Updates on rb-general list moderation and Code of Conduct development

[Chris Lamb]

Hello,

First off, the core R-B team would like to extend a genuine thank you
to list members who have contacted us with suggestions, preferences
and exemplars related to establishing a Code of Conduct (CoC) for the
Reproducible Builds project

We are writing with two updates today, one regarding list
moderation, and the other on the CoC development process:

1) List moderation: We are deeply appreciative of those who have taken
   time to engage with us 1-1 to discuss your experiences of the list,
   offer your perspectives on norms & respectful behavior, and
   visions for how we can create the most productive and inclusive
   environment for collaborating on Reproducible Builds.

   We believe we have reached a point where we can turn off moderation
   on the rb-general list. Posts have returned to the constructive and
   respectful tone that we have taken for granted in the past. We
   thank everyone for your patience and understanding while the list
   was on moderation, and we ask everyone to maintain a constructive
   and respectful tone and content moving forward.

   In the spirit of transparency, we must note that one list member
   declined to engage in dialogue regarding posts of theirs which
   generated a number of complaints both on- as well as off-list.
   That individual is still subscribed to rb-general, albeit without
   posting privileges, with the understanding that we are happy to
   be in dialogue at any time about reaching a shared understanding
   regarding appropriate list behaviour.

2) Code of Conduct (CoC) development: The core RB team has had initial
   discussions about the process and timeline for CoC development. We
   also have a series of meetings scheduled from January onward to
   first articulate the CoC development process… and to be implemented
   after community feedback. We'll post more on this in January.

In the meantime, we wish all of you a fine rest of 2023, and excellent
(and reproducible…) 2024!


Regards,

— Chris, Gunner, Holger, Mattia & Vagrant




Chris Lamb wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> Thank you for your patience, understanding and support in the past
> few days.
>
> We recently placed the rb-general mailing list under close moderation
> after a number of community members expressed concerns about the tone
> and content of some threads. Since that time, no new messages have
> been permitted on the list.
>
> However, we've also been using this time to reach out to other members
> of the community and have been listening to their feedback to ensure
> we understood all perspectives involved.
>
> We still fully intend to formalise a Code of Conduct for our mailing
> list and other communication channels. However, we do not wish to
> continue blocking all discussions pending this announcement.
>
> --> We are therefore moving the rb-general mailing to a "rolling"
> moderation model and appraising individual posts as they come in. <--
>
> Because of this, may notice a slight delay in your messages before
> they are distributed to others, as well as a small influx of messages
> as we process the slight backlog. We will also be holding back
> messages and threads that, to the best of our belief, are not up to
> the standards we should be setting for our community or may be
> unproductive during this particular time.
>
> As before, if you have any questions or have input on what you
> consider to be exemplary policies, practices and norms for
> communities such as ours, please email rb-core at lists.reproducible-builds.org.
>
> Although we are making this change today, we want to reinforce that
> a formal CoC is incoming and that list participants should treat
> other members of the community with respect and always help foster a
> welcoming environment for all.
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> — Chris, Holger, Mattia, Vagrant and Gunner
>
>
>
> Chris Lamb wrote:
>
>> Hello,
>>
>> Thank you to those of you who have reached out to us with concerns
>> regarding the tone and content of posts on this list in recent weeks.
>>
>> We realise and appreciate that the sometimes-confrontational
>> interactions on the list have really not been what we expect or
>> desire from our community. As maintainers of this list and community,
>> we apologise for any role we have played in failing to de-escalate
>> disagreements on various threads.
>>
>> The growth of both Reproducible Builds practices and the associated
>> community places us at an important juncture. We want to enable growth
>> and diversification of resources like this list without losing the
>> positive and collaborative energy that has characterised our online
>> communications from the outset of the project.
>>
>> For our part, we acknowledge some community governance shortcomings
>> that we are working to address. While the Reproducible Builds Summits
>> have operated under the guidance of the DebConf Code of Conduct [1]
>> and the Debian Code of Conduct [2], we have never formally established
>> a Code of Conduct for the mailing list or participation in the RB
>> Community channels and platforms in general.
>>
>> We are in the process of addressing those issues, and we encourage
>> input from anyone who might want to provide feedback or point us at
>> what you consider to be exemplary policies, practices and norms for
>> communities such as ours.
>>
>> In the meantime, we have placed the list under moderation to ensure
>> that no further counter-productive exchanges occur. [3] Everyone on
>> this list is requested to treat all people with respect and help
>> create a welcoming environment.
>>
>> We are also reaching out to a number of individuals who have
>> participated in recent threads or offered feedback in order to make
>> sure that we are honoring and understanding the range of perspectives
>> represented in our community.
>>
>> We welcome comment and questions, and are happy to be in dialogue with
>> anyone who desires the same.
>>
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> — Chris, Holger, Mattia, Vagrant and Gunner
>>
>>   [1] http://debconf.org/codeofconduct.shtml
>>   [2] https://www.debian.org/code_of_conduct
>>   [3] We had attempted to place the list into moderation on Friday,
>>       but a snafu on our part prevented it from working as intended.

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