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

[Garrett Smith]

I usually bottom post. But in solidarity with Mark Allen, a long time
top poster and friend, I conscientiously top post here.

On Fri, Mar 13, 2015 at 9:23 AM, Bruce Yinhe
<community-manager@REDACTED> wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> To encourage a welcoming, inclusive climate for communication within the
> erlang.org community, the Erlang/OTP team, together with members of the
> community, has released a new code of conduct, available at
> http://www.erlang.org/download/erlang_org_code_of_conduct.txt. This code of
> conduct lays out a guideline of how to communicate within the erlang.org
> community in a way we hope is easy to read, help mutual understanding and
> avoid flames. The erlang.org community is by definition all communication in
> or around erlang.org, including but not limited to the erlang.org mailing
> lists or Github discussions.
>
> This code is not exhaustive or complete. It serves to distill our common
> understanding of a collaborative, shared environment and goals. We expect it
> to be followed in spirit as much as in the letter.

Okay, I find it really hard to top post. Sorry Mark.

Bruce, as what appears to be an initiative to advance the Erlang
community effort, I'd keep an eye on how this happens in the future. I
was surprised to see this announced as a final product. I'd have
preferred to see a "call" or "request for comment" long before the
initiative was undertaken. This just doesn't fit, IMO, with the spirit
of open community building.

A code of conduct (or style guide - as you can see by the response,
it's a bit muddy) would have been a terrific rallying point for
contributions across this list. I think you would have see a higher
quality result and less acrimony. If the goal is to strengthen the
erlang.org community, I think it's important that the community be
involved openly, rather than by appointed/invited "members".

I personally don't know if it's worth taking a step back here and
trying this. I think having a problem definition to start is helpful.
I don't know a single serious minded person who would argue that top
posting is a problem. Certainly "to encourage a welcoming, inclusive
climate for communication within the erlang.org community" is
something we can all get behind.

Ironically, I think many here would argue that the process that led to
this code of conduct was very much not welcoming or inclusive.

I hope that in the future, we'll see initiatives like this opened up
publicly and transparently from the start. Community building is a
learning process for everyone - so you could try this and see how it
goes.

I'm very happy to lend a hand in any way.

Garrett