The Moderators team can be reached at moderators@ietf.org.
Current team members are:
- Chris Box <chris.box.ietf@gmail.com>
- Mary Barnes <mary.ietf.barnes@gmail.com>
- Mohit P. Tahiliani <tahiliani@nitk.edu.in>
The Moderators strive to monitor all postings on ietf@ietf.org on a daily basis. The IETF Chair also monitors the list but may not be in a position to read each message or monitor every day.
When IETF discussion list subscribers believe that a posting may be considered inappropriate according to RFC 9245 or the Uncivil Commentary, they are encouraged to report it to moderators@ietf.org. Moderators team members are also subscribers to the IETF discussion list and they follow the same process to report posts that they consider inappropriate.The Moderators team will discuss all reports received and make a determination about whether they believe the posting was inappropriate. At least two team members must agree that a posting was inappropriate before the Moderators team takes any action in response.
When the Moderators team determines that a posting is inappropriate, one team member suggests a response to the rest of the team, including specific text for email(s) to the original poster and/or the list, as appropriate. The Moderators team uses a standard set of email templates. Proposed emails to either individuals or to the list must be vetted and approved by at least one other Moderators team member before being sent.
The Moderators team uses the escalation ladder below for handling disruptive behavior and postings containing uncivil commentary. At each step, the Moderators team describes to the individual poster what the next step in the ladder is.
A Moderators team member sends an off-list message to the individual on behalf of the Moderators team. This message clearly identifies the concern, offers assistance with re-framing language, and identifies consequences for continued inappropriate postings.
A Moderators team member sends an off-list message to the individual on behalf of the Moderators team. This message clearly identifies the concern, offers assistance with re-framing language, and identifies consequences for continued inappropriate postings.
The Moderators team member also requests that the individual take a voluntary 5-day "cooling off" period during which time the individual does not send email to ietf@ietf.org. The Moderators team member informs the individual that a note will be sent to ietf@ietf.org to inform the list that the Moderator is engaging with the individual. The Moderators team member sends that note to ietf@ietf.org shortly thereafter.
A Moderators team member sends an off-list message to the individual on behalf of the Moderators team. This message clearly identifies the concern and the pattern of abuse, and offers assistance with re-framing language.
Subject to the approval by the IETF Chair, the Moderators team member also informs the individual that his or her posting rights to ietf@ietf.org will be restricted for 14 days. The Moderators team member informs the individual that a note will be sent to ietf@ietf.org to inform the list that the Moderators has restricted their posting rights. The Moderators team member sends that note to ietf@ietf.org shortly thereafter.
In cases where postings contain egregious language, the Moderators team has the discretion to skip level 0 and go straight to level 1 or 2. For example, a posting that says "I'm coming to murder you and your family" would warrant an immediate escalation to level 2.
RFC 9245 explains that:
"The IETF discussion list is meant for discussions for which a more appropriate list does not exist, such as discussions that do not fall within the scope of any working group, area, or other established list. When there is an existing venue for discussion, this should be noted and discussion should be moved there."
The Moderators team will make suggestions to the list in cases where discussions should be moved to more specific list.
RFC 9245 considers:
"Announcements of conferences, events, or activities that are sponsored or endorsed by the IETF, IRTF, IAB or the Internet Society, although the IETF announcement list IETF-ANNOUNCE is the preferred list for these.."
The Moderators team will make an initial suggestion to the individual off-list (as well as send a reminder on the list) to avoid such postings. If a pattern of abuse emerges, we will consider temporarily restricting the posting rights to ietf@ietf.org.
The content of this document was influenced by the Django Code of Conduct, the Mozilla Community Participation Guidelines and How to Respond to Code of Conduct Reports.