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doc: expections on leadership committees #339

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doc: expections on leadership committees
mhdawson Sep 8, 2017
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It is important that members of our leadership groups (TSC, CommComm) act
in a way that not only complies with the code of conduct but that supports
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s/code of conduct/Code of Conduct, and make this a link to the doc

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done

the vision, mission and operating principles of the Node.js project.
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Do we have all these documented somewhere?

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It might also be helpful if those were links to the supporting documents, eg:

in a way that not only complies with the code of conduct but that supports the vision, mission and operating principles of the Node.js project.

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+1

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I'm up for putting together a first pass on a values document


While members have the right and responsibility to exercise independent
judgment and to express dissenting opinions during discussions within
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judgement

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judgement is the British spelling, but Americans prefer judgment. In the main repo, the style guide indicates that American spellings are preferred, so if that applies here, judgment is the better choice. There's also a behaviour later in the doc that should be changed to behavior if the American English thing applies to all our docs.

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agreed, spelling was never my strong point and I often mix Canadian and US spelling, will fix up.

the organization, members also have the obligation outside the
organization (twitter, reddit, etc.) to respect and support decisions
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twitter, reddit, etc. → social media?

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+1

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agreed

and values of the majority, even when a member dissented from
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This respect and support decisions of the majority view is problematic. Perhaps respect and support decisions made within the project's documented processes or something similar.

the majority view. A member who does not support a team decision
or current team value may express the member's opposition within
the team in an appropriate manner, but must not take actions publicly
that have the purpose or result of undermining the decisions, values
or actions of the team. Accordingly, a member who itends to publicly
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intends

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I think this casts a very wide net, and we should be more specific as to what decisions we refer to. I don’t think anybody should resign because they had a different opinion on what we should do with the Buffer constructor, for example.

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@MylesBorins MylesBorins Sep 11, 2017 •
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I agree with @addaleax here.This is beginning to read like a general gag order on discourse, which I don't think is the exact intention.

Expressing disagreement when done in a respectful way that doesn't undermine the project should be possible.

I am also not super keen on the choice of the term dissenting. Here is an alternative pass to this paragraph, feel free to cherry pick bits you like or take it wholesale

Members are encouraged to have individual opinions and are encouraged
to express those opinions during discussions within the organization. While
discourse is encouraged internally members also have the obligation outside
of the organization (social media) to be respectful of the decisions and values
of the majority. A member who does not support a team decision or current
team value may express the member's opposition within the team in an appropriate manner, but must be extremely careful when expressing the opinion externally.
External communication must not be done with the intent of undermining a decision, project values, or actions of the team. If another team member expresses that they believe
external communications appear to have the intent to undermine the committee
it is the responsibility of the individual expressing their opinions to rectify
the situation immedietely. If a member feels that there is no recourse aside
from going publicly regarding extremely contentious issue they should
resign from the team before doing so.

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Seems reasonable to me will incorporate in next pass.

oppose a team decision action should resign from the team before doing so.

In addition to being willing to act as a team player, members of our
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Ugh... can we not use the "team player" terminology.

leadership groups must conduct themselves in a professional and
respectful manner. Some general
guidelines include:

- Serve as ambassadors of the vision, mission and operating
principles of the Node.js project.
- Treat all community members as professionals. with respect, consideration,
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Comma after professionals?

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Or maybe a colon?:

Treat all community members as professionals: with respect, consideration, and using the highest standards of ethical conduct.

Another option is to simplify it:

Treat all community members with respect, consideration, and the utmost ethical conduct.

and valuing a diversity of views and opinions. Strive to avoid preferential
treatment, and hold everyone (including ourselves) accountable to the same
set of standards. Everyone gets to speak up.
- Deal with issues directly with the person in question. Resist complaining
about others in the project in a public sphere.
- Keep your promises. Your word is your bond. Commit to anything you can
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The second sentence doesn't parse too well for me. Commit only to things you can deliver upon?

More generally, I am not sure if this one really fits in here. Is this a statement about deliverables (concrete work)? If so, given that many/most are working on a volunteer basis, this is basically encouraging people to not sign up for anything unless they can guarantee they will come through.

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I did not read it as meaning concrete deliverables, but I can see how that it could be read this way. I'll think about it and @hackygolucky might have suggestions for better wording as well.

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Maybe If you commit to something, deliver it.

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This is not about deliverables though (but I am not entirely what a promise in a non-deliverable sense would mean).

deliver upon.
- Be the model of accountability and leadership. Provide the example of
ownership and stewardship that everyone can follow to success.
- Commit to ongoing development and learning best practices for governing.
- Critique ideas rather than individuals, discussing any concerns in person
whenever possible, and taking responsibility for our statements by
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seems to be two spaces after and

speaking as much as possible
in the first person (.I. statements) rather than in the third person.
- Collectively and as an individual serve as a role model to demonstrate
the highest standards of ethical conduct.
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Collectively and as an individual serve as a role model to demonstrate the highest standards of ethical conduct.

is a double of

Treat all community members with respect, consideration, and highest standards of ethical conduct.

I prefer putting the focus of treating everyone with high respect is more important than (aspiring) to be role models. I do not think one can decide to be "a role model", it's the action of others that decide that you are.

- Remediate quickly when you realize you made a mistake. Leaders are human,
and they will make mistakes - however they should act swiftly to
acknowlege mistakes and correct them. Most often this can mitigate
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acknowledge

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I'm glad somebody runs a spell checker on these docs. :-D

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I could use a spellchecker for markdown :)

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There is a trick which I use. Whenever I read a sentence, I'll read it forward once and backward once. When I read it backwards I catch most of the spelling mistakes. Reading forward is to understand what is written :D

any damage done.
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This point should be at the top of the list imho

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moved

- Aim to remediate first and then discuss. If other members of the
team express concerns about actions, acknowledge their concerns by
stopping the actions in question and then discuss within the team
to come to a common agreement.
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This one should be at the top as well

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Moved,although I'm a bit worried it leads off with a bit of a negative tone.


Finally, the public behaviour of members reflects on the Node.js project. It is
often difficult for those external to the project to separate actions which
reflect the members private views from how they will act within
the project. Members are expected to avoid acting in a way that might bring
disrepute to the Node.js organization and avoid any actions that might be
interpreted as undermining the core values of the project.