The first of the month

In the current issue of Full Circle Magazine I have an article about the Ubuntu Code of Conduct. In the article I challenge people to read through the CoC once a month as a reminder to always uphold its principles. Seeing as today is the first of the month, I am reposting my article here and ask you to hop over to the CoC for your monthly dose of behavioural conditioning. It would be most excellent of you to do it now.

Ubuntu Women: The Code of Conduct
By Emma Jane Hogbin

For me the Ubuntu logo represents freedom and community. The word itself means, “humanity towards others.” Within the Ubuntu community there is a Code of Conduct (CoC) that governs our behaviour. It is simple and elegant. There are six main points in the code: Be considerate. Be respectful. Be collaborative. When you disagree, consult others. When you are unsure, ask for help. Step down considerately.

Recently the Ubuntu Women discussion list had an interesting exchange about the Code of Conduct titled, “How as the Code of Conduct Helped You?” [here, and here]. The responses showed a disconnect between our eagerness to sign the code, and our apathy to uphold it.

The Ubuntu community is full of life and a delight to participate in. Sometimes, though, I am not the epitome of the behaviour defined in the CoC—whether it’s cracking jokes with friends in an IRC channel, or engaging in passion-fueled debate, sometimes I forget to rein myself in. When I slip, I enable others to slip too. This can start a domino effect of bad behaviour that extends much further than the original interaction. By remembering to govern myself according to the CoC I enable others to participate in the same way. I encourage everyone to join me in reading the CoC at the beginning of every month—let’s see how far we can spread the good behaviour too!

BIO: Emma Jane Hogbin builds and supports on-line communities using open source software. She lives in rural Canada and chronicles her adventures at www.emmajane.net.