Writing all this more or less from the sidelines, but I have seen the interaction in various communities, some working well, others not so well.
Take it for what it's worth.
On behalf of the board of the LLVM Foundation, I’d like to start the
process of introducing a formal code of conduct for the community.
For a long time, various members of the community have been enforcing basic
reasonable and respectful behavior, but to an outsider this may not be
obvious. A public code of conduct advertises the behavior we expect of
community members and clarifies our stance. Having this is something the
board feels very strongly about and we know many others in the community do
as well.
I agree with that.
> We also think it is important that we establish this prior to the
upcoming developer meeting.
16 days for laying that kind of groundwork is a bit rushed.
[...] the Django Project’s code of conduct [...]
Some important considerations:
- It covers all of the different ways our community has of interacting, not
just a mailing list or the conference.
- It makes very clear the kinds of conduct that are unacceptable, which in
research has proven to be very important for such codes of conduct to be
effective in practice.
What research? Is it published?
Also, the problem with enumerating all the inacceptable behaviour is that the text tends to become TL;DR. Which means permanent discomfort: I never fully read the rules, so I'm never fully sure that I'm not violating the CoC, nor am I sure whether others violate it.
In terms of size and complexity, the proposed CoC is shorter than the typical bulletin board CoC, so it's not bad; however, it think it could be made more compact.
- It has specific instructions for reporting violations
Good.
> and gives those who
report issues reasonable expectations for what the response will be. Again,
in my research this has been identified as being a very important aspect to
making a code of conduct effective in practice.
I believe that such a code is more relevant to the decisionmakers than to the community members. Community members look at what behaviour is being sanctioned in what ways, not so much at the code.
I think the code should describe that. Along the lines of "please be decent, we will sanction people, look below for the guidelines that the advisory committee is applying".
It may be a good idea to publish decisions and the reasoning. There are reasons against doing so, but I think it's the only way that people will be able to form reasonable expectations.
- It does not try to be pedantic or have an overly complex set of rules.
Very much agreed!
We think that this strikes a good balance and would like to propose the
following document for the LLVM project. Once all the comments are
addressed, we plan to add it to the LLVM documentation and link to it from
relevant places. The “Reporting Guidelines” will be a separate (linked)
document for folks to reference if needed. We will also start the process
of forming and organizing an advisory committee to handle these kinds of
issues.
Looks like a good plan.
# LLVM Community Code of Conduct #
We want to ensure that the LLVM community, while large and diverse, remains
welcoming and respectful to all participants. To that end, we have a few
ground rules that we ask people to adhere to.
This isn’t an exhaustive list of things that you can’t do. Rather, take it
in the spirit in which it’s intended - a guide to make it easier to
communicate and participate in the community.
This code of conduct applies to all spaces managed by the LLVM project or
The LLVM Foundation. This includes IRC channels, mailing lists, bug
trackers, LLVM events such as the developer meetings and socials, and any
other forums created by the project that the community uses for
communication. It applies to all of your communication and conduct in these
spaces, including emails, chats, things you say, slides, videos, posters,
signs, or even t-shirts you display in these spaces.
Too much text. The only person to really read this the one looking for loopholes.
> In addition,
> violations of this code outside these spaces may affect a person's
> ability to participate within them.
This is vague and threatening.
"Behave or we may sanction you in some unspecified manner."
Up to this point, the text is trying to cover too many bases and
If you believe someone is violating the code of conduct, we ask that you
report it by emailing conduct@llvm.org. For more details please see our
Reporting Guidelines.
Good.
- *Be friendly and patient.*
- *Be welcoming.* We strive to be a community that welcomes and supports
people of all backgrounds and identities. This includes, but is not limited
to members of any race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, colour,
immigration status, social and economic class, educational level, sex,
sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, size, family
status, political belief, religion, and mental and physical ability.
Leave the last sentence out. It's already covered by the "do not attack people in person" guide below, so it's just increasing the overall text size.
- *Be considerate.* Your work will be used by other people, and you in turn
will depend on the work of others. Any decision you take will affect users
and colleagues, and you should take those consequences into account when
making decisions. Remember that we're a world-wide community, so you might
not be communicating in someone else's primary language.
Try to cut that down a bit.
- *Be respectful.* Not all of us will agree all the time, but disagreement
is no excuse for poor behavior and poor manners. We might all experience
some frustration now and then, but we cannot allow that frustration to turn
into a personal attack. It’s important to remember that a community where
people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one. Members of
the LLVM community should be respectful when dealing with other members as
well as with people outside the LLVM community.
The commentary should be slashed to 40-50%.
- *Be careful in the words that you choose.* We are a community of
professionals, and we conduct ourselves professionally. Be kind to others.
Do not insult or put down other participants. Harassment and other
exclusionary behavior aren't acceptable. This includes, but is not limited
to:
- Violent threats or language directed against another person.
- Discriminatory jokes and language.
- Posting sexually explicit or violent material.
- Posting (or threatening to post) other people's personally identifying
information ("doxing").
- Personal insults, especially those using racist or sexist terms.
- Unwelcome sexual attention.
- Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior.
- Repeated harassment of others. In general, if someone asks you to stop,
then stop.
This paragraph could be shortened to something along the lines of "never talk about anything except what's happening *inside* the community; and never, never, never attack people in person".
- *When we disagree, try to understand why.* Disagreements, both social and
technical, happen all the time and LLVM is no exception. It is important
that we resolve disagreements and differing views constructively.
Agreed.
> Remember
that we’re different. The strength of LLVM comes from its varied community,
people from a wide range of backgrounds.
Reword that as a promise of future improvement, rather than a statement of facts (about which people could disagree).
E.g. "the more diverse the views present in a community, the more angles it has to attack a specific problem; in this way, diversity builds community strength".
> Different people have different
perspectives on issues. Being unable to understand why someone holds a
viewpoint doesn’t mean that they’re wrong. Don’t forget that it is human to
err and blaming each other doesn’t get us anywhere. Instead, focus on
helping to resolve issues and learning from mistakes.
True and important to mention; I'm not sure whether it belongs here.
Maybe there should be a separate "tips & tricks for successful in-community interaction" section, because this isn't actually code of conduct.
## Questions? ##
If you have questions, please see feel free to contact the LLVM Foundation
Code of Conduct Advisory Committee by emailing conduct@llvm.org.
Good.
# Reporting Guide #
If you believe someone is violating the code of conduct we ask that you
report it to the LLVM Foundation by emailing conduct@llvm.org. *All reports
will be kept confidential.* In some cases we may determine that a public
statement will need to be made. If that's the case, the identities of all
victims and reporters will remain confidential unless those individuals
instruct us otherwise.
If you believe anyone is in physical danger, please notify appropriate law
enforcement first. If you are unsure what law enforcement agency is
appropriate, please include this in your report and we will attempt to
notify them.
If the violation occurs at an event such as a Developer Meeting, you can
also reach out to any of the event organizers or staff to report it. If you
cannot find one of the organizers, the hotel staff can locate one for you.
We will also post detailed contact information for specific events as part
of each events’ information. Event organizers and staff will be prepared to
handle the incident and able to help. Your report will still be kept
confidential exactly as above, but also feel free to (anonymously if
needed) email conduct@llvm.org if needed.
In your report please include:
- Your contact info (so we can get in touch with you if we need to follow
up)
- Names (real, nicknames, or pseudonyms) of any individuals involved. If
there were other witnesses besides you, please try to include them as well.
- When and where the incident occurred. Please be as specific as possible.
- Your account of what occurred. If there is a publicly available record
(e.g. a mailing list archive or a public IRC logger) please include a link.
- Any extra context you believe existed for the incident.
- If you believe this incident is ongoing.
- Any other information you believe we should have.
## What happens after you file a report? ##
You will receive an email from the LLVM Foundation Code of Conduct Advisory
Committee acknowledging receipt within 24 hours (and will aim for much
quicker than that).
Typo: "and *we* will aim for much quicker than that"
The Advisory Committee will immediately meet to review the incident and
determine:
- What happened.
- Whether this event constitutes a code of conduct violation.
- Who the bad actor was.
- Whether this is an ongoing situation, or if there is a threat to anyone's
physical safety.
- If this is determined to be an ongoing incident or a threat to physical
safety, the committee's immediate priority will be to protect everyone
involved. This means we may delay an "official" response until we believe
that the situation has ended and that everyone is physically safe.
Once the working group has a complete account of the events they will make
a decision as to how to respond. Responses may include:
- A private reprimand from the working group to the individual(s) involved.
- A public reprimand.
- An imposed vacation (i.e. asking someone to "take a week off" from a
mailing list or IRC).
- A permanent or temporary ban from some or all LLVM spaces (mailing lists,
IRC, etc.)
- A request for a public or private apology.
- Nothing (if we determine no violation occurred).
If not resolved within one week, we'll respond within one week to the
original reporter with an explanation of why the situation is not yet
resolved.
Once we've determined our final action, we'll contact the original reporter
to let them know what action (if any) we'll be taking. We'll take into
account feedback from the reporter on the appropriateness of our response,
but we don't guarantee we'll act on it.
Finally, the Advisory Committee will make a report on the situation to the
LLVM Foundation board. The board may choose to make a public statement
about the incident.
## Appealing ##
Only permanent resolutions (such as bans) may be appealed. To appeal a
decision of the working group, contact the LLVM Foundation Board at
board@llvm.org with your appeal and the board will review the case.
Just for the record: I'm not sure whether that's a good ruling.
One thing I'm missing is some way to evaluate the committee's work.
I'm not sure if that is feasible. I just believe that a dysfunctional, erratic or just incomprehensible-to-outsiders committee can be worse than having no committee at all.
Just my 5 cents, do with that as you wish 
Regards,
Jo