Conflict Resolution Policy

Conflicts in the community can take many forms, from someone having a bad day and using harsh and hurtful language in the issue queue, to more serious (and very rare) instances such as sexist/racist statements or threats of violence, and everything in between.
For the vast majority of issues, we aim to empower individuals to first resolve conflicts themselves, asking for help when needed, and only after that fails to escalate further. This approach gives people more control over the outcome of their dispute.

The charter of the Community Working Group (CWG) outlines the scope of "Drupal Community Members" in terms of this policy.

How we resolve conflicts

If you are experiencing, or witnessing conflict, the Drupal Community asks you to use the following escalation strategy to address the conflict:

  1. Address the perceived conflict directly with those involved, preferably in a real-time medium. Here are some conflict resolution resources that might be helpful.
  2. If this fails, get a third-party (e.g. a mutual friend, and/or someone with background on the issue, but not involved in conflict) to intercede.
  3. Escalate to the CWG if the previous steps fail using the incident report form: https://drupal.org/governance/community-working-group/incident-report
    You will be required to submit evidence that at least one of the parties has made a good faith effort towards resolving the issue (through steps 1 and 2) without success.

The CWG will review submissions on a weekly basis, and will either seek further information, or will make a determination on next steps.

Note: If the behavior is threatening/harassing and requires immediate escalation, use the CWG incident report form immediately, before trying other steps. However, because the CWG is a volunteer group that meets only on a weekly basis, we have limited capacity to act in these circumstances.

CWG Incident Report Form

Remedies

Escalating an issue to the Community Working Group (CWG) may result in actions or an outcome that impacts both parties. In the event the CWG has to intervene, here are some of the ways they might respond:

  • Take no action. For example, if the CWG determines the complaint has not been substantiated or if it is deemed to be outside the purview of this group. The CWG also reserves the right not to act on reports it feels are being made in bad faith and/or in an attempt to harass or intimidate other community members.
  • A request for a private or public apology.
  • A private reprimand from the working group to the individual(s) involved.
  • A public reprimand from the working group to the individual(s) involved.
  • An imposed vacation (i.e. asking someone to "take a week off" from a mailing list or IRC). They'll be asked to take this vacation voluntarily, but if they don't agree then a temporary ban may be imposed to enforce this vacation.
  • A permanent or temporary ban from some or all Drupal spaces (mailing lists, IRC, etc.). The group will maintain records of all such bans so that they may be reviewed in the future, extended to new Drupal fora, or otherwise maintained.
  • In the event of illegal or harassing activity, the CWG may advise the matter be escalated to the relevant local law enforcement agency. Note: It is not the role of the CWG to initiate contact with law enforcement on behalf of any of the community members involved in an incident brought before the CWG.

This policy was adapted from the Django Code of Conduct - Enforcement Manual.

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