Adopting a code of conduct can help set the tone for the community. Many projects copy-paste one of two popular codes of conduct without much thought. The popular codes of conduct are wordy and unenforceable to the point of being arbitrary. In the authors effort to signal safety through verbosity these codes of conduct have glaringly inappropriate omissions. Therefore we should write our own. It should be simple, memorizable, and to the point. It should assume we're all adults here, and professionals at that.
Our goal is to foster a community of professionals who hold themselves accountable for their own actions, not a legalistic one, or mimicry of student government. We do not want a community we must police. If there is a problem core leadership should move swiftly and without recourse, even if it appears arbitrary or heavy handed. These are the costs of simplicity and personal responsibility. No one should believe that a more verbose code of conduct will result in anything remotely resembling justice.
Integrity has no need of rules. That is, those acting with integrity do not need the rules spelled out for them. Integrity means: doing the right thing even when nobody is looking. This is why we've chosen the Golden Rule: Do to others as you would have them do to you. It creates a system of reciprocity, a core tenet of healthy open source.
If, over time, specific situations require clarification of what is appropriate and what is not leadership may amend the Code of Conduct. Edits will be narrow in scope. If that day ever comes it will be a sad one.
Adopting a code of conduct can help set the tone for the community. Many projects copy-paste one of two popular codes of conduct without much thought. The popular codes of conduct are wordy and unenforceable to the point of being arbitrary. In the authors effort to signal safety through verbosity these codes of conduct have glaringly inappropriate omissions. Therefore we should write our own. It should be simple, memorizable, and to the point. It should assume we're all adults here, and professionals at that.
Our goal is to foster a community of professionals who hold themselves accountable for their own actions, not a legalistic one, or mimicry of student government. We do not want a community we must police. If there is a problem core leadership should move swiftly and without recourse, even if it appears arbitrary or heavy handed. These are the costs of simplicity and personal responsibility. No one should believe that a more verbose code of conduct will result in anything remotely resembling justice.
Integrity has no need of rules. That is, those acting with integrity do not need the rules spelled out for them. Integrity means: doing the right thing even when nobody is looking. This is why we've chosen the Golden Rule: Do to others as you would have them do to you. It creates a system of reciprocity, a core tenet of healthy open source.
If, over time, specific situations require clarification of what is appropriate and what is not leadership may amend the Code of Conduct. Edits will be narrow in scope. If that day ever comes it will be a sad one.