As our community grows, it is imperative that we preserve the what got us here. Namely, we keep Drupal a fun, welcoming, challenging, and fair place to play. IMO, we need to proactively state our shared ideals with respect to conduct. Think of this as coding standards for people :)
Our friends at Ubuntu have blazed a brilliant trail in this area. They use our CMS, and I propose that we use their Code of Conduct.
- Adopt the Ubuntu Code of Conduct.
- Make very light edits to the UCOC just to swap the word Ubuntu with Drupal and and remove reference to conflict resolution process. See my proposal below. I propose to avoid bikeshedding and avoid further edits for now.
- Write a handbook page where we adopt the DCOC. Add prominent links to this document from drupal.org, groups.drupal.org, etc.
- Add a user profile checkbox where users can optionally affirm their support for the Drupal Code of Conduct. There are no repercussions to checking or not checking this box. Its just a grassroots way to show that many members of drupal.org believe on our own Code.
- Post the news on drupal.org front page
- Build upon the DCOC with a conflict resolution policy. Again, Ubuntu has a really strong model. Have a look at it. Such a policy will really help groups.drupal.org and IRC administrators as they deal with the inevitable trolls in our world.
If this sounds too formal for Drupal, I sort of agree with you. But in the end, we want Drupal to be big and successful and a force for positive change in the world. Without a code of conduct, we impair this goal. We need to shout from the rooftops about who we are and how we operate. We need to recruit like-minded people. And we need to clearly deal with trolls who throw roadblocks toward our goals.
This is bridge building, in classic Drupal tradition. The DCOC finally documents the unwritten guidelines that have been so instrumental in the healthy/happy development and growth of Drupal to-date. It's a numerical fact that we're growing beyond the scale at which we can rely on informal standards and individual personalities to guard the spirit of the community.
Lets discuss the many details here. I hope to synthesize all feedback and make a recommendation after a couple of weeks. Lets christen this the webchick model of community decision making. We are following her brilliant lead in pushing the community to modernize its version control platform. Feel free to blog and microblog (use #DCOC keyword) about this in order to get the best minds talking here.
CAPS indicate changes from the Ubuntu Code of Conduct
Be considerate.
Our work will be used by other people, and
we in turn will depend on the work of others. Any decision we take
will affect users and colleagues, and we should take those
consequences into account when making decisions. DRUPAL has
millions of users and thousands of contributors. Even if it's not
obvious at the time, our contributions to DRUPAL will impact the
work of others. For example, changes to code, infrastructure,
policy, documentation, and translations during a release may
negatively impact others' work.
Be respectful.
The DRUPAL community and its members treat
one another with respect. Everyone can make a valuable
contribution to DRUPAL. We may not always agree, but disagreement
is no excuse for poor behaviour 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. We expect members of the
DRUPAL community to be respectful when dealing with other
contributors as well as with people outside the DRUPAL project and
with users of DRUPAL.
Be collaborative.
Collaboration is central to DRUPAL and to
the larger free software community. This collaboration involves
individuals working with others in teams within DRUPAL, teams
working with each other within DRUPAL, and individuals and teams
within DRUPAL working with other projects outside. This
collaboration reduces redundancy, and improves the quality of our
work. Internally and externally, we should always be open to
collaboration. Wherever possible, we should work closely with
upstream projects and others in the free software community to
coordinate our technical, advocacy, documentation, and other work.
Our work should be done transparently and we should involve as
many interested parties as early as possible. If we decide to
take a different approach than others, we will let them know early,
document our work and inform others regularly of our progress.
When we disagree, we consult others.
OMIT THIS SECTION UNTIL WE HAVE CONFLICT RESOLUTION PROCESS
When we are unsure, we ask for help.
Nobody knows everything, and nobody is expected to be perfect in the DRUPAL
community. Asking questions avoids many problems down the road,
and so questions are encouraged. Those who are asked questions should
be responsive and helpful. However, when asking a question, care must
be taken to do so in an appropriate forum.
Step down considerately.
Members of every project come and
go and DRUPAL is no different. When somebody leaves or disengages
from the project, in whole or in part, we ask that they do so in a
way that minimises disruption to the project. This means they
should tell people they are leaving and take the proper steps to
ensure that others can pick up where they left off.