The ASF code of conduct includes another item to balance it, which puts more responsibility on the sender: "Be careful in the words that we choose... take responsibility for our own speech"
Both of these are critical in email. It is easy to misjudge intentions, if not careful. It is also easy to send messages that cause harm, if not careful. There is an important distinction between intent and outcome. The sender's does not merely have the responsibility to have good intent. Kenn On Mon, Sep 16, 2019 at 10:18 AM Ross Gardler <ross.gard...@microsoft.com.invalid> wrote: > I find this article to be potentially damaging but also potentially > valuable. The "potentially damaging" part is likely because of where I work > and what "assume good intent" means to me as a result. For me it doesn't > mean "telling people to “assume good intent” is a sign that if they come to > you with a concern, you will minimize their feelings, police their > reactions, and question their perceptions." > > What it means, for me, is don't react emotionally but rather logically. > Tell the person that an interpretation of their words/actions is very > negative. Explain why. Explain the impact that it has. Then move on. My > experience has shown that the majority of people will learn from this. It > won't be instant, but it will happen in most cases. I find the assumption > in this article that "assume good intent" means people get a free pass for > bad behavior to be worrisome. It doesn't mean that to me. Repeated and > malicious bad behavior should be dealt with. Assume good intent doesn't > mean blindly pretend that good intent exists. > > That said, I do think the article highlights a potential problem I had not > considered. That is for people who "have their feet stepped on every day" > it can be very much harder to "assume good intent", even if it really is > accidental. It will become even harder still if we allow a policy of > "assume good intent" to become the kind of loophole the author identifies. > > Lets carry on with "assume good intent" here int he ASF, but lets also be > vigilant. As the author puts it let's "create a culture that recognizes and > pushes back against the ways that marginalized people are dehumanized. > Expect people to demonstrate their good intent by treating people with > respect." > > ________________________________ > From: Justin Mclean <jus...@classsoftware.com> > Sent: Monday, September 16, 2019 3:39 AM > To: diversity@apache.org <diversity@apache.org> > Subject: good intent > > Hi, > > Run into this today, it’s probably nothing new, but ASF context wise I > think it's worth reading and considering: > > > https://nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fthebias.com%2F2017%2F09%2F26%2Fhow-good-intent-undermines-diversity-and-inclusion&data=02%7C01%7CRoss.Gardler%40microsoft.com%7C225a93c055a8432781bb08d73a9223ac%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C1%7C637042271645833110&sdata=iLJp4Dp2zOHUOtpIl15tl%2FSxCgopkVNwQmk6TQA0dFY%3D&reserved=0 > > Thanks, > Justin > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: diversity-unsubscr...@apache.org > For additional commands, e-mail: diversity-h...@apache.org > >
