[diversity] Code of Conduct

Hi Sasha, Sascha, all,

>> Perhaps we lead very different lives, but I’ve never seen attempts at setting people on fire as “horsing around�. 

> Must be that. I've seen it more than once, both accidentally and
> by just being drunk or stupid. Even did it to myself once or
> twice and learned from it.

This is turning into quite the metaphor.

It is precisely what we are talking about — diversity.  In this case, of self-immolation experiences.

The thing is, if you see someone else setting themselves on fire, you would call the fire brigade, and if someone at a RIPE meeting sets fire to themselves (I assume we don’t know if they’re doing that to themselves on a mailing list), metaphorically or not, help (or at least a nudge in the direction of the nearest fire extinguisher) may be needed.

I don’t want to stretch that metaphor any more.

Cultures are different.  Perhaps the inhabitants of Cork have more fire-resistance than the inhabitants of the Netherlands (or elsewhere).  Perhaps not.  What does it matter?  “Drunk and/or stupid” is not an adequate measure of professional interactions, and this is what a RIPE meeting ultimately is, a meeting of professionals (with a bit of a social aspect as a bonus).

I don’t want to lose the social aspect because of irregularities in the professional side (or vice versa), but if I know which one has to go, you can probably make an educated guess.  My view of the CoC is that it should be trying to find that balance — our community is more than just (say) the ITU, but neither is it a free-for-all, and most importantly of all, we welcome anyone and everyone that can contribute to our discussions in a constructive manner.

As usual, this is just my personal opinion, yours will vary.

Cheers,
Rob