Contributor Covenant Based Code of Conducts

As projects grow, there is a need for a code of conduct. Although many overlook them, it is a useful document that sets the standards for how people should interact and collaborate. One of these projects is Go, which lays out its standards clearly. There is a lot of focus on being cautious with your words, which is necessary when there is a large intersection of people with varying backgrounds. These kind of documents are beneficial to projects since they give collaborators a sense of safety in the project’s environment. It lets collaborators know whats tolerated or not, and gives them an outlet to express their concerns if they feel they are experiencing issues that breach the code of conduct. Also, it generally gives the project a more “official” look, which may prompt collaborators to behave in a more professional manner.

Go, like many other projects, adapts the Contributor Covenant code of conduct. With this, Go brings in project specific additions such as its “Gopher values” and a summary section. The Gopher values include basic but important guidelines that focus on being respectful to others and being mindful that your interpretation of respectful could be viewed as negative when interpreted by someone of another background, and to consider your words carefully. The summary section while short, is an important part of the document since many longer documents typically include “TL;DR”s, and also gives an easily visible and direct way to contact the conduct team. These changes are necessary for a project like Go, since the scope is large and many people with different backgrounds will be contributing.

The Eclipse project has a code of conduct that also adapts the Contributor Covenant code of conduct, but has some differences from Go’s. The most notable difference is that Eclipse’s code focuses a lot more on conflict resolution and goes more in depth on consequences for breaching the code. This may be due to the size or popularity of the project, or previous issues within the project’s past that necessitated clearer guidelines.

Sugar Labs and Alternative Code of Conducts

In contrast to Go and Eclipse, Sugar Labs’ code of conduct is different in the way that it adapts Ubuntu’s code of conduct, instead of the Contributor Covenant’s. Sugar Labs’ code is written in paragraph form and doesn’t use many bullet points until the end. Unlike Go, Sugar Labs doesn’t give a direct link/e-mail to contact in case of a breach of the code of conduct. Also, there is a section that talks about stepping down from the project, which is not present in the other code of conducts.

Other Projects

Lastly, Blender’s code of conduct differs from the other codes previously discussed as it is shorter, and there are no attributions to another code such as the Contributor Covenant’s or Ubuntu’s. It follows similar guidelines such as being respectful to others and being considerate to others, but a difference that sticks out to me is that it mentions that action will not be taken unless there are repeated intentional violations.

Regardless of the differences in style and structure, these projects have the same goal when it comes to their code of conduct, to foster welcoming and respectful environments. Without these, many projects would be harder to participate in and would most likely not have the same progress as they have now.