[erlang-questions] Announcing Erlang.org Code of Condu

[Peter Hickman]

On 14 March 2015 at 13:39, Fred Hebert <mononcqc@REDACTED> wrote:

> On 03/14, Peter Hickman wrote:
> > I was completely unaware that we already had a 74 character limit on our
> > lines. Seems like a new rule to me.
>
> Those are more or less recommendations as I understand it. I've been
> informed some people have been warned/informed privately in the past
> when their e-mail format was always 'wrong' or unreadable.
>


Ah privately, or as I like to call it "secretly".



> The CoC is worded in a way that also doesn't mean enforcement will be
> strict.



But it can and will be enforced, in secret at that, otherwise there would
be no point in even having such rules. Selective enforcement can be seen as
"favouritism" or perhaps "bias". Such things lead to discord.



> None of this is stone tablets down from the mountain dictating how to do
> stuff. Those are recommendations of what could be considered reasonable
> if you want everyone to be able to read you.
>


This is actually the source of the problem, the rules are entirely
subjective and down to the whims of someone I do not know who is not held
accountable and can enforce them as and when they feel like it without any
regard for consistency.



> I am sure regulars, moderators, and newcomers will be able to use their
> judgement to make things readable most of the time, as we nearly almost
> always have.
>


The judgement of the regulars and newcomers counts for nothing, they do not
enforce the rules. Only the judgement of the moderators matter and the
rules basically say "make it up as you go along".



> Compare with the content policy:
>


Then let us rewrite the CoC solely around the content policy and discard
the rest. I have little issue with the content policy.
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