Last September, we published two draft Code of Conduct documents for review by the RIPE community. We received significant feedback on one of these documents and would like to update you with the changes we have made in response.
Based on community feedback, our October blog post on RIPE Labs promised four changes to the Code of Conduct (CoC) Process and Consequences document we published in September. As all the comments focused on the Process and Consequences document, we have not changed the Recruitment document that we published at the same time.
Changes to the Process Document
The first two requests we received were for "clearer language about the Team's duty to contact a reported party and hear their side of the story" and about "how serious reports will be handled."
For the first point, we have made more explicit the requirement to contact the subject of a report to hear their side of the story. For the second, we have noted in the text that the implementation of each step in the process should depend on the severity of the report. Reports of a more serious nature will be assessed through more in-depth investigation. On the other hand, the Team can immediately close a report if it is clearly made in bad faith. We also noted in the document that anonymous reports cannot carry the same weight or be investigated to the same extent as regular reports.
There were also requests for more clarity about how personal data will be managed. We have now updated the text about data protection to encompass six purposes. Among these are the need to inform the subject of a report about outcomes and to retain data for potential judicial procedures. In the general case, data will only be retained for as long as needed to fulfil these purposes. The maximum time period for which data will be retained is five years, unless there is an ongoing court case.
Finally, there was a request for clearer indemnification of members of the CoC Team. The RIPE NCC is updating its various agreements to accomplish this. As these agreements are continuously reviewed and updated, we have not described the indemnification in the process document itself. Indemnification will be covered in the materials produced to inform potential Team members about the role.
Next Steps
Please review the updated draft Process and Consequences document. If you support the changes, say so on the RIPE Discussion List. If you believe more changes are needed, please also let us know on the list.
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