I’ve been thinking a lot about last night and this morning’s emails. The role of moderator in cases like this is not one I relish, nor for that matter, did I expect that it would be a role I would have to take on on this particular list. In retrospect, that was probably naïve. I don’t think this is a job that should be vested in one person (see below), but I also appreciate that we don’t currently have a better option, nor the time to figure one out at this point.
As far as guidance goes, the closest thing we have is the draft of our presumed future CoC: https://github.com/osmlab/CoC-mailing-lists/blob/master/code_of_conduct.md I think Serge’s comment was a clear violation of the CoC, starting with “be nice”. As Mele pointed out, the first rule should be “assume good intentions”. I appreciate that Serge and Alyssa have a history, one of which I have very limited knowledge, however that doesn’t absolve one of the need to make this assumption. The same is true of Alyssa. I believe that Alyssa made an honest mistake. When some people found her comment offensive, I believe the better response should have been to take it as an opportunity to enlighten, not to inflame. Taking the education route is particularly important when talking about something like neurodiversity, which is a relatively new concept that not everyone may be familiar with (as should have been clear given prior discussion). It is, I think, telling that I found Alan’s e-mail far more elucidating than Serge’s. Now, back to the CoC. The guidance given there is thus: First occurrence: A moderator will remind the mailing list as a whole of this code of conduct and the specific inappropriate behavior. Second occurrence: We will send you a private message with a warning that any additional violations will result in removal from the community. Third occurrence: Depending on the violation, we may need to ban you from the mailing list […] • Extreme violations of a threatening, abusive, destructive or illegal nature will be addressed immediately and are not subject to 3 strikes. Alan also raises the very important point that it can be hard to determine what constitutes a first offense. Paul argues that actions off-list “would not generally be in scope”. Not all that long ago, I would probably have agreed. However, I’ve had to deal with conference CoC violations recently, and not in an abstract way, but in straight-up “what do we do now” kind of way. As part of that, I consulted with “outside experts” on this very question, and have come to the opposite conclusion. If the goal is to create a safe, welcoming, and diverse community, then all actions that take place within that community are indeed “in scope”. The purpose of CoC’s is to protect the community as a whole, not to just create islands of protection. The private responses to me have generally expressed that is part of a pattern of behavior, and not an isolated incident. However, it’s certainly up for debate whether this meets the “extreme violation” criteria. That makes me feel that this situation can’t be shoe-horned into the guidance given in the draft CoC. Further, the CoC gives no guidance on best practices on who should moderate and how, so I find myself essentially having to decide by fiat, which is not my ideal, but sometimes decisions need to be made. Therefore, this is what I have decided: 1) Serge will be prevented from posting for 60 days. After such time, he will be put on indefinite, but presumed temporary, moderation. There’s a pattern of behavior, but I believe fundamentally that people can improve and learn. We need to make room for that. 2) I would like there to be more moderators than just me and Alyssa. We got the job by virtue of being the ones to request the list be created, which is hardly ideal. So I’m soliciting volunteers to join a “moderation committee” of at least three people. They would be tasked with identifying and sanctioning CoC violations. Hopefully it will be a job requiring no work. Alyssa is welcome to join this committee, and if she does, I would ask that she recuse herself from any decisions regarding this incident. 3) Upon establishment of this committee, Serge may request an appeal of my decision. Yours in striving to do the right thing, Darrell (moderator pro-tem)
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