This message comes from the Code of Conduct Committee, in response to a question from Kwankyu <https://groups.google.com/g/sage-devel/c/N1THlmVDm-w/m/mZY1aEOBCAAJ> (A2) about blocking other Sage developers on Github.
While it is not possible to block others on a single issue or PR, it is possible for one user to block another across all of Github <https://docs.github.com/en/communities/maintaining-your-safety-on-github/blocking-a-user-from-your-personal-account>. This has several effects, the most relevant of which for the project as a whole is that the blocked user cannot “comment on or edit issues or pull requests” created by the blocker (unless the blocked party is an owner or maintainer on the repository). Over the past six months, this has happened several times. As we have said before <https://groups.google.com/g/sage-devel/c/XDvKkMRoDk4/m/dLm8DH6ZAAAJ>, the Code of Conduct Committee believes that there are situations where blocking another developer is appropriate. In the short term, both parties can still contribute to a discussion by the blocked party opening a linked issue to hold their comments, but this solution obscures their comments and muddles the timeline. We do not think that widespread use of this tool is a productive way to actually resolve conflict. We would like to solicit suggestions from the community for a new section of the Sage Code of Conduct <https://github.com/sagemath/sage/blob/develop/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md> addressing blocking. The following is a draft: Blocking another SageMath developer on GitHub can be a valid response to extreme misconduct, aimed at reducing interactions. However, unless the misconduct results in the blocked person being excluded from the SageMath project, such blocks should be temporary and last only until the conflict is resolved. The SageMath Code of Conduct Committee should work with both parties to lift the block. If the blocked person does not cooperate, the committee may sanction them. If the blocker does not cooperate, the committee may decide that proper discussion on their Pull Requests and Issues is not feasible, and request that the release manager not merge any of their Pull Requests until the block is lifted. We know that this issue is sensitive for several Sage developers, so we encourage everyone to follow the CoC and concentrate on discussing and advocating for the policies you believe are appropriate. The SageMath Code of Conduct Committee -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sage-devel" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sage-devel+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sage-devel/8dd4ab4f-b517-4770-9a4b-0e135a19b2a3n%40googlegroups.com.
