GNU Kind Communication Guidelines
Lest you think this is yet another CoC, the guidelines assure you that they are not a CoC.
Announcing the GNU Kind Communication Guidelines
The GNU Kind Communication Guidelines, initial version, have been published in https://gnu.org/philosophy/kind-communication.html. On behalf of the GNU Project, I ask all GNU contributors to make their best efforts to follow these guidelines in GNU Project discuaaions[sic].
[ . . . ] The difference between kind communication guidelines and a code of conduct is a matter of the basic overall approach.
A code of conduct states rules, with punishments for anyone that violates them.
[...] The idea of the GNU Kind Communication Guidelines is to start guiding people towards kinder communication at a point well before one would even think of saying, "You are breaking the rules." The way we do this, rather than ordering people to be kind or else, is try to help people learn to make their communication more kind.
[ . . . . ] I disagree with making "diversity" a goal. If the developers in a specific free software project do not include demographic D, I don't think that the lack of them as a problem that requires action
The best way to avoid conflict and encourage diversity is to force everyone to voluntarily think alike.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by TheFool on Monday October 29 2018, @07:34PM
Stallman seems to have a pretty kind heart, even though I disagree with him on many things. That's probably why it's all requests and encouragements, but no demands. A good person will do good even with a complete lack of laws forcing them to do good. He's asking the readers to be good people, not trying to force them to not be bad like a standard CoC would.
I don't agree with everything in here, but these two stuck out to me as exceedingly relevant in society today - not just OSS:
What a world that would be, huh? I don't think we'd even recognize it.