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authorPatrick Spek <p.spek@tyil.nl>2019-08-10 09:16:27 +0200
committerPatrick Spek <p.spek@tyil.nl>2019-08-10 09:16:31 +0200
commite92cbb32a9eb9e5b958e7ddc12d686b70e2c23a4 (patch)
tree952e5ed995fc434445ee183fa96e0693cc7b68c0 /_posts
parent633b506711216c3cdfc16d89dddb6bab416606b0 (diff)
Writeup on the SoC controversy
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+---
+title: The SoC Controversy
+layout: post
+tags: Perl Perl6 PerlCon SoC StandardsOfConduct CoC CodeOfConduct
+description: >
+ For a while now, there's been a controversy about Standards or Codes of
+ Conduct. This has also sprung up in the context of PerlCon. I'd like to
+ address the issue for myself.
+---
+
+{% markdown %}
+Those that know me are probably aware that I generally dislike to make
+political posts on my personal blog. I'd rather stick to technological
+arguments, as there's less problems to be found with regards to personal
+feelings and all that. However, as I'm growing older (and hopefully more
+mature), I find it harder to keep politics out of my life as I interact with
+online communities. This becomes especially true as I am helping with
+organizing [PerlCon 2020]().
+{% endmarkdown %}
+
+{% markdown %}
+PerlCon 2019 ended yesterday, and I had a lot of fun. I'd like to thank the
+organizer, Andrew Shitov, once more for doing an amazing job. Especially so, as
+he has been harassed for weeks, for trying to organize the conference. The
+reason behind the harassment was partly due to his decision to not have an SoC,
+or "Standards of Conduct", for PerlCon 2019.
+{% endmarkdown %}
+
+{% markdown %}
+During his final announcements at the end of the conference, he noted that this
+is still happening, even in person at the conference itself. This toxic
+behaviour towards him has made him decide to no longer involve himself in
+organizing a conference for the Perl community. I personally think this is a
+loss for everyone involved in the community, and one that was completely
+avoidable by having humane discussion instead of going for Twitter harassment.
+{% endmarkdown %}
+
+{% markdown %}
+For what it's worth, I think Twitter is also the worst possible place on the
+Internet for any reasonable discussion, as it puts a very low limit on the
+amount of characters you are allowed to spend on a single post. This makes it
+downright impossible for any discussion, and seems to always lead to petty
+name-calling. This is one of the reasons why [I'm instead using a Pleroma
+instance]() for my social media presence on the Internet. If anyone is on the
+Internet with the intent of having interesting discussion, I'd highly recommend
+to use some entrance into the Fediverse. The instance I'm using is open for
+sign-ups!
+{% endmarkdown %}
+
+{% markdown %}
+But I digress. The SoC controversy is what made me want to write this blog
+post. I wonder why this even is a controversy. Why do people think it is
+impossible to co-exist without some document describing explicitly what is and
+is not allowed? I remember having those at school when I was younger. Did we
+not grow up, and learn how to simply respect one another in person since then?
+{% endmarkdown %}
+
+{% markdown %}
+I wonder, was there any certain event at PerlCon 2019 that would've been
+avoided if there *was* a SoC provided? I certainly did not, at any point, feel
+that people were being harmful to one another, but maybe I'm just blind to it.
+If anyone has concrete examples of events that happened during PerlCon 2019
+that a SoC could've prevented, I would be genuinely interested in hearing about
+them. I need to help make a decision about things like this for PerlCon 2020,
+and concrete examples would be benificial in understanding why people think
+they need it.
+{% endmarkdown %}
+
+{% markdown %}
+Of course, I also consider the opposite of this discussion. Can the SoC be used
+to *cause* harm, in stead of deter it? For this, I actually have clear
+evidence, and the answer is a resounding **yes**. The harassment brought upon
+Andrew was originally caused by an event that transpired at The Perl Conference
+in Pittsburgh (2019). A video was removed, and a speaker harassed, for
+deadnaming someone. Until that event, I wasn't even aware of the term, but
+apparently it's grounds for removal of your presentation from the conference
+archives.
+{% endmarkdown %}
+
+{% markdown %}
+A similar event happened with The Perl Conference in Glasgow (2018), where a
+talk was also removed from the archives for a supposedly offensive joke that
+was made. This also sparked a heavy discussion on IRC back then, with people
+from all sides pitching in with their opinion.
+{% endmarkdown %}
+
+{% markdown %}
+From my perspective, the people shouting the loudest in these discussions
+aren't interested in making the world a better place where we can live in
+harmony, but to punish the offender for their behaviour. I don't think we
+should strive towards punishment, but towards understanding, if anything. Just
+being angry, shouting at people (either in real life, or over the Internet)
+isn't going to solve any underlying problem. It is more likely to cause more
+issues in the long run, where people will just be more divided, and will want
+to get continuous revenge upon the other side.
+{% endmarkdown %}
+
+{% markdown %}
+Additionally, I think that the existence of an SoC or likewise document is a
+sign towards outsiders that your community can't behave itself maturely. They
+need special rules laid out to them, after all. Like most rules, they are
+codified because issues have arisen in the past, and keep on arising. I don't
+think the Perl community is too immature to behave itself. I trust in the good
+faith of people, and to me it feels like a SoC does the exact opposite.
+{% endmarkdown %}
+
+{% markdown %}
+I hope this blog post does it's job to invite you kindly to share your opinions
+with me, either on IRC, email or on the Fediverse. I'd gladly start a
+discussion on the positive and negative effects the SoC has, and the problems
+it solves and creates. I think a civil discussion is in order here, to best
+prepare us for PerlCon 2020.
+{% endmarkdown %}