps off-topic, but I found the description in the linked post of the voting methodology used by the group quite interesting. It's fun to see not just "here's what we've decided" but also "here's how we decided".

Re: Seems obvious, what's the problem? (Score: 1, Interesting)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-05-02 16:25 (#1B3)

I've seen that before from Debian - they're very tuned in to voting processes and very proactive about making sure the methodology is well-understood. It's working better than the democracies in some Western nations, I betcha.