Community Council Statement: Jonathan Riddell

[Jono Bacon]

On 30 May 2015 at 09:42, Benjamin Kerensa <bkerensa at ubuntu.com> wrote:
> You yourself said they should provide evidence Jono so are you backpedaling
> on that belief? As of right now
> they have not shown a single example of anything that amounts to a violation
> of the Code of Conduct.

I am not back-peddling on anything - read what I said, not what you
want to hear.

My point is that we have to be realistic about what kind of
information the CC can provide. You mentioned 'context' and context
within a large time period is complex to construct. This situation is
not limited to a single event: it is not like something happened in a
single meeting and we need to provide the context of just that
meeting...we are talking about two years of multiple communications,
outside events, topics, and more.

My only point is that constructing this context in a readable and
concise way is complex and we have to be realistic about what the CC
can provide here. I want it to be compelling and illustrative of their
decision too...but we have to have realistic expectations.

Also, as for the CoC I want us to remember something. The CoC is not
designed to be a document for judging people...it is designed to
capture the spirit and values of what we want the wider Ubuntu
community to adhere to. Assessing "CoC compliance" is not a set of
tickboxes that people have to adhere to...CoC compliance is whether
someone adheres to the spirit of the document and the expectations
within it.

Now, again, being realistic, we are human beings. Sometimes people
have crappy days, complex personal lives, and other contributing
factors that lead to negative behavior and outcomes. We have to be
mindful of this in assessing people. The goal of the CoC is guide the
general behavior of a person over a significant and sustained period
of time.

I would argue that Jonathan has increasingly not embodied the spirit
of the CoC. I have personally seen many examples of him being
combative, misrepresenting the views of others, presuming foul-play
without evidence, and not demonstrating a level of objectivity that I
believe leadership requires. Again, this is not all or nothing...in
many cases Jonathan has acted in a professional, respectful, and
dignified way...but I don't believe he has embodied the spirit of the
CoC at all times, and the CC clearly feel like it is enough to be a
problem for him to step down as a leader.

     Jono

-- 
Jono Bacon
www.jonobacon.org : www.twitter.com/jonobacon : www.linkedin.com/in/jonobacon