Dear TF,

At our meeting earlier today we discussed how to move forward and I took an action to draft a document structure with a large number of sections and lots of questions. The goal of the document is to help us work out where we need to add more detail, so that we can separate policy from process.

I have drafted the document structure and tried to keep questions at the "what" level for the time being, rather than move on to "how" questions. There are a couple of questions that sit on the border but the intention there is to inform the answers to other questions.

I've pasted the draft here but would appreciate it if the RIPE NCC could place this in a shared document that can be commented on. That way we can work out where we are in agreement and pull out the areas where additional work is required. 

We agreed not to meet next week but to try and schedule something between 5 and 9 October.

Kind regards,

Leo

RIPE Code of Conduct v4.0 (questions for draft)

This document presents a detailed document structure. The intention is that each section has as few questions as possible. By breaking out the structure to the maximum level of detail we can identify what we want to keep, where we want to compress sections together, and what we want the language to say.

Introduction

Do we need any substantive changes to the Introduction or Why We Need a Code of Conduct sections of v3.0?

Principles

Are the principles outlined in v3.0 appropriate or do they require changes?

In Scope

Which of the following are not in-scope?

  • RIPE Meeting sessions and scheduled social events

  • Intersessional RIPE works, such as the DNS-WG Zoom sessions

  • RIPE mailing lists

  • RIPE branded messaging or chat functionality

  • Independently operated bur RIPE adjacent messaging or chat functionality

  • RIPE Mailing Lists

  • Unofficial social events organized by RIPE Meeting attendees or their employers

  • Other events produced by the RIPE NCC, like member lunches

  • Non-RIPE events, or lists, for which the RIPE NCC is the secretariat

  • Events produced, or lists hosted, by other organizations but attended by people holding a RIPE office, like WG Chair

  • Events produced, or lists hosted, by other organizations but attended by people who participate in RIPE but do not hold any official office

Protected People

Which of the following are not protected?

  • RIPE Meeting attendees on location

  • People participating over the Internet (including PSTN connections)

  • RIPE NCC staff, including temporary contractors

  • Meeting venue staff, including venues of social events

  • People attending other events in the same venue

Communicating Protection to Non-Participants

Which of the following should be used to communicate the scope of protection to non-participants (if they are protected)? What is missing?

  • Signage

  • Requirement to communicate protection to workers at the venue(s) in the contract signed by the RIPE NCC

Agreement to the Code of Conduct

Should any of the following be exempt from agreeing to the Code of Conduct as a condition of participation?

  • Registered attendees at the venue

  • “Tourists” who are physically present at the meeting venue for hallway conversations but do not attend scheduled sessions, including social events

  • People participating over the Internet (including PSTN connections)

  • RIPE NCC staff, including temporary contractors

Understanding

Should we communicate the positive behaviours we want to encourage as well as the negative behaviours we want to discourage or should we rely on attendees to know how to be a “decent, considerate person” (quote from v3.0)?

Reporting an Incident

Which of the following mechanisms for reporting violations should not be acceptable?

  • In person

  • E-mail

  • Web form

  • Instant messaging

  • Social media


Are any preferred?

Mediation

Is it possible to use a non-adversarial process to help address problems instead of falling back on sanctions?

Investigation - Jurisdiction

Can the investigation process remain consistent between different RIPE Meeting locations, or are there jurisdictions whose requirements are incompatible with our intended process?

Investigation - Professional Qualifications

Should the investigation be managed by a person with relevant training, such as legal or HR qualifications?

Investigation - Schedule

What is a realistic schedule for an investigation, especially as many attendees will be pre-scheduled during a RIPE Meeting week?

Investigation - Confidentiality

Is it realistic to offer/guarantee reporters and participants in an investigation confidentiality?

Decision Making

Should the person or people conducting the investigation be the same person or people who make a decision at the end?

Record Keeping

What record keeping policies and processes are required to be legally compliant and how should that be communicated to those who are protected, might make a report, provide a witness statement etc… ?  

Statistical Reporting

What kind of statistical reporting is possible without breaching any confidentiality requirements that exist?

Process Usage Targets

Should there be a target for the number of reports, so that there is some evidence that people trust the system and are willing to use it?

Process Improvement

What timeline is acceptable for identifying that a process improvement is needed and then implementing it? Is the current TF process satisfactory for that kind of continuous improvement?