Help shape a safer, more open RIPE community. We’re launching our first Code of Conduct survey to understand how safe people feel at RIPE meetings and how likely they are to report concerns. If you have a moment to answer five quick, anonymous questions - your input will shape what we improve next.
Since 1989, the RIPE community's strength has come from its breadth of experience, diversity of views, and open, respectful exchange of ideas. These are values that we want all RIPE community members to uphold.
In 2015, to help maintain a safe and open environment at RIPE Meetings, the RIPE NCC started publishing a Code of Conduct on its meeting pages reminding attendees to treat each other with tolerance and respect and providing a list of contact people trained to take action when bad behaviour was reported.
After some time, the need was expressed for a Code of Conduct built on community consensus that would apply to all interactions between community members. Currently the RIPE Code of Conduct is described in RIPE-766 with additional processes and details, including how to make reports to the Code of Conduct Team, described in RIPE-792 and RIPE-793.
Now that the Code of Conduct has been in place for some time, the Code of Conduct Team is carrying out its first survey to gather insight and feedback from the community.
Fill out the first RIPE Code of Conduct survey!
Code of conduct caseload
The Code of Conduct Team delivers a report at the end of every RIPE Meeting to the RIPE community. In this report, the Code of Conduct Team discusses, at a very high level, the number of reports it has received recently and the status of each. The report is kept to a level of abstraction to protect the parties involved, while also providing the community some insight into the work of the Code of Conduct Team.
The table below shows RIPE Code of Conduct cases received per meeting. Cases opened between meetings are counted in the next meeting’s stats. For example, there were zero cases reported during RIPE 89, but there were two cases reported after RIPE 88.
| Meeting | # Cases | Onsite / Online Attendance |
|---|---|---|
| RIPE 86 (Rotterdam) | 4 | 863 / 216 |
| RIPE 87 (Rome) | 3 | 557 / 171 |
| RIPE 88 (Krakow) | 5 | 546 / 175 |
| RIPE 89 (Prague) | 2 | 645 / 124 |
| RIPE 90 (Lisbon) | 1 | 648 / 172 |
There is no real guidance available on how many cases we should expect. There is no easy comparison to make to other conferences or organisations since every conference and organisation is different in multiple ways. However, generally speaking, RIPE Meetings generate a low number of Code of Conduct cases. Given the size of the RIPE community, there are not as many Code of Conduct cases as one could expect.
On the surface, this should be cause for celebration. Fewer cases should mean fewer problems, right? Well, maybe. Another possibility is that people do not feel comfortable reporting issues and therefore the caseload is lower than expected.
After RIPE 89, the Code of Conduct Team began pondering this question and discussing how best to determine whether the community felt comfortable with contacting the Code of Conduct Team. The result of these discussions within the Code of Conduct Team and RIPE NCC staff is the first RIPE Code of Conduct Survey.
The first RIPE Code of Conduct survey
The purpose of the survey is to help answer two important questions.
- How safe do community members feel at RIPE Meetings?
- How likely are community members to report breaches of the Code of Conduct?
The Code of Conduct Team was formed shortly before RIPE 86, so we encourage anyone that has attended a RIPE meeting since RIPE 86 to fill out the survey, including NCC staff. It’s short, only five questions, four of which are multiple choice. And, of course, it’s completely anonymous. If RIPE 91 is your first RIPE meeting, please attend RIPE 91 first before filling in the survey.
The survey opened today, 1 October, and will run through RIPE 91 before closing on 31 October. We hope to get as many responses as possible, so if you can spare five minutes please fill it in.
Once the survey finishes, the Code of Conduct Team will examine the results and report back to the community. Next steps will depend on what the Code of Conduct Team learns from the survey. If the survey reveals that the RIPE community is not comfortable reporting inappropriate behaviour, we may need to revisit how the Code of Conduct team operates or suggest other changes. This could be the start of a longer conversation with the community. Or the survey could show that the status quo is working well. At the very least, the Code of Conduct Team will review all the input received and publish a brief report on the results.
Your input is essential to help us understand how the community experiences the Code of Conduct. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey, your feedback will help shape how we move forward together.
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