[Development] QUIP 12: Code of Conduct

[Paul Wicking]

Some time lurker, first time poster. I'm an employee of the Qt Company, 
Oslo office, since January 2018. I'm not an approver and as such do not 
have voting rights. However, my favorite Austrian philosopher once said 
"give back and change the world", so this is my way of giving back. 
Let's see if we can't get to the part about changing the world together.

I was surprised when I learned earlier this year that there isn't any 
CoC for the Qt project. I agree wholeheartedly that we shouldn't need 
one. I also agree completely that we do need one. Therefore, I would 
like to thank the volunteers involved in creating these first drafts - 
judging by the amounts of comments in gerrit, it has been quite the task 
already. You people are awesome!

However, I'm sorry to say I find I do not agree with the current 
proposal. As I see it, a code of conduct serves two equally important 
purposes:
   - It serves as a reminder to ourselves to always strive for excellence.
   - It shows that we expect excellence from each other.

In that spirit, I must say I find Simon's suggestion of "kindness 
guidelines" much more appropriate than codifying the bad behavior and 
nasty things we don't want to see. As a new member of _any_ community, I 
would much rather see the one-liner as referenced by Andy, or an 
adaptation of KDE's CoC, than some legalese "formal line in the sand 
about what is unacceptable".

Tell me how I can participate in a productive and fruitful way. Tell me 
what I can expect from the community I am about to take part in. Listing 
what isn't good, tells me that the community is riddled with poisonous 
behavior to such an extent that it is more important to focus on the bad 
than on the good. That doesn't sound like a community I want to be a 
part of. More importantly, that doesn't sound like Qt. Not to me, anyway.

I appreciate how there's room for disagreement on the mailing lists, 
forum, IRC, and gerrit. I have yet to experience something negative - in 
fact, I am in awe at the amount of help and encouragement I get from 
both the community and my fellow TQtC employees, from all corners of the 
world. You help me deliver excellence, and I can only hope to do the 
same for my peers. And I firmly believe a CoC, or kindness guidelines, 
will increase the likelihood of others having a similar experience with 
the Qt community. I wish that for each of you.

Live long and prosper.

--
Paul Wicking
Documentation Engineer
The Qt Company

https://qt.io/