summaryrefslogtreecommitdiff
path: root/content/posts/2019/2019-08-10-the-soc-controversy.md
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
Diffstat (limited to 'content/posts/2019/2019-08-10-the-soc-controversy.md')
-rw-r--r--content/posts/2019/2019-08-10-the-soc-controversy.md99
1 files changed, 99 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/content/posts/2019/2019-08-10-the-soc-controversy.md b/content/posts/2019/2019-08-10-the-soc-controversy.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..762492d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/posts/2019/2019-08-10-the-soc-controversy.md
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+---
+title: The SoC Controversy
+date: 2019-08-10
+tags:
+- CodeOfConduct
+- Conference
+- Perl6
+- Raku
+---
+
+{{< admonition title="Disclaimer" >}}
+{% admonition_md Disclaimer %}
+Please keep in mind that the opinion shared in this blog post is mine and mine
+alone. I do not speak for any other members of the PerlCon organization team.
+Please do not address anyone but me for the positions held in this post.
+{{< / admonition >}}
+
+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 plan to assist with
+organizing [PerlCon
+2020](https://wiki.perlcon.eu/doku.php/proposals/2020/amsterdam).
+
+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.
+
+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
+behavior 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.
+
+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](https://soc.fglt.nl/main/public) 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!
+
+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 would hope that we're all adults, and can respect one another
+as such.
+
+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. If I am to assist in organizing PerlCon 2020, and I want to be able to
+present a good argument on the SoC discussion, I'll need concrete examples of
+real problems that have occurred.
+
+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
+dead-naming 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.
+
+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.
+
+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 behavior. 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.
+
+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.
+
+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](/#contact). 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.