Could Go Community's Threat of Public Shaming, Lifetime Bans Make Go a No-Go?

theodp writes: At first glance, the proposal for A Code of Conduct for the Go Community (attributed to Google's Andrew Gerrand) seems reasonable enough. How can you argue with the goal of treating everyone with respect and kindness? But the Devil is in the detail, and the proposed Code notes there soon could be consequences for calling someone an "idiot" or saying something is "so simple even my grandma could understand it" (the latter "marginalises women and the elderly by implying that something need be simple for an old woman to understand it"). And the punishment meted out by the Go Code of Conduct Working Group to those who find themselves on the receiving end of an anonymous complaint could be anything from nothing to "a request for a private or public apology, a private reprimand from the working group to the individual(s) involved, a public reprimand, an imposed vacation (for instance, asking someone to 'take a week off' from a mailing list or IRC), or a permanent or temporary ban from some or all Go spaces (mailing lists, IRC, etc.)." And no, this doesn't appear to be a goof. So, might individuals and companies think twice about embracing a programming language whose community's Code of Conduct threatens to ruin reputations and ban people from technical support resources for life? Too late to get this added to the list of questions for Alan Donovan and Brian Kernighan?

Comments

Re:Just asking for adult behavior!

[LWATCDR]

"t Adults can say that's stupid or you're a moron as part of normal healthy discourse it's intent that matters. Healthy razzing friendly banter etc etc is part of normal adult communication."
Among friends yes it can be. In a working group of developers without any face to face social interaction no. At that point it is just harassment.

*sigh*...

[EmeraldBot]

There's no doubt he needs a code of conduct, and I agree with some of the provisions in there, but you have to read between the lines to get what he means, and it's not pretty. I'd like to quote them all, but there's too many, so I'll stick with the worst:

Remember that people have varying communication styles, and that not everyone speaks English fluently.

I sympathize here, as I agree: no everyone does learn English. However: you need to settle on a standard language, and English is the best choice most of the time. Forgive someone for writing sentences with a little awkward grammar? Definitely. Machen es so niemand kann mich verstehen? Nein.

Be charitable Interpret the arguments of others in good faith, do not seek to disagree. When we do disagree, try to understand why.

Translation: judge a person on their social status first, and if they outrank you in developer status or connections, keep your mouth shut, no matter how bad the bug. (And yes, it will become this way.)

Be thoughtful Productive communication requires effort. Think about how your words will be interpreted. Remember that sometimes it is best to refrain from commenting entirely.

Hand in hand with the above. Make sure never to anything that could possibly start a confrontation, and if someone has a wrong answer or makes a bug, don't say anything for fear of making conflict.

“Microaggressions,” the small, subtle, often subconscious actions that marginalize people in oppressed groups.

Long list of things, but this is the worst. Basically, since anything could be offensive (because this totally specifies what's a ""microaggression""), always speak as reserved and uptight as you can, and never relax your guard.

Don't just aim to be technically unimpeachable, aim to be your best self. If someone takes issue with something you said or did, resist the urge to be defensive. Just stop doing what it was they complained about and apologize.

Yeeeeah... Basically, never ever defend yourself, just immediately bow down and admit you were mistaken. The project leader is always right, he knows what's best, and never never ever ever never ever ever doubt him and his infinite wisdom.

J is a regular poster to the golang-nuts mailing list. On one thread, they make the comment “Go’s type system is so simple even my grandma could understand it.” Another poster points out that the comment goes against the code of conduct, since it marginalises women and the elderly by implying that something need be simple for an old woman to understand it. J says “Fair point. Sorry for saying that.”

YEEEEEEEEEAH... Okay. My grandmother uses that line a lot, and I occasionally do to. My grandmother lived through WWII, with a polish mother, and lost her entire family (save for her parents). I dare this guy to do what she did, to be even a 1/10th as badass. My grandmother and I never mean any disrespect when we say it, it's a very tongue in cheek thing, and only when this guy insists it's offensive does it become so. Why, you ask? I'd never take it serious before, because it's so obvious that my grandmother very well could do it, and yet he has the balls to seriously think my grandmother is not capable of, let's say, lifting a pan. That is way more offensive than the original phrase ever was, just wow.

N replies “It’s impressive to see a woman doing such great work. Nice job!” K writes to the CoC Working Group to say “I felt really deflated for my work to be seen as impressive just because I’m a woman. Can you say something to N for me?” T, a member of the working group, reaches out to N to explain how their words affected K.

Re: A link between codes of conduct and autism?

[BarbaraHudson]

Simpler explanation - power trip. Look at how many SJWs, hyper feminists, etc try to control the discussion by engaging in preemptive framing.