Existing code of conduct. Merge

[harry-wood]

Are you aware we already have a code of conduct dating back to October 2010?
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Community_Code_of_Conduct_(Draft)

It looks like these two documents have the same aims, so I think we need to merge somehow.

Looks like you fleshed out some good bullet points here. You have more stuff around specific mailing list etiquette.

[emacsen]

The existing document is about editing activity, rather than about mailing lists. It's an old document that the DWG, for example, could use to measure activity against.

The problem has been getting it ratified has been very, very difficult, and there have been several attempts since this one to get something ratified through the OSMF[1] and they have not succeeded thusfar.

I think the best chance this CoC has of succeeding is not to try to be pushed through official channels and get ratification, but to go through this heavy use/editing/use cycle that it's in now, get accepted across most mailing lists, and then be able to show it as being successful, which can lead to other mediums getting their own CoC.

Also, as has been pointed out before, each medium will have slightly different mores around it. If we create a single global unified CoC, it will end up being very lowest common denominator.

[1] This is necessary because editing is a core OSM activity controlled by the OSMF.

[harry-wood]

No the one I've linked is not about editing. It's about behaviour on mailing lists (and other community channels). I guess you're thinking of another wiki page with a code of conduct about automated edits.

Also I'm not really sure if there was ever an aim to do some heavyweight "ratification" on the one I have linked. There's some outstanding discussion points which never got resolved enough to remove the "draft" from the title, but ... it wouldn't take much.

[pnorman]

Just for the record, the one linked is

---

General

Be nice to each other.

Be Considerate

Work created by OpenStreetMap is seen by people around the world and by contributing to the project, you're representing not only yourself, but OpenStreetMap itself. Please keep that in mind with your words and actions.

Be Respectful

OpenStreetMap contributors come from a variety of backgrounds and have a variety of skill sets. We believe that our diversity is a source of strength and that everyone has something to contribute to the project. Some degree of frustration and constructive disagreement is to be expected when dealing with a passionate community project. However, it is important to remember that a community where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one. In the spirit of collaboration, please refrain from allowing healthy differences of opinion or frustration to turn into personal attacks or flame/edit wars. . We expect members of the OpenStreetMap community to be respectful when dealing with other contributors, as well as people outside the project.

Be Collaborative

Collaboration is central to OpenStreetMap. OSM encourages members to work together both inside and outside the organization. Collaboration, internally and externally, strengthens our community. OSM members are encouraged to act transparently and when possible involve all interested parties. When a new approach is taken on an existing project or a major project is considered/started, please notify the larger community early, document the work and inform others regularly of progress.

When we disagree, we consult others

Disagreements, both social and technical, are common in diverse communities. It is crucial for the long term success of the project that major disagreements are resolved constructively, with transparency, with the help of the community and community processes.

When we are unsure, we ask for help

Nobody knows everything, and nobody is expected to be perfect in the OpenStreetMap community. Asking questions before taking a major action can prevent problems down the road, and so questions are encouraged. When asking a question, members are encouraged to do so in an open and appropriate forum.

Step down considerately

When members of OSM leave or disengage from the project and/or community, they are asked to do so in a way that minimizes disruption to the project as a whole. Members are strongly encouraged to put forth an effort to ensure that others can pick up where they left off.

Respect Copyright and Licenses

Please be conscious of license issues, and never add data in a way that violates other licenses or copyright. While this is primarily a concern for OpenStreetMap data edits, remember that pasting data or images into a mailing list, or wiki page can also be a violation of copyright. Remember to comply with any attribution and share-alike requirements of any images/data placed on these channels, and avoid placing closed-license content there.

---

As something that's gone through wider community review, I prefer it as a starting point. As this repo is about a mailing list CoC, the Step down considerately point isn't very applicable, but I'd favour leaving it in for consistency.

[harry-wood]

Yeah the "Step down considerately" point always sat a little awkwardly there I thought. I think that section is copied from the Ubuntu code of conduct (by @emacsen ! remember doing that?) so that's more about open source coding collaboration I guess.

The wiki document went through some community review back in 2010, but honestly I don't think many people were paying much attention. Given how everyone seems to have forgotten that we have a code of conduct, I think we can say the community doesn't feel all that attached to it.

Initially I was just pointing out the duplication, but on reading the details (and some of the issue discussion here) I feel like this github document is better.

Reading the very bottom section, I see what @emacsen means about "get accepted across most mailing lists". I quite like the idea of incrementally asking specific list moderators to actually take a step to buy into the CoC document and to email all subscribers to make them aware, rather than just leaving the document quietly in the corner.

Where does that leave us? Maybe we should unify the documents such that they largely duplicate eachother, but then have a few more points in this one which relate specifically to mailing lists. The wiki document would then end up being a "parent" document for other comm channels too. In terms of actual changes, lots of changes to the wiki doc, not much change to this doc, but maybe it would have a link to the parent doc.

[tmcw]

I feel like this github document is better.

Same: where the older coc effort and this one overlap (re: mailing lists), I think this one is better. At most we should link from the Wiki to here, or add a copy of this document to the wiki when it's completed.

[danstowell]

When I first noticed this github document, I printed them all out and went through them to compare. I came to the personal conclusion that I thought the github doc was the way forward and I couldn't see anything specific that needed to be merged back in from the 2010 doc.

It seems so far that if @harry-wood and @emacsen (primary authors of the 2010 doc) are on board with this current doc, I would respectfully suggest we mark the 2010 one as deprecated, since it's always been loudly marked as 'draft' and as far as I know it's not been used as much of a touchstone so far?