# Goals

To me, the goals of a Debian code of conduct should be:

- To improve collaboration by encouraging a positive atmosphere
- To discourage unwanted behaviour
- To provide means to the DPL and delegates to take action in cases of
  excessive disregard for others

To meet these goals, a code of conduct should be concise (nobody reads a
multi-page code of conduct); it follows that it should not try to
enumerate every type of possible bad behaviour.

It's probably good if we assume good sense from people reading the
coc. It should be open for interpretation, though of course not to the
extent that calling people names (or similar) would be allowed.

I read several other community codes of conduct (CAcert, GNOME, KDE,
Dreamwidth, mozilla, openstack, tizen, ubuntu) before creating this
proposal.

# Proposal

## Be respectful

In a project the size of Debian, inevitably there will be people with
whom you may disagree, or find it difficult to cooperate. Accept that,
but even so, remain respectful. Disagreement is no excuse for poor
behaviour or personal attacks, and a community in which people feel
threatened is not a healthy community.

## Assume good faith

A project the size of Debian has many people working towards our common
goal of a [free](http://www.debian.org/intro/free) operating system.
Sometimes the ways in which we try to reach that goal may differ from
one person to another, and sometimes one person's immediate actions may
seem to be contrary to yours. Do not assume other people are
purposely working against your own goals; they may have differing goals
that you just don't understand. If in doubt, ask.

Remember that it is more likely that people are unaware of their bad
behaviour than that they intentionally try to degrade the quality of
the discussion.

<asheesh brainstorm>
Debian contributors have a number of ways to reach the shared goal of working
toward a [free](http://www.debian.org/intro/free) operating system. <optional>Our
[diversity statement](http://www.debian.org/intro/diversity) welcomes and encourages
participation by anyone.</optional>
optional>Debian contributors come from a variety of languages, cultures, and backgrounds,
among our other differences (see also our [diversity statement](http://www.debian.org/intro/diversity).</optional>
It is helpful to keep this in mind and assume your colleagues are working in good
faith. If in doubt, assume good faith. <???>If *really* in doubt, ask.</???>
</asheesh>

## Be collaborative

Debian is a large and complex project; it is impossible for one person
to understand all parts of it. Do not be afraid to ask for help when you
need it; there is no shame in accepting that one cannot do a particular
job on their own. Similarly, an offer for help should not be seen as a
personal attack.

<asheesh scratchpad>
Debian is a large and complex project; there is always more to learn
within Debian. It's good to ask for help when you need it. Similarly, offers
for help should be seen in the context of our shared goal of improving Debian.
</asheesh>

When you made something for the benefit of the project, be willing to
explain to others how it works, so that they can build on your work to
make it even better.

## Try to be concise.

Making a conversation larger makes it more difficult to follow. Writing
a long email means people may have to invest large amounts of time to
understand it. When a long explanation is necessary, consider whether a
summary is appropriate. Try to avoid repeating arguments that have
already been brought forward; this rarely serves any useful purpose.

<asheesh positive version (to replace 1st para; 2nd is OK)>
Keeping conversations short makes them easier to follow. Writing a short
email means people can understand the conversation as efficiently as
possible. When a long explanation is necessary, consider adding a
summary. Try to bring new arguments to a conversation so that each
mail adds something unique to the thread, keeping in mind that the
rest of the thread still contains the other messages with arguments
that have already been made.
</asheesh>

<buxy>
Keep in mind that what you write once will be read by hundreds of persons.
Go straight to your point. Stay on topic. Don't repeat yourself.
</buxy>

Try to stay on topic, especially in discussions that are already fairly
large.

## Be open

Most ways of communication used within Debian allow for public and
private communication. As per paragraph three of the [social
contract](http://www.debian.org/social_contract), you should preferably
use public methods of communication for Debian-related messages, unless
posting something sensitive.

This applies to messages for help or Debian-related support, too; not
only is a public support request much more likely to result in an answer
to your question, it also makes sure that any inadvertent mistakes made
by people answering your question will be more easily detected and
corrected.

## In case of problems.

While this code of conduct should be adhered to by participants, we
recognize that sometimes people may have a bad day, or be unaware of
some of the rules in this code of conduct. When that happens, you may
reply to them and point out this code of conduct. Such messages may be
in public or in private, whatever is most appropriate. However,
regardless of whether the message is public or not, it should still
adhere to the relevant parts of this code of conduct; in particular, it
should not be abusive or disrespectful. Assume good faith; it is more
likely that participants are unaware of their bad behaviour than that
they intentionally try to degrade the quality of the discussion.

Repeated offenders may be temporarily or permanently banned from
communicating through Debian's systems, at the medium's administrator's
prerogative.

# Medium-specific codes

This section contains some guidelines that are specific to one
particular communication medium. Note that the above general guidelines
still apply to each and every one of these medium-specific guidelines,
as well.

## Email

Email is an important part of Debian; much of our communication happens
through mail. This section applies to all email communication within
Debian, whether on our [mailinglists](http://lists.debian.org/), the [bug
tracking system](http://bugs.debian.org/), or private email between
project collaborators in the context of their Debian work.

- Please use the most appropriate list you can see.  If you are unsure,
  use debian-user for support-related questions, or debian-mentors for
  development-related questions.  Be prepared to ask your question on a
  different list if told to do so, and mention that it is a resent
  question.
- Use the correct language when sending mails to our lists. This is
  usually English, unless otherwise noted in the description of the
  mailing list in question.
- You should check whether to reply to the List-Post address only, or
  whether the original author would like to be a Cc recipient. This may
  be indicated in the non-standard Mail-Followup-To header.
- If you wish to be part of a discussion, you should preferably
  subscribe to the relevant mailing list, even if only temporarily. If
  you choose not to, you should remember that you may lose out on part
  of the discussion, even if you explicitly asked to be copied on
  replies.
- You should avoid sending large attachments (except, perhaps, in
  private mail); this generates a lot of unnecessary bandwidth on our
  servers. Instead, put the file you would like to attach online
  somewhere and post a link.
- Please ensure that your mail system never sends automatic replies to
  the list or the BTS. If you do, our system administrators may remove
  you from the list or block you from posting to the BTS with immediate
  effect to avoid flooding or annoying participants. This ban may be
  lifted once the automatic messages have been disabled.
- Replies to a post on a mailing list should, in general, go to the same
  mailing list. Do not change the mailing list, unless you are posting
  something that is no longer relevant to the original discussion and
  clearly off-topic for the mailing list where it is being discussed.

## IRC

Debian provides interactive chat through the [OFTC](http://www.oftc.net)
IRC network. This section applies to communication through Debian's
official channels (those beginning with #debian).

Do not assume there's someone on the channel at all times. IRC is an
interactive medium; this means that people need to be online and on
the channel to see your question. If you receive no immediate answer
to your question and there is no apparent activity on the channel,
wait a while; people may see it later and reply. You could also come
back later and try again; alternatively, try using one of our
mailinglists.

## Blogs

Debian provides the [Planet Debian](http://planet.debian.org/) blog
aggregator service for contributors. While it is not required that blog
posts that are syndicated on Planet Debian have Debian-related content
only, people who often post material that is not related to Debian may
consider only syndicating a Debian-related feed to Planet Debian.

## More?

# Further reading

The links in this section do not refer to documents that are part of
this code of conduct, nor are they authoritative within Debian. However,
they do contain useful information on how to conduct oneself on our 

- The [Debian Community Guidelines](http://people.debian.org/~enrico/dcg/) 
  by Enrico Zini contain some advice on how to communicate effectively.
- <link to documentation on what to do in case of technical problems>
oo

<asheesh addition per post-talk discussion>

# How to report an issue where someone violates the code of conduct

If, to you, someone is treating you in a way that violates this code of conduct,
notice that someone else is being treated in a way, or have any other concerns,
please contact a member of the code of conduct committee. You can bring it up
in public if you choose, but you are encouraged to address issues in private
with either the committee members or the person whose conduct you feel is in
violation. The committee members are listed here, and you can always ask the
Debian Project Leader.

These people will be happy to help you address the situation and
those experiencing this kind of bad behavior so that they feel safe while
participating in Debian. We value your contributions.

All of the people on this list are informed of the code of conduct policy and
have read a guide for handling violations of codes of conduct, available here:
http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Conference_anti-harassment/Responding_to_reports

To report such a violation, contact (preferably in writing, e.g. email) one
of these people - all reports are confidential.

When reporting the event, try to gather as much information as available, but
do not interview people about the incident - the person you contact can assist
you in writing the collecting further information.

The important information consists of:

* Identifying information (name/email) of the participant acting in violation
* The behavior that was in violation
* The approximate time of the behavior
* The circumstances surrounding the incident
* Other people involved in the incident

The team is well informed on how to deal with the incident and how to further
proceed with the situation.

The team members are:

* Lucas Nussbaum, Debian Project Leader
* Asheesh Laroia, DPL delegate (if true)
* Other people in this list, hopefully one woman who cares

</asheesh>