George DeMet discusses four thorny problems in open source community management: (1) harassment that occurs outside official community spaces, (2) handling unreported incidents of harassment, (3) enforcing bans from community events, and (4) facilitating accountability, redemption and reconciliation for individuals who have engaged in problematic behavior. For each issue, DeMet outlines possible solutions that community managers have used, such as expanding the scope of codes of conduct, allowing anonymous reports, coordinating with event organizers, and establishing incremental paths for banned individuals to regain trust.

1. Thorny Problems in Open Source
Community Management
George DeMet
All Things Open 2021

2. Hello!
George DeMet
(he/him)
Twitter: @gdemet
+ Founder and CEO, Palantir.net
+ Active Drupal community member since 2007
+ Founding member of the Drupal Community
Working Group’s Conflict Resolution Team
(2013-21)
+ Current member of the Drupal Community
Health Team
+ Co-author of Drupal’s code of conduct for
events

3. About Drupal’s Community
+ Project is not “owned” by a single individual, company
or foundation.
+ Drupal is supported by hundreds of companies and
thousands of individual contributors around the world.
+ Community includes a broad and diverse array of
independently run in-person and virtual community
spaces.
+ One of the first major open source projects to adopt a
code of conduct.
Thorny Problems in Open Source Community Management

4. Community
Management
in Drupal
Community
+ Community Code of Conduct is maintained
and enforced by a volunteer team (CWG).
+ Review Panel ( 2 community-elected
members of the Drupal Association board
+ an outside expert) provides oversight
and support.
Events
+ Event code for DrupalCon enforced by
Drupal Assocation staff.
+ Local DrupalCamps and meetups
enforcing their own codes of conduct, with
guidance and support from CWG as
needed.

5. Some of the Thorny Problems We
(and others) Have Encountered
1. Harassment Outside of Community Spaces
2. How to Handle Unreported Incidents
3. Enforcing Event Bans
4. Accountability, Redemption and Reconciliation
Thorny Problems in Open Source Community Management

6. Problem 1: Harassment Outside of Community Spaces
+ Many popular open source codes of conduct
restrict scope to community spaces or individuals
“officially representing the community”.
+ However, brigading, cyberbullying and other forms
of harassment against marginalized members of the
community often occur on social media and other
places outside of community control.
+ Public expressions of discriminatory views and/or
hate speech by high-profile community members
also negatively impact the community, even when
they occur outside of community spaces.
UNESCO, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Thorny Problems in Open Source Community Management

7. Harassment
Outside of
Community
Spaces
Possible Solutions
+ Define the scope of your community to
include interactions between community
members, regardless of venue (with
exceptions for non-project related issues,
such as workplace disputes).
+ Focus on the impact of an individual’s words
and actions, rather than when or where they
happened or their intent.
+ People can have whatever political views
they want, but they should expect to be held
accountable for publicly expressed opinions
that undermine their ability to collaborate with
other community members.

8. Problem 2: Handling Unreported Incidents
+ Rumors about an alleged harasser may be
circulating in informal backchannels and whisper
networks
+ If code of conduct enforcement authorities don’t
have enough information they can’t take action.
+ People may be reluctant to file reports of
harassment or abuse because they are afraid they
will get blamed for actions taken against the
perpetrator.
Thorny Problems in Open Source Community Management

9. Handling
Unreported
Incidents
Possible Solutions
+ Allow anonymous and informal reports.
+ Be open about how reports are handled
and what information will and will not be
shared publicly.
+ Be clear that information circulated on
whisper networks is not on its own
actionable and may need to be
corroborated.
+ Communicate directly, privately, and
discreetly with those who may have
second-hand knowledge of an incident
to gain additional information.

10. Problem 3: Enforcing Event Bans
+ Some events may not be aware that a person has
been banned.
+ Some events might invite a person to speak or
attend because in spite of a ban.
+ Virtual events make it easier for people to evade
bans.
+ It’s often not possible to publish or share a list of
banned individuals.
Thorny Problems in Open Source Community Management

11. Enforcing
Event Bans
Possible Solutions
+ Make it clear to individuals who have been
banned from physical events that their ban
also extends to virtual events.
+ Make it clear what the consequences are for
evading a ban (e.g., bans from additional
community spaces, public exposure).
+ Event organizers who have concerns that they
might inadvertently invite a banned person
can have the code of conduct committee
review their list of speakers and attendees.
+ Some communities may be able to take action
against events that deliberately invite banned
speakers.

12. Problem 4: Accountability, Redemption, and Reconciliation
+ Damage caused by an individual’s bad behavior
impacts the whole community, not just those
directly involved.
+ Repairing that damage requires individuals to be
able to rebuild trust and demonstrate a
willingness to hold themselves accountable for
their past behavior.
+ Some community members may object to any
previously-banned individual being allowed to
return under any circumstances.
Thorny Problems in Open Source Community Management

13. Accountability,
Redemption, and
Reconciliation
Possible Solutions
+ Be upfront with banned individuals that the path
back is not an easy one and there will be
setbacks.
+ Talk with other people who know the banned
individual to assess the level and sincerity of
their personal transformation.
+ Talk with those who were most directly
impacted by the individual’s past behavior
before taking any action.
+ Start small by letting the individual re-engage
with the community in limited ways. If it doesn’t
work out, you can always pull the plug early.
+ Be prepared for the individual to walk away
from the process when they encounter
resistance and let them know you’ll be there
when they’re ready.

14. Let’s Help Each Other
Thorny Problems in Open Source Community Management
+ Community leaders and event
organizers should share experiences
and best practices.
+ Consider offering code of conduct
enforcement training.
+ Join up with representatives of other
open source projects to share
knowledge and information.
￫ Ping @gdemet or @jordanafung on Twitter

15. Thank You!
George DeMet
(he/him)
Twitter: @gdemet