The PBUI Project encourages contributions from anyone who wishes to advance the development of the PBUI system, regardless of gender, race, ethnic group, physical appearance, religion, cultural background, and any other demographic characteristics, as well as personal political views.
People are sometimes discouraged from participating in PBUI development because of certain patterns of communication that strike them as unfriendly, unwelcoming, rejecting, or harsh. This discouragement particularly affects members of disprivileged demographics, but it is not limited to them. Therefore, we ask all contributors to make a conscious effort, in PBUI Project discussions, to communicate in ways that avoid that outcome—to avoid practices that will predictably and unnecessarily risk putting some contributors off.
These guidelines suggest specific ways to accomplish that goal.
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Please assume other participants are posting in good faith, even if you disagree with what they say. When people present code or text as their own work, please accept it as their work. Please do not criticize people for wrongs that you only speculate they may have done; stick to what they actually say and actually do.
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Please think about how to treat other participants with respect, especially when you disagree with them. For instance, call them by the names they use, and honor their preferences about their gender identity.
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Please do not take a harsh tone towards other participants, and especially don't make personal attacks against them. Go out of your way to show that you are criticizing a statement, not a person.
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Please recognize that criticism of your statements is not a personal attack on you. If you feel that someone has attacked you, or offended your personal dignity, please don't “hit back” with another personal attack. That tends to start a vicious circle of escalating verbal aggression. A private response, politely stating your feelings as feelings, and asking for peace, may calm things down. Write it, set it aside for hours or a day, revise it to remove the anger, and only then send it.
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Please avoid statements about the presumed typical desires, capabilities or actions of some demographic group. They can offend people in that group, and they are always off-topic in PBUI Project discussions.
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Please be especially kind to other contributors when saying they made a mistake. Programming means making lots of mistakes, and we all do so—this is why regression tests are useful. Conscientious programmers make mistakes, and then fix them. It is helpful to show contributors that being imperfect is normal, so we don't hold it against them, and that we appreciate their imperfect contributions though we hope they follow through by fixing any problems in them.
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Likewise, be kind when pointing out to other contributors that they should stop using certain nonfree software. For their own sake, they ought to free themselves, but we welcome their contributions to our software packages even if they don't do that. So these reminders should be gentle and not too frequent—don't nag.
By contrast, to suggest that others run a nonfree program opposes the basic principles of PBUI, so it is not allowed in PBUI Project discussions.
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Please respond to what people actually said, not to exaggerations of their views. Your criticism will not be constructive if it is aimed at a target other than their real views.
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If in a discussion someone brings up a tangent to the topic at hand, please keep the discussion on track by focusing on the current topic rather than the tangent. This is not to say that the tangent is bad, or not interesting to discuss—only that it shouldn't interfere with discussion of the issue at hand. In most cases, it is also off-topic, so those interested ought to discuss it somewhere else.
If you think the tangent is an important and pertinent issue, please bring it up as a separate discussion, with a Subject field to fit, and consider waiting for the end of the current discussion.
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Rather than trying to have the last word, look for the times when there is no need to reply, perhaps because you already made the relevant point clear enough. If you know something about the game of Go, this analogy might clarify that: when the other player's move is not strong enough to require a direct response, it is advantageous to give it none and instead move elsewhere.
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Please don't argue unceasingly for your preferred course of action when a decision for some other course has already been made. That tends to block the activity's progress.
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If other participants complain about the way you express your ideas, please make an effort to cater to them. You can find ways to express the same points while making others more comfortable. You are more likely to persuade others if you don't arouse ire about secondary things.
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Please don't raise unrelated political issues in PBUI Project discussions, because they are off-topic. The only political positions that the PBUI Project endorses are (1) that users should have control of their own computing (for instance, through free software) and (2) supporting basic human rights in computing. We don't require you as a contributor to agree with these two points, but you do need to accept that our decisions will be based on them.
By making an effort to follow these guidelines, we will encourage more contribution to our projects, and our discussions will be friendlier and reach conclusions more easily.
In recognition that the above Code of Conduct did not fully encompass the values of our project, the following Code of Conduct was appended to ensure that development was carried out in a morally sound fashion.
The founder of PBUI project, and all of the current developers at the time when this document was composed, have pledged to govern their interactions with each other, with their clients, and with the larger PBUI project user community in accordance with the "instruments of good works" from chapter 4 of The Rule of St. Benedict (hereafter: "The Rule"). This code of ethics has proven its mettle in thousands of diverse communities for over 1,500 years, and has served as a baseline for many civil law codes since the time of Charlemagne.
No one is required to follow The Rule, to know The Rule, or even to think that The Rule is a good idea. The Founder of PBUI project believes that anyone who follows The Rule will live a happier and more productive life, but individuals are free to dispute or ignore that advice if they wish.
The founder of PBUI project and all current developers have pledged to follow spirit of The Rule to the best of their ability. They view The Rule as their promise to all PBUI project users of how the developers are expected to behave in community. This is a one-way promise, or covenant. In other words, the developers are saying: "We will treat you this way regardless of how you treat us."
- First of all, love the Lord God with your whole heart, your whole soul, and your whole strength.
- Then, love your neighbor as yourself.
- Do not murder.
- Do not commit adultery.
- Do not steal.
- Do not covet.
- Do not bear false witness.
- Honor all.
- Do not do to another what you would not have done to yourself.
- Deny oneself in order to follow Christ.
- Chastise the body.
- Do not become attached to pleasures.
- Love fasting.
- Relieve the poor.
- Clothe the naked.
- Visit the sick.
- Bury the dead.
- Be a help in times of trouble.
- Console the sorrowing.
- Be a stranger to the world's ways.
- Prefer nothing more than the love of Christ.
- Do not give way to anger.
- Do not nurse a grudge.
- Do not entertain deceit in your heart.
- Do not give a false peace.
- Do not forsake charity.
- Do not swear, for fear of perjuring yourself.
- Utter only truth from heart and mouth.
- Do not return evil for evil.
- Do no wrong to anyone, and bear patiently wrongs done to yourself.
- Love your enemies.
- Do not curse those who curse you, but rather bless them.
- Bear persecution for justice's sake.
- Be not proud.
- Be not addicted to wine.
- Be not a great eater.
- Be not drowsy.
- Be not lazy.
- Be not a grumbler.
- Be not a detractor.
- Put your hope in God.
- Attribute to God, and not to self, whatever good you see in yourself.
- Recognize always that evil is your own doing, and to impute it to yourself.
- Fear the Day of Judgment.
- Be in dread of hell.
- Desire eternal life with all the passion of the spirit.
- Keep death daily before your eyes.
- Keep constant guard over the actions of your life.
- Know for certain that God sees you everywhere.
- When wrongful thoughts come into your heart, dash them against Christ immediately.
- Disclose wrongful thoughts to your spiritual mentor.
- Guard your tongue against evil and depraved speech.
- Do not love much talking.
- Speak no useless words or words that move to laughter.
- Do not love much or boisterous laughter.
- Listen willingly to holy reading.
- Devote yourself frequently to prayer.
- Daily in your prayers, with tears and sighs, confess your past sins to God, and amend them for the future.
- Fulfill not the desires of the flesh; hate your own will.
- Obey in all things the commands of those whom God has placed in authority over you even though they (which God forbid) should act otherwise, mindful of the Lord's precept, "Do what they say, but not what they do."
- Do not wish to be called holy before one is holy; but first to be holy, that you may be truly so called.
- Fulfill God's commandments daily in your deeds.
- Love chastity.
- Hate no one.
- Be not jealous, nor harbor envy.
- Do not love quarreling.
- Shun arrogance.
- Respect your seniors.
- Love your juniors.
- Pray for your enemies in the love of Christ.
- Make peace with your adversary before the sun sets.
- Never despair of God's mercy.
In a formal debate, a member may choose to not yield their time. In doing so, they can formally declare a filibuster. This filibuster will hold the debate still until the filibusterer does one of the following:
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Yields their time
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Achieves 14 hours of filibuster
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Breaks the above CoC
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Is overruled by a majority or quorum (Appendix A, Section 2) of organization members. However, in the event of a tie amongst the organization members, procedings will halt until @pbui is summoned and arrives to weigh in on a binding decision.
Quorum will be defined as wherever the most organization members are at the same time. This grants operating privelage equal to that of general majority. In the event of a tie, the closest congregation to Fitzpatrick Hall will have supermajority. However, quorum is not immediately granted. The following criteria must be met to achieve quorum:
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Notification of meeting at least 4 hours in advance to all members through github, email, or irc
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No standing filibusters must be in place
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Must be meeting in the same room, granted the room is not a gymnasium
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Members must all be wearing at least casual attire (business casual preferred)
Should events transpire necessitating a change to the code of conduct, the code of conduct may be changed as long as the following criteria are met:
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Changes do not contradict the teachings of our Savior, Jesus Christ
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Changes must be approved by a two-thirds majority of all members, in the same room, granted that the room is not a gymnasium
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Changes can be approved in a gymnasium granted that half of all members are wearing basketball jerseys
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Changes can be approved by a simple majority or quorum granted that all members are present in the office of @pbui