Code of Conduct Activity

Part 1

Go’s Code of Conduct

After taking a look at the Code of Conduct for Go, it is clear why these kinds of documents are necessary for open source projects. By creating this document for the community, everyone involved can have a standardized set of definitions, values, and responsibilities to properly support the core goal of the project. As more contributors join the community, the project’s integrity and original intention is put at risk, but having a Code of Conduct to refer back to can insure that the main objective remains properly intact and upheld. I believe all open source projects can benefit from having a document like this for the same reasons discussed above. Additionally, providing a document like this for prospective contributors also gives them a chance to decide for themselves if the guidelines are in line with a community culture they desire.

Changes in the CONTRIBUTOR COVENANT CODE OF CONDUCT

There are two differences that stuck out to me in version 1.4 and the current version; the current version has a large section before the Code of Conduct where version 1.4 does not, and the current version has replaced enforcement with guidelines for conflict resolution.

The current version benefits from the addition of an “About” section and “Gopher Values” section, because it very clearly states a purpose of the document and more clearly defines values beyond just bullet points (also includes sub-bullets with further clarification). Particularly, I find the sub-bullets under “Be Constructive” very helpful for defining a potentially unclear, broad term. These sections were likely added to provide a lens through which a contributor should understand and use this document as well as greater coherence and clarity of stated values.

A second difference is the switch in “Enforcement” to “Conflict Resolution”. While version 1.4 defers all violations/conflicts to the proper enforcement email, the current version includes a new addition which puts the responsibility of smaller more resolvable conflicts on the community. Additionally, there is more in the current version on how reports will be dealt with. The current version must have made these additions to offload some of the more petty disputes, and also provide transparency for the community on how complaints will be resolved by Go Project Stewards.

Eclipse Code of Conduct

The major difference in the Eclipse Code of Conduct is in the sections after “Enforcement”; there are many more details on how investigation would proceed, a disclaimer on scenarios which the Code of Conduct might not address, no retaliation policy, and a statement about amendments. I suspect this may be because of the large community that Eclipse has developed and the need to keep up with managing relationships/interactions between contributors. There may have been issues in the past regarding users reporting each other and managing respectful, effective workflow which would affect the product.

(https://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/Community_Code_of_Conduct.php)

Part 2

The Sugar Labs Code of Conduct is structured differently from the Go Code of Conduct. Where the Contributor Covenant had bullet points for standards and values, a section on responsibilities, an email to address violations, and more, the Sugar Labs Code of Conduct is a bit more bare. However, for expected behaviors, there is more written to define potentially vague terms such as being “considerate”, “respectful”, “flexible”, etc. I found it interesting that Sugar Labs also included an entire section on stepping down considerately. This is perhaps implicitly implied in Go’s Code of Conduct under “Be Responsible”, but it is not clearly stated and could not necessarily be assumed. Both Code of Conducts have a similar structure to approach conflicts - first to turn to the community and resolve within before deferring to the correct oversight team.

The Sugar Labs Code of Conduct is based on the Ubuntu Code of Conduct.

Part 3

Visual Studio’s Code of Conduct

Found here: (https://github.com/github/VisualStudio/blob/master/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md)

I chose this open source project because I’m constantly using this Text Editor. In fact I’m using it right now to type this blog post. After taking a glance at VS’s Code of Conduct I realize it is essentially the same as the Contributor Covenant. The only difference is the support email.