SEC=UNCLASSIFIED RE: Community Council meeting 6 dec 2005

[Stoffers, Robert LAC]

> The forums are financially supported in part, thus making it official
> and recognized (if it wasn't we would probably not even discuss in
> depth about it in the CC meetings). What Ryan argues is that the CoC
> does not fit specifically to a forum setting as we have discussed last
> night after the meeting.

I know that the forums are technically an official project already, however the issue is that there is no official forum "team" and no real way the CC and Ubuntu can control its actions (and the actions of its administrators) apart from withdrawing this funding. The Code of Conduct can easily be applied to users/administrators of the forums as it can to users of other mediums such as the wiki and IRC. Although many of the users haven't signed it, by making them part of the rules of the forums users can be expected to abide by them or have their account suspended. 

Phrases such as "Be considerate" and "Be respectful" can easily be applied to the forum setting, as can "When you disagree, consult others." The last phrase, "When you disagree, consult others" is what's not happening, currently one cannot disagree with an administrator on the forums and have a real chance of getting the issue soughed out. By pulling the forums into the Ubuntu ship the CC and the Ubuntu community at large can better control how this resource functions.

> Actually this wasn't the reason why the forums were discussed again.
> It was about possible violations of licensing on a community project
> that started in the forums. There was a misunderstanding on what was
> listed on the wiki page. The key here is proper communication. For
> many times, the CC listed forum issues and invited parties involved
> but no one came or only one side came to give their story.

I am just going off the previous email as CC meetings are usually conducted whist I am at work. Also, this is a another major reason why the forums need to have an accountable for their actions official team, so proper communication can take place involving the administration and running of the forums.

Robert Stoffers
Ubuntu Documentation Team
rob1 AT ubuntu.com