Hello
I think the CoC can be considerably improved. I think it's too wordy in a few places. Here is my proposed revised text.
Inkscape online communities are intended to be a friendly, inclusive spaces for users to collaborate on the further development of Inkscape, share and discuss their creations, inspire each other and interact in constructive ways. To that end, we have established a set of guidelines that we believe will help foster such an environment. Anyone willing to follow these guidelines is welcome.
In your interactions with others, please do your best to:
- Be respectful. There's always a human very much like you at the other end. Always treat them respectfully and be kind to them, even if you disagree with them.
- Be responsible. Everyone makes mistakes from time to time; own up to them and be willing to work on fixing them. If someone has been harmed or offended, listen carefully and work to right the wrong.
- Don't take criticism personally. Remember that criticizing an idea (e.g. a technical proposal or an user interface blueprint) is different from criticizing the person that proposed it. Do not become overly attached to your contributions and do not demand preferential treatment for them because of your standing in the community. Ideas should stand on the merit of their supporting arguments, not on the merit of their originators.
- Use neutral language. Avoid words that others are likely to find offensive or excluding.
- Forgive. If someone wronged you and apologized, do not keep demanding special punishment. Don't hold a grudge or seek to settle scores. Be willing to let things slide if it benefits the community.
- Give credit where it is due. Never try to pass off others' work as your own.
- Disclose and address conflicts of interest. You should be aware when you are conflicted due to employment or other projects you are involved in, and abstain or delegate decisions that may be seen to be self-interested. When in doubt, ask for a second opinion.
- Step down considerately. When you leave a responsible position in the Inkscape project, do so in a way that minimizes disruption to the community. Tell people you are leaving and take the proper steps to ensure that others can pick up where you left off.
The following actions and behaviours are deemed unacceptable:
- Harassment of other users, including but not limited to threats of any kind, insults, discriminatory language and jokes, unwelcome sexual attention, posting personally identifying information ("doxing").
- Deliberate disruption: trolling, spamming, flaming, baiting, attention seeking, distribution of malware, any kind of attacks against Inkscape computing infrastructure or that of its parent organizations.
- Distribution of illegal or pornographic material in Inkscape communities.
- Advocating or encouraging any of the above.
If you believe a member of an Inkscape community is in breach of the above code, report it to the appropriate moderators (contact info here), even if you are not among the directly affected parties. Violations of the code can be met with disciplinary action, ranging from a private warning to complete, permanent expulsion. If you feel you have been unfairly accused or penalised, you may contact Inkscape's board (link to governance section here). Decisions of the board are final.
Summary of changes: I removed some text that I felt was repetitive and split the code into 2 sections with desirable and undesirable behaviors. I also added 2 points: "Forgive" and "Give credit where it is due", which I think are pretty important, and a paragraph at the end about disciplinary action.
Best regards, Krzysztof