[python-committers] I have blocked Wes Turner from the Python org on GitHub

[Raymond Hettinger]

> On Mar 31, 2017, at 2:40 PM, Brett Cannon <brett at python.org> wrote:
> 
> In the (long) discussion of https://github.com/python/core-workflow/issues/6, Wes Turner began to do his usual posting of lists. People pointed out he was stepping out of line by being somewhat off-topic and seemingly lecturing folks. He posted some of his lists again and then I warned him that if he did it again I would block him for a CoC violation since he did not want to respect anyone's time by taking the time to edit what amount to dumping his personal notes on GitHub. (This is a long-standing issue, BTW, with Wes where he has been warned in other settings like distutils-sig about his posting behaviour.)

FWIW, this may just be his communication style that reflects his tooling (probably emacs org-mode or some such) and his way of thinking about problems.  Even his personal web page looks like all of his posts:  https://westurner.org/pages/resume  So I don't think he was trolling, it is possible that this is just who he is and may not be something he can easily switch-off.

I don't want to second guess the decision, but we've had a lot worse issues than "being somewhat off-topic and seemingly lecturing folks" or "not taking time to edit".  To me, blocking him seems a bit extreme especially for someone who has been a part of the Python community for a number of years.

I haven't followed many of his posts (which do seem somewhat odd and not entirely coherent), so I don't possess all the facts, so perhaps this was the right thing to do.

That said, I would like to remind everyone that when the diversity statement and code-of-conduct were approved, it was done with the understanding that the primary goal was to be an open and welcoming community that emphasized tolerance of just about everything from gender identity to neuro-diversity and Aspergers.  IIRC, both the diversity statement and CoC were toned down prior to approval, as a compromise with those who were concerned about them being turned into weapons of exclusion rather than tools for inclusion.

I did look at the referenced stream of posts, https://github.com/python/core-workflow/issues/6 . The contributions from Wes Turner did seem somewhat incoherent, disjointed, not useful, and perhaps a little annoying.  I didn't see anything overtly hateful or trolling that would rise to the level of a CoC issue (i.e. it hasn't created an environment that makes others feel unwelcome).

So, if Wes is to be blocked for a while, it should be on the basis of "adding too much noise to an important communication channel" rather than CoC which should be sparingly used for only egregious issues.  Also, if a real CoC issue does arise, I think any actions taken need to have multiple assents from a group of decision makers rather than having one person become a de-facto CoC czar with the power to banish people.

my-two-cents-ly yours,


Raymond Hettinger