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Positive Work Environment Community Group
https://www.w3.org/community/pwe/
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If swearing is covered, it's not clear where #372

Open fstrr opened 4 months ago

fstrr commented 4 months ago

I was looking for a reference to swearing, especially in meetings, but can't find one. If it is there, it's maybe couched in some other term. I'm happy to add that in under Unacceptable Behavior if people agree it should be listed.

TzviyaSiegman commented 4 months ago

Swearing is not explicitly covered. Racially charged language is covered in the section on microaggressions. Offensive language, as relates to a variety of issues is covered.

fstrr commented 4 months ago

I feel it should be explicitly called out rather than nuanced in "offensive language". Are you okay if I suggest an update in a PR?

cwilso commented 4 months ago

I'm concerned about calling out "swearing" separately, because I don't think it is a well-defined term, and certainly putting a list of disallowed words would be a bad way to address the problem. Is "darn" a swear word? "Damn"? "Crappy"?

I think this is clearly covered by "offensive language", and requires some amount of establishment of norms and advocacy in practice.

wareid commented 4 months ago

In this case, I agree with Tzviya that it's adequately covered by microaggressions and offensive language. Swearing on its own is not cause for a code violation, and if it was, many of us are already guilty of it.

As we already recommend in section 4, if there is a situation where someone's language or use of it gets into the territory of existing areas of the code, it should be reported. There are absolutely situations where someone swears in excess in an environment where it's inappropriate, and there are words or situations that can feel pointed or directed to a specific person. There are also cultural differences in what is/isn't a swear word, or the severity of the word. If there are situations where swearing feels excessive/inappropriate, the current version of the code empowers people to either address the issue directly or take it to a chair or other person in a position to intervene.

I am not sure how much more specific we can get on it without getting into the definitions of specific words, as @cwilso mentions.

csarven commented 4 months ago

Just as it is possible to be offensive without swearing, I think assessing the intention behind the language used in a given context can help determine whether it is offensive or not.