All, I've been contacted by someone who wished to be unnamed but who is concerned about the issues of a code of conduct and those who are non-neurotypical. By non-neurotypical they mean people who have autism, learning disabilities, tourette's disorder or other neurological conditions which make social interactions difficult or potentially fraught, both on and offline. In the OSM community I've encountered a number of people who very likely are non-NT, and I've seen them encounter difficulty socially.
The concern raised was several fold: First that any statement about diversity include neurological just as we do gender, race, background, etc. This is especially important because for this population, the differences are hidden (unlike skin color, for example), but are not by choice (such as political beliefs). Secondly, and I think even more importantly, that these issues be taken into consideration when dealing with non-NT people. For example in the mailing list CoC, one issue that I did not pick up on was that the "first strike" rule is for a public admonishment. This can be difficult for non-NTs for a few reasons suc-h as that they they may not be aware of the problematic behavior, that if the mail is not carefully worded that they may need an alternative behavior presented or that yhey may perceive a public mail as form of punishment, which can be highly anxiety provoking or potentially triggering. Thirdly, as I mentioned briefly in the second point, many non-NTs may not know or be able to fully process social cues. For example, they may stand too close to someone, or speak too loudly, make comments which would seem out of place or inappropriate, or just make someone feel "uneasy". Unfortunately there is a large stigma on neurological disorders (and a more broad category of "mental illnesses") which keeps these people from speaking up publicly, or for some of them, from even getting a diagnosis, meaning that they may not be able to self-identify. I'd like to know what others thoughts are on this topic and how we can act to support this segment of the OSM population. - Serge _______________________________________________ diversity-talk mailing list diversity-talk@openstreetmap.org https://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/diversity-talk
