Good job guys, maybe it really was worth coming up with all those rulez a
couple years ago.
-Jehan
On Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 9:47 AM, Hol Gaskill <hol(a)gaskill.com> wrote:
I would not oppose a temporary ban in conjunction with
conflict resolution
in parallel, it just seemed like what was being proposed was banning
outright without an attempt at 1 on 1 discussion. did any disinterested
third party reach out on this individually or did it all go down in the
meeting? I agree safety of our members is an overriding concern. I got
the sense that X was willing to participate in the process as he came to
the meeting and left when Jordan asked, at least the time I saw, so I am
optimistic that this can be resolved. He did ask me if I wanted to come
talk about it when he left but I declined, wanting to hear it from Jordan,
so I get the sense that I might be able to communicate the group's
expectations effectively and gauge his response. I don't really have
contact info for X though, so maybe if whoever is at sudo when he comes
today to recover his possessions can pass my number on to him. Or Xavier
if you are reading this drop me a line. I propose adding the following
subsection to the articles:
Sub-Section 3.2.2 Maintaining Safe Space During Conflict Resolution
In the event that a conflict stems from one or more members being
threatened by another member of sudo room or a member of the wider
community, a temporary ban may be placed that person until the conflict has
been resolved. Concensus in this case may be obtained at any sudo room
meeting and must be ratified online over a period of 24 hours in the event
quorum is not met at the meeting. Should the person being banned fail to
participate constructively in the conflict resolution process as determined
by the membership, the ban shall become permanent.
Someone please improve the description of the fast track consensus process
or any other parts.
also this is our public-facing definition of safe space right now;
A *safe space,* which is defined as:
- "A place where anyone can relax and be fully self-expressed, without
fear of being made to feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, or unsafe on account
of biological sex, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or
expression, cultural background, age, or physical or mental ability; a
place where the rules guard each person's self-respect and dignity and
strongly encourage everyone to respect others."it
It doesn't seem like the unsafe feeling was on account of any of the
listed parameters so we may want a clearer definition. It's a no brainer
that safe includes personal safety so anyone with detailed thoughts on the
definition of safe space may want to touch up this area of the articles to
reflect our shared concerns.
I just want to capture all of this in our root document so that we never
form a habit of routinely break our own rules because we did not make good
enough rules in the first place. Laws are made under an archaic and in my
opinion obsolete process (though obviously the gears are still spinning) -
we have a chance here to stand on the shoulders of generations of giants
and forge a way of doing things where the expectation is that we govern our
own behavior, and that those unable to govern their own behavior will not
have a hand in steering the ship. To me this idea is pretty fucking cool,
so please forgive me if I seem dogmatic, but unless we write all of this
down and test it and share it for others to fork, this experiment runs the
risk of vanishing without a trace, or worse, being co-opted into a system
just as bad as the one that motivated us to fork it in the first place.
safely,
hol
on Mar 14, 2014, *Marc Juul* <juul(a)labitat.dk> wrote:
On Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 12:33 AM, Hol Gaskill <hol(a)gaskill.com> wrote:
hey ronald and all,
i am honestly not up to speed on the details - these are the meeting
notes from last week
https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Meeting_Notes_2014-03-05 and
i see nothing on this topic nor did i see this emailed out as is required
for consent agenda items. If i recall, a considerable amount of hivemind
time was taken up in establishing conflict resolution standards. If these
are not being met by those prosecuting, what does that say about our
organization? I don't really have a stake in this other than following
through on what we say we do, as outlined in our articles of association
(or incorporation)
I agree that conflict resolution should take place, but I also think it is
not acceptable for Xavier to be allowed in the space until the mediation
has completed successfully or he has been banned. This is obviously not an
isolated incident, but at least two incidents with threats of violence and
multiple witnesses. This goes beyond a personal conflict. If we allow
Xavier into our space until this has been resolved, then we are not abiding
by our commitment to safe space.
We should work to modify our articles such that we can immediately deal
with incidents where there is violence or threats of violence.
I think it is important that our values can overrule our procedures, which
then can lead to changed procedures. Matt proposed something similar for
the articles recently, to the effect of "our rules cannot be used against
us".
It is not ok that not having quorum can prevent the temporary exclusion of
an individual threatening violence.
Section 3.2 Conflict Resolution Sub-Section 3.2.0
Process
[image: Diagram] <https://sudoroom.org/wiki/File:SudoRoom.png>
The resolution of disputes and disagreements within *sudo room* is
encouraged through informal process and the spirit of a collaborative
environment. There is a process, however, by which issues that are not
resolved informally and that arise within the scope of these articles of
association:
1. The party who seeks resolution finds someone to act as *Conflict
Steward* in the matter, and works with this *Conflict Steward* to
find a *Mediator*.
1. The *Mediator* is an impartial and uninvolved third party who
consents to assist, and with whom all conflicting parties consent to work
toward a solution.
2. The *Conflict Steward* organizes meetings for conflict
resolution and maintains records of all meetings and relevant
communications among the conflicting parties.
3. The *Conflict Steward*, *Mediator*, and the conflicting parties
arrange to meet to work out a resolution to which all conflicting parties
consent.
2. If at least one conflicting party does not consent to meet, or if
at least one conflicting party is unavailable to meet in a reasonable time,
all relevant circumstances considered, or if the *Conflict Steward*
and *Mediator* agree after at least one meeting that further
meetings would not be likely to lead to resolution, the issue is brought
before the group in the following way:
1. The issue is added to the agenda of the next official meeting
scheduled at least one week in the future, and documentation is gathered by
the *Conflict Steward* and made available to the group at least
one week beforehand (on wiki), and notice is broadcast to the group (on
mailing list), but information that would compromise anyone's privacy or
dignity is not made public. In the description of the issue, the form of
remedy sought by the plaintiff(s) is included. Both the *Conflict
Steward* and *Mediator* must give their approval of the factual
content of the documentation before it is posted. Both the *Conflict
Steward* and *Mediator* must expressly affirm that the form of
remedy sought by the plaintiff(s) is consistent with *sudo room's*
values <https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Articles_of_Association#Values>.
The request for remedy must include an implementation plan approved by the
*Conflict
Steward* and the *Mediator* if it is not obvious how to implement
it.
2. During each meeting's agenda item on Conflict Resolution, all
unresolved issues on the wiki are brought up for discussion followed by a
vote.
1. First, the *Conflict Steward* presents all relevant
documentation about the issue.
2. Then, a category of severity is established by *consensus* according
to *sudo room'*s
values<https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Articles_of_Association#Values> and
the facts of the case. The category determines the voting threshold for
sustaining a sanction against any party to the conflict. The categories are
(in order of decreasing severity):
1. Conflict calling for membership suspension or
termination.
- *Decision Procedure:* 2/3 vote
2. Conflict where only material compensation is sought.
- *Decision Procedure:* 1/2 vote
3. All other conflicts.
- *Decision Procedure:* Consensus
3. Then, the opportunity to represent perspective is
granted to each conflicting party and to the *Mediator*, and
general discussion may be held about the issue if any member wishes. The
*Conflict
Steward* co-facilitates with the *Facilitator* in order to
answer questions specific to the conflict and provides information about
the history of the conflict by referring to the documentation.
4. Then, a brief period of deliberation of definite time is
held, during which members are free to consider the issue or discuss it
directly with others.
5. Then, members may propose alternative remedies to the
conflict, along with any appropriate implementation plans.
6. Finally, a vote is held on the plaintiff(s)' proposed
remedy, and then alternative remedies are voted upon in the order they were
proposed, but only if at least one member indicates that the remedy under
consideration is still relevant. After all remedies have been considered in
this way, the matter is considered resolved. The *Conflict
Steward* then ensures all relevant parties understand the
remedy or remedies that passed and any corresponding implementation plans.
7. Any conflicting party unsatisfied with the decision may
place an appeal on the agenda in the same way that conflicts are placed on
the agenda, except that a majority of the group must vote to accept the
appeal during a meeting, and the process begins anew. The appeal must
propose an alternative remedy and refer to
values<https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Articles_of_Association#Values> that
were not served by the original decision.
8. If at the end of any step in the process more than an hour
has passed during the current meeting in considering the conflict, any
member may request that a majority vote be held on whether to table the
conflict until the next meeting.
Sub-Section 3.2.1 Principles and Values Specific to Conflicts
In the pursuit of fairness, due process in the resolution of conflicts
must include:
1. Presumption of innocence.
2. Right to an appeal and a fair process.
3. Respect for the privacy and dignity of all members.
4. Proportional and effective remedies.
1. Restorative <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restorative_justice> remedies
are strongly preferred over
retributive<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retributive_justice>
remedies.
/textwall
I arrived late at the meeting this week and there seemed to be ongoing
discussion RE recent events and definition of safe spaces. My idea of
mediation in this case is making clear the fact that threats of violence
are 100% unacceptable and that only the sudo room standard of safe space is
in effect here - take it or leave it. There was some issue of defamation
of character vs accurately describing something that happened between a
friend of X and a friend of E during which time X exhibited irrational
behavior which is unacceptable going forward.
My intention is to gauge whether or not the differences are reconcileable
and if so help chart the course of reconciliation; should it become clear
that any party is unable to meet our standards of safe space and
nonviolence, I would report back to the group accordingly.
So I guess I am seeking conflict mediator status if both E and X consent
and if noone else is already doing this. I am personally not especially
risk-averse in terms of my own personal safety, though I abhor those who
would unjustly endager others and after sufficient exploration of the issue
I would not hesitate to safeguard our members against all such people
through all available means.
-hol
on Mar 13, 2014, *Ronald Cotoni* <setient(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Hol, Did you read the meeting notes from last week?
On Thu, Mar 13, 2014 at 5:19 PM, GtwoG PublicOhOne <g2g-public01(a)att.net>
wrote:
Threats of violence and zealous defense of violence, add up to a high
risk of acts of violence. To my mind that is a cutoff point, and
attempting to mediate only prolongs a high-risk situation and potentially
makes it more emotionally charged (thus increases the risk).
This is all the more so if the threats he made, and the acts he
zealously defended, referred to any kind of weapon, other than in
self-defense against an immediate threat to one's own life or the lives of
innocent others. IMHO the best way to handle this is in a cool and
unemotional way: "nothing personal, rules is rules."
Any reasonable definition of "safe space" includes that people don't
have to worry about encountering someone who may threaten them with
violence.
Lastly, if you ban him, change any locks or passwords he may have had
access to. Even a key that says "do not duplicate" is not a deterrent to
someone making a copy themselves or having a corrupt person make one for
them.
-G.
=====
On 14-03-13-Thu 5:08 PM, Hol Gaskill wrote:
i'm willing to act as a mediator pursuant to our conflict resolution
policy
on Mar 13, 2014, *Yardena Cohen*
<yardenack@gmail.com><yardenack@gmail.com>wrote:
At this point there have been several informal calls for Xavier to be
banned. After last night's events I reluctantly agree that he should
not be welcome at Sudo until he's accountable for his behavior:
* he made threats of violence towards somebody at Sudo
* he did something similar at Rock Paper Scissors
* he zealously defended other acts of violence committed by a friend of
his
I'm willing to act as a mediator, but I'm not confident that the
problem can be resolved.
So I formally propose that he be banned from our space for an
indefinite period. Are there any objections?
_______________________________________________
sudo-discuss mailing list
sudo-discuss(a)lists.sudoroom.org
https://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
_______________________________________________
sudo-discuss mailing
listsudo-discuss@lists.sudoroom.orghttps://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
_______________________________________________
sudo-discuss mailing list
sudo-discuss(a)lists.sudoroom.org
https://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
--
Ronald Cotoni
Systems Engineer
_______________________________________________
sudo-discuss mailing list
sudo-discuss(a)lists.sudoroom.org
https://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
_______________________________________________
sudo-discuss mailing list
sudo-discuss(a)lists.sudoroom.org
https://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss