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A Code Of Conduct is a contentious issue but has become common within some of the more progressive software projects (Gnome, Ruby On Rails) and some computer conferences. While some people see it as an essential method to combat casual discrimination, others see it as a trap to oust developers of successful projects. Some of our regulars would regard a Code Of Conduct as somewhere between frivolous and detrimental. But, really, what's wrong with "Don't be a dick" (or, admittedly, something more polite and inclusive) as popularized by Wil Wheaton?
Well, one group of victims of child sexual abuse are boycotting a UK inquiry because participation requires agreement to a Code Of Conduct. I can appreciate this is a very emotive issue even for people not directly affected by abuse and that making allegations publicly can be detrimental to the common law concept of innocent until proven guilty. However, the CoC is the latest incident in an ongoing shambles. The inquiry is currently on its fourth publicly named chairperson, more junior people have quit due to allegations of abuse between staff and £1.5 million has been spent on implementing a case management system. The inquiry has been running for more two years and is likely to cost more than £100 million. The first hearings begin in Feb 2017.
Maybe they're being really careful with conflicts of interests and victim privacy? A quick browse around the website finds that it is aimed at the legal eagles and that victims are most relegated to one subdirectory. Did I mention privacy? Well, the site's privacy is dubious. The homepage currently has an embedded YouTube video, so anyone showing an interest in the matter, for whatever reason, may have their name, email address, postal address and telephone number(s) collated by a Premiere PRISM Partner.
Despite the boycott, the inquiry has 2000 participants and this could grow significantly. One UK celebrity is believed to have sexually abused more than 650 victims; ranging from eight year old boys to 80 year old women plus rumours of necrophilia. A senior politician abused residents of the boys home that he'd founded and dossiers covering broader allegations disappeared. One town with a population of 110,000 people is believed to have 1400 girls who were sexually abused over 16 years. In this case, five abusers went to trial and were convicted. However, The Times of London found that much abuse in Rotherham was ignored and evidence was destroyed for political expediency.
Disclosure: Previous comment about child privacy. Previous comment about adult privacy. "Think of the children!" "Think of the imaginary children!"
(Score: 1, Troll) by jmorris on Saturday December 17 2016, @01:51AM
The importance of a Code of Conduct is that any organization pushing one is announcing the fact it is now SJW converged and is more interested in virtue signaling their superior moral posture than whatever purpose the organization had before being consumed. Shun them, under no circumstance allow your goals to be influenced by such an organization. Was the CoC the reason GNOME went wrong? No. Tt went wrong because it allowed itself to be taken over by people who saw improving GNOME as a side project, the CoC was the instantly visible warning sign this process had reached critical mass. We can see the same thing throughout the tech industry.
It is like a Diversity Officer in a company, only worse. These days every company big enough to have a global impact must have one. But in successful companies everybody knows it is bullshit, the useless moron holding the title is a sop to the vulture capitalists who want that box checked and a bribe to the diversity industry to prevent protesters from shaking them down. If management is actually listening to and pushing the agenda it is time to touch base with the headhunters and start unloading the stock.