On Thu, Oct 4, 2018 at 2:32 PM Laurent Pinchart
<laurent.pinchart@ideasonboard.com> wrote:
>
> Hi Jon,
>
> On Thursday, 4 October 2018 19:23:33 EEST jonsmirl@gmail.com wrote:
> > I would highly recommend getting the new CoC reviewed and approved by
> > some of the very smart lawyers that help out the Linux community.  I
> > would also recommend discussing the Brendan Eich situation at Ksummit.
> > A situation like this needs to be planned for since an improper
> > response will make things much worse leading to legal challenges.
> >
> > Some random articles to refresh everyone's memory...
> > https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/
> > digital-media/10743456/Mozilla-chief-Brendan-Eich-steps-down-over-gay-marria
> > ge-row.html
> > https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/07/brendan-eich-has-the-> right-to-fight-gay-rights-but-not-to-be-mozillas-ceo
> > https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-26868536
> > https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/technology-topics/10745283/Brendan-Ei
> > ch-is-a-homophobe-Im-a-lesbian-and-neither-of-us-deserves-to-lose-our-jobs.h
> > tml
>
> We're facing a textbook case that has a probability of generating heated
> discussions no lower than 100%. I remember having a pretty strong opinion on
> the topic when it came under public scrutiny (and while I generally don't mind
> discussing it, I won't disclose that opinion here as that's entirely
> irrelevant). The more interesting part was that waiting for the debate to cool
> down gave me time to think, and realize that what is often perceived as a
> black-and-white situation most often turns out to be more complex than
> initially perceived.
>
> One point that I would like to explore is thus how we can take the time needed
> to solve such matters when the mob is waiting outside of the courtroom with
> tar and feathers. I don't want to discuss here what our response to such a
> case should be, but the process that we should follow to come up with a
> response. It is of paramount importance in my opinion for the body tasked with
> handling those issues to follow a process that ensures it will be able to keep
> a cool head and have enough time available to think the response carefully.

What is going to happen when someone gets fired after being accused of
violating the CoC and they lose $20M in options? INAL but it appears
to me that the CoC has created lawsuit exposure for all of the
maintainers. This CoC really needs to be vetted by the kernel legal
team.

>
> Another point that I believe is important is the issue of representation. The
> code of conduct mentions both "project" and "community". While neither are
> defined, the term project is quite straightforward, but the term community not
> really so. The code of conduct gives a mandate to the TAB to handle
> enforcement in the name of the project (I don't want to focus here on whether
> the TAB is the right instance to handle those issues, this will likely be
> discusses separately and possibly be changed, I will just use TAB here to
> refer to the code of conduct enforcement body for simplicity), and I would
> argue that the mandate extends to representing the community as a whole. When
> the TAB will have to decide on a case that will generate a wide diversity of
> opinions, what kind of process can we put in place to ensure that all
> community members will feel represented (and thus heard) ? To put it
> differently, how can we make sure that the community members who don't fully
> agree with the final decision will agree to disagree and still feel part of
> the community ?
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Laurent Pinchart
>
>
>


--
Jon Smirl
jonsmirl@gmail.com
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