Finish moderation guidelines

[AlannaBurke]

Version 1 is here: https://github.com/drupaldiversity/administration/wiki/%23diversity-inclusion-participation-and-moderation-guidelines-(v1)#moderation-guidelines

Let's work through these, make any needed edits, and decide where they should live and be published.

[AlannaBurke]

Here is a re-worked draft I worked on of the first part of the guidelines - I rearranged and simplified a lot of the language with the Hemingway editor. I wanted to make sure it was accessible to ESL folks.

---

Participation Guidelines

Overview

Drupal Diversity & Inclusion (DD&I) spaces include online spaces such as the Slack channel and Github repositories. Also included are physical spaces, such as DD&I-organized sessions at events, or DD&I tables in event exhibit halls.

Anti-Harassment Policy

These spaces are dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone.

DD&I has no tolerance for any activity which could be interpreted as:

• incitement to racial hatred
• incitement to religious hatred
• any other behavior meant to deliberately bring harassment upon a person.

We do not tolerate harassment of Participants in any form. We do not tolerate any harassment on the grounds of:

• gender and gender identity
• age
• sexual orientation
• disability
• physical appearance
• body size
• race
• religion (or lack thereof)

We have a zero-tolerance policy for libel and defamation, harassment, and impersonation.

We believe in freedom of thought and freedom of expression. We do not operate on the basis of absolute freedom of speech. We impose limitations, for example, on "hate speech".

We do not tolerate harassment of Participants in any form. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate.

Participant Guidelines

Written specifically for DD&I Slack, but to be adapted for other spaces. These guidelines apply to all DD&I spaces, as applicable.

1. Listen actively, read carefully, and be understanding.
   • If joining a conversation, read the backlog. Give other Participants the opportunity to communicate effectively.
   • It can be helpful to assume good intent behind other Participants' statements. DD&I is very diverse, with Participants from all over the globe. Be aware of cultural and linguistic quirks.
   • There are also many Participants who are new to this space. Assume that they have good intent but have not yet mastered the language or ideas. We want to help them!
2. Speak from your own experience, instead of generalizing. Recognize the worth of others' experience. Try not to speak for others.
   • Use "I" instead of "they," "we," and "you".
   • All Participants should recognize that all other Participants have their own experiences.
   • Don't invalidate another Participant's story with your own spin on their experience. Instead, share your own story and experience.
3. Challenge ideas, feelings, concerns, or one another by asking questions. Refrain from personal attacks. Focus on ideas first.
   • Avoid verbal challenges, backhanded insults, gender/race/region stereotyping, etc.
4. Take part to the fullest of your ability and availability.
   • Community growth depends on the inclusion of individual voices. The channel wants you to speak up and speak out. Everyone has a different amount of time to contribute. We value participation here if you can give 5 minutes or 5 hours.
   • We do welcome those who quietly come to lurk and learn, or "leark," but please introduce yourself and say hello!
5. It is not a goal of inclusion to agree.
   • The goal is to gain a deeper understanding of each other, and act on that understanding with empathy. This creates a more welcoming, inclusive, and safe environment.
6. Be conscious of language differences and unintended connotations.
   • "Text is hard" - be aware that it is difficult to communicate effectively via text.
7. Acknowledge individuals' identities.
   • Use stated names and pronouns. Do not challenge a person’s race, sexuality, disability, etc.
   • If you are unsure how to address someone, ask them discreetly and respectfully. For example, for example, if you are unsure what pronouns to use.
8. Some off topic conversation is okay.
   • Some cross posting of announcements is okay. The following is not permitted:
     • Thread hijacking
     • Spamming
     • commercial advertising
     • overt self-promotion
     • excessive going off-topic
     • incorrect content placement or timing (don't interrupt a meeting or conversation)
   • Consider announcing more appropriate places or times for in-depth off-topic conversations.
   • If you are not sure what's appropriate, please contact a moderator.
9. Sharing content from inside DD&I spaces must only be done with explicit consent. Any sharing must also be carefully considered, and without harassment or intent to harm any Participants.
   • The scrollback of Slack is limited. Get permission from Participants to summarize or quote them in more permanent places. Examples: posting meeting notes in the DD&I Github repo, opening a DD&I Github issue, adding a comment to a DD&I Github issue.
   • Admins of the Drupal slack team do have access to an archive of the entire slack history of public channels.
   • This forum should be considered public. Assume that anyone can and may read anything posted here.
   • When sharing any DD&I content, permission from all Participants must be obtained first. This applies whether content is quoted, summarized, or screenshotted. This includes sharing in any medium: on Twitter, in a blog post, in an article, on a podcast, etc.
   • Before taking any screenshots or quotes out of context and posting in another forum, please reconsider. These spaces are where the discussion and work in progress is taking place. Removing snippets of a conversation takes away context. This can distort and discourage discussion, especially when this is done without the goal of driving the DD&I mission.
   • As stated above, if you take screenshots and post them to social media or other forums, you must get permission of the person that posted it. When getting permission, include the option of removing identifying information. Permission is still needed even if identifying information is removed. This includes any content from Slack, Github, or any other DD&I medium.
10. Address complaints between one another in the space when safe and appropriate.
    • When safe, try to clarify and engage in the space where the conflict happened. For example, in the public DD&I channel.
    • Ping moderators when conflict is escalating (mention @di-moderators in slack).
    • Ask for help.
    • Suggest taking a break. When possible, suggest a time for reengaging.
    • If the topic of conflict is off-topic for DD&I, move the conversation to a more appropirate public channel.
    • Contact the Drupal Community Working Group.

Additional considerations for in-person DD&I spaces

1. Follow the event's Code of Conduct, if there is one.
2. Do not touch people, their mobility devices, or other assistive equipment without their consent. If someone asks you to stop a certain behavior, stop immediately.
3. Report any issues to the event's staff.
4. If an issue involves DD&I members, report to the DD&I leadership team.

We reserve the right to terminate anyone's access to the DD&I spaces.

[AlannaBurke]

Here is a re-worked draft of the second half (not as thoroughly re-worked)

Moderation Guidelines

Generally In DD&I spaces, strive to promote understanding, empathy, and increase personal awareness of all people. This includes people from across the Drupal Community and the greater Technical Community, even those you may personally disagree with.

Intentionally disruptive individuals get kicked from the channel in question, not tiered. The person kicked can send a private message (PM) to the kicker or another Moderator, if desired, for re-admittance. If a disruptive person is engaging in what appears to be intentionally inflammatory, bullying, or harassing behavior provoking hostile responses (or acting in a hostile manner), kicking is faster and easier than trying to placate a disruptive person whose behavior is causing distress to other channel members.

The kick is not a ban. There are times when disruptive or triggering comments and statements are genuine and break the lines of communication between two parties. By speaking with a Moderator, the (potentially) disruptive person can be coached on using more sensitive, inclusive, and diverse-aware language, and on engaging in a more constructive manner.

1. Tier One Response
   • User is welcomed in the channel, asked to read some scroll back, and given a link to participation guidelines.
2. Tier Two Response
   • User is gently reminded in channel to keep posts on topic, and/or of participation guidelines.
3. Tier Three Response
   • User is PM'd by available Moderator to clarify how their posts are out of line and given suggestions of what to do differently.
4. Tier Four Response
   • If behavior continues, User is kicked for no less than 24 hours.

• Non-Tiered Response Banning (Example: User makes threats, statements intending to cause personal harm, etc. ) User is reported, with screenshots or transcript from the archive, to the Drupal Community Working Group, and banned from the Channel until Moderators and the banned person can meet to discuss channel behavior.

  Moderation examples

• We're veering off-topic, and we need to get the channel back on track.
• We are, again, on the border of #governance so would like to remind you that unless we have a specific idea about procedures that will impact diversity and inclusion, to please hop over to that room.
• Thank you for being willing to move governance topics to that channel. There IS overlap, they do intersect, and people's feelings about one impact the other. There are no perfect boundaries, but - like with everything else - we're trying to set a few.

Tips for slack moderators

• Add di-moderators to slack preferences as a highlighted word.
• When changing your role from a Participant to a Moderator, let the channel know. Examples:
  • "Putting my moderator hat on"
  • "Acting as a moderator now"
• When switching back, from Moderator to Participant:
  • "Taking off my moderator hat"
  • "Stepping down from moderating now"
  • "In my opinion"
  • "Speaking as myself"
• Keep self-care in mind. Announce when you are not in a place to be a moderator.
• Announce when you are taking a step back or taking a break. When possible, give an estimate for when you will next be available.

Resources

• http://blog.socious.com/online-community-management-an-overview-on-community-moderation-guidelines
• https://www.drupal.org/irc/courtesy
• http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/activities/groundrules.html
• https://alterconf.com/code-of-conduct

This document was originally drafted in collaboration: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jSQ_UJhV9ZQUxVkdDfsBlQ8YfuO5EtV82HWwiunZ_T8

If you have feedback on these guidelines, we'd love to hear it. Please add your thoughts here https://github.com/drupaldiversity/administration/issues/68

[AlannaBurke]

I can put these in a new google doc for comments, just wanted to get them up!

[AlannaBurke]

Here is a diff of the participation guidelines: https://www.diffchecker.com/BwuBc2UU And here is a diff of the moderation guidelines: https://www.diffchecker.com/yWZwgJRl

[AlannaBurke]

Here is a link to a google doc of the guidelines for commenting: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MjLJ3BOOsT3Eysm6Smv3YhuGKIJLOFghVkP8iHKjZJs/edit?usp=sharing

[AlannaBurke]

Closing this as the official first release is out!