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| 1 | +Linux Kernel Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct Interpretation |
| 2 | +================================================================ |
| 3 | + |
| 4 | +The Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct is a general document meant to |
| 5 | +provide a set of rules for almost any open source community. Every |
| 6 | +open-source community is unique and the Linux kernel is no exception. |
| 7 | +Because of this, this document describes how we in the Linux kernel |
| 8 | +community will interpret it. We also do not expect this interpretation |
| 9 | +to be static over time, and will adjust it as needed. |
| 10 | + |
| 11 | +The Linux kernel development effort is a very personal process compared |
| 12 | +to "traditional" ways of developing software. Your contributions and |
| 13 | +ideas behind them will be carefully reviewed, often resulting in |
| 14 | +critique and criticism. The review will almost always require |
| 15 | +improvements before the material can be included in the |
| 16 | +kernel. Know that this happens because everyone involved wants to see |
| 17 | +the best possible solution for the overall success of Linux. This |
| 18 | +development process has been proven to create the most robust operating |
| 19 | +system kernel ever, and we do not want to do anything to cause the |
| 20 | +quality of submission and eventual result to ever decrease. |
| 21 | + |
| 22 | +Maintainers |
| 23 | +----------- |
| 24 | + |
| 25 | +The Code of Conduct uses the term "maintainers" numerous times. In the |
| 26 | +kernel community, a "maintainer" is anyone who is responsible for a |
| 27 | +subsystem, driver, or file, and is listed in the MAINTAINERS file in the |
| 28 | +kernel source tree. |
| 29 | + |
| 30 | +Responsibilities |
| 31 | +---------------- |
| 32 | + |
| 33 | +The Code of Conduct mentions rights and responsibilities for |
| 34 | +maintainers, and this needs some further clarifications. |
| 35 | + |
| 36 | +First and foremost, it is a reasonable expectation to have maintainers |
| 37 | +lead by example. |
| 38 | + |
| 39 | +That being said, our community is vast and broad, and there is no new |
| 40 | +requirement for maintainers to unilaterally handle how other people |
| 41 | +behave in the parts of the community where they are active. That |
| 42 | +responsibility is upon all of us, and ultimately the Code of Conduct |
| 43 | +documents final escalation paths in case of unresolved concerns |
| 44 | +regarding conduct issues. |
| 45 | + |
| 46 | +Maintainers should be willing to help when problems occur, and work with |
| 47 | +others in the community when needed. Do not be afraid to reach out to |
| 48 | +the TAB or other maintainers if you're uncertain how to handle |
| 49 | +situations that come up. It will not be considered a violation report |
| 50 | +unless you want it to be. If you are uncertain about approaching the |
| 51 | +TAB or any other maintainers, please reach out to our conflict mediator, |
| 52 | +Mishi Choudhary <mishi@linux.com>. |
| 53 | + |
| 54 | +In the end, "be kind to each other" is really what the end goal is for |
| 55 | +everybody. We know everyone is human and we all fail at times, but the |
| 56 | +primary goal for all of us should be to work toward amicable resolutions |
| 57 | +of problems. Enforcement of the code of conduct will only be a last |
| 58 | +resort option. |
| 59 | + |
| 60 | +Our goal of creating a robust and technically advanced operating system |
| 61 | +and the technical complexity involved naturally require expertise and |
| 62 | +decision-making. |
| 63 | + |
| 64 | +The required expertise varies depending on the area of contribution. It |
| 65 | +is determined mainly by context and technical complexity and only |
| 66 | +secondary by the expectations of contributors and maintainers. |
| 67 | + |
| 68 | +Both the expertise expectations and decision-making are subject to |
| 69 | +discussion, but at the very end there is a basic necessity to be able to |
| 70 | +make decisions in order to make progress. This prerogative is in the |
| 71 | +hands of maintainers and project's leadership and is expected to be used |
| 72 | +in good faith. |
| 73 | + |
| 74 | +As a consequence, setting expertise expectations, making decisions and |
| 75 | +rejecting unsuitable contributions are not viewed as a violation of the |
| 76 | +Code of Conduct. |
| 77 | + |
| 78 | +While maintainers are in general welcoming to newcomers, their capacity |
| 79 | +of helping contributors overcome the entry hurdles is limited, so they |
| 80 | +have to set priorities. This, also, is not to be seen as a violation of |
| 81 | +the Code of Conduct. The kernel community is aware of that and provides |
| 82 | +entry level programs in various forms like kernelnewbies.org. |
| 83 | + |
| 84 | +Scope |
| 85 | +----- |
| 86 | + |
| 87 | +The Linux kernel community primarily interacts on a set of public email |
| 88 | +lists distributed around a number of different servers controlled by a |
| 89 | +number of different companies or individuals. All of these lists are |
| 90 | +defined in the MAINTAINERS file in the kernel source tree. Any emails |
| 91 | +sent to those mailing lists are considered covered by the Code of |
| 92 | +Conduct. |
| 93 | + |
| 94 | +Developers who use the kernel.org bugzilla, and other subsystem bugzilla |
| 95 | +or bug tracking tools should follow the guidelines of the Code of |
| 96 | +Conduct. The Linux kernel community does not have an "official" project |
| 97 | +email address, or "official" social media address. Any activity |
| 98 | +performed using a kernel.org email account must follow the Code of |
| 99 | +Conduct as published for kernel.org, just as any individual using a |
| 100 | +corporate email account must follow the specific rules of that |
| 101 | +corporation. |
| 102 | + |
| 103 | +The Code of Conduct does not prohibit continuing to include names, email |
| 104 | +addresses, and associated comments in mailing list messages, kernel |
| 105 | +change log messages, or code comments. |
| 106 | + |
| 107 | +Interaction in other forums is covered by whatever rules apply to said |
| 108 | +forums and is in general not covered by the Code of Conduct. Exceptions |
| 109 | +may be considered for extreme circumstances. |
| 110 | + |
| 111 | +Contributions submitted for the kernel should use appropriate language. |
| 112 | +Content that already exists predating the Code of Conduct will not be |
| 113 | +addressed now as a violation. Inappropriate language can be seen as a |
| 114 | +bug, though; such bugs will be fixed more quickly if any interested |
| 115 | +parties submit patches to that effect. Expressions that are currently |
| 116 | +part of the user/kernel API, or reflect terminology used in published |
| 117 | +standards or specifications, are not considered bugs. |
| 118 | + |
| 119 | +Enforcement |
| 120 | +----------- |
| 121 | + |
| 122 | +The address listed in the Code of Conduct goes to the Code of Conduct |
| 123 | +Committee. The exact members receiving these emails at any given time |
| 124 | +are listed at <URL>. Members can not access reports made before they |
| 125 | +joined or after they have left the committee. |
| 126 | + |
| 127 | +The initial Code of Conduct Committee consists of volunteer members of |
| 128 | +the Technical Advisory Board (TAB), as well as a professional mediator |
| 129 | +acting as a neutral third party. The first task of the committee is to |
| 130 | +establish documented processes, which will be made public. |
| 131 | + |
| 132 | +Any member of the committee, including the mediator, can be contacted |
| 133 | +directly if a reporter does not wish to include the full committee in a |
| 134 | +complaint or concern. |
| 135 | + |
| 136 | +The Code of Conduct Committee reviews the cases according to the |
| 137 | +processes (see above) and consults with the TAB as needed and |
| 138 | +appropriate, for instance to request and receive information about the |
| 139 | +kernel community. |
| 140 | + |
| 141 | +Any decisions by the committee will be brought to the TAB, for |
| 142 | +implementation of enforcement with the relevant maintainers if needed. |
| 143 | +A decision by the Code of Conduct Committee can be overturned by the TAB |
| 144 | +by a two-thirds vote. |
| 145 | + |
| 146 | +At quarterly intervals, the Code of Conduct Committee and TAB will |
| 147 | +provide a report summarizing the anonymised reports that the Code of |
| 148 | +Conduct committee has received and their status, as well details of any |
| 149 | +overridden decisions including complete and identifiable voting details. |
| 150 | + |
| 151 | +We expect to establish a different process for Code of Conduct Committee |
| 152 | +staffing beyond the bootstrap period. This document will be updated |
| 153 | +with that information when this occurs. |
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