That doesn't mean a Code of Conduct is not a necessary step.
Teaching people to be good members of your community, and being proactive in removing bad members, isn't possible until you define what that means.
Maybe you also have to realize that, just like human societies in general, no community is ever going to be perfect, and focusing too much on rules,rules,rules, can become counter-productive.
I doubt that necessary is the correct choice of words here.
It isn't.
> and being proactive in removing bad members, isn't possible until you define what that means.
What does it mean to be a bad member, unless you write a whole encyclopedia about your CoC it will always be open to interpretation - that's just a nature of social interactions (and if you do no one will ever read such a long document). It give's the opportunity for a CoC committee to thought police individuals that they disagree with. I just wish people that come up with this politicized BS were acting less cowardly and stopped being high on their own morale. I'm not saying that some community guidelines can't be useful, but CoC and committee systems are downright abhorrent.
Codes of conduct are generally about behavior that isn't criminal, because once you've crossed that line the appropriate response should be obvious.