A member of an OSS project gets into hot water because of behaviour, or views expressed, in a milieu extraneous to the project. Examples might include
Expression of strong political views that are sure to offend some project members. This can happen if the views are far right, or far left, as well as not easily characterized.
Support for a particular political leader or candidate, or political system.
Personal behaviour that never directly impacts the project, but is deeply offensive to members. This might be homophobic, racist, intolerant of religion etc. Or it might be an arrest or conviction for criminal behaviour etc.
Solution 13.1
There is no easy answer here andOSSprojects have had very difficult (and sometimes interminable) debates on these issues. Keep in mind that most contributors have a strong belief in individual freedoms and that includes the expression of beliefs and the right to a desired lifestyle.
However, it’s not hard to conjure up examples where one simply cannot accept certain extreme individuals into the OSS family. About all one can say is that discussion should be respectful, any established codes of conduct should be respected and revised as necessary, and if possible discussion should be placed in channels where it does not overwhelm technical debate.
Exercise 13.1: Offensive but Extraneous Behaviour
A member of an OSS project gets into hot water because of behaviour, or views expressed, in a milieu extraneous to the project. Examples might include
Solution 13.1
There is no easy answer here andOSSprojects have had very difficult (and sometimes interminable) debates on these issues. Keep in mind that most contributors have a strong belief in individual freedoms and that includes the expression of beliefs and the right to a desired lifestyle.
However, it’s not hard to conjure up examples where one simply cannot accept certain extreme individuals into the OSS family. About all one can say is that discussion should be respectful, any established codes of conduct should be respected and revised as necessary, and if possible discussion should be placed in channels where it does not overwhelm technical debate.