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Comment by crispyambulance | Hacker News Reader

Of course it is satirical but I think people forget that the CoC's that been gaining traction lately are themselves a response to a real problem.

Yes, some CoC's may be fodder for satire and criticism because they cross the line when it comes to being excessively dogmatic. However, these things exist because online communities have been beset by hordes of assholes for a very long time. Many people feel excluded or are dismissed just because some jerk manages to wield a measure of virtual power.

It would be a mistake to move in the reverse direction now and abandon CoC's. If they're not working, perhaps change them or try something else, but the problem needs to be addressed.

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I do not think it is supposed to be satirical. I think it was Richard Hipp's way of writing something down that aligns with his personal values. The CoC even states that people should just try to follow it as well as they can:

> This rule is strict, and none are able to comply perfectly. Grace is readily granted for minor transgressions. All are encouraged to follow this rule closely, as in so doing they may expect to live happier, healthier, and more productive lives. The entire rule is good and wholesome, and yet we make no enforcement of the more introspective aspects.

EDIT: Saw that someones else had already commented on this. Leaving it up anyway. Sorry, folks!

What problem? We didn't need CoC for 20 years, why do we need it now?

CoCs have been needed for 20 years and more. Now that we're getting them, there's discomfort at the disruption to the status quo, but it's a status quo that desperately needs disruption.

>CoCs have been needed for 20 years and more

No they have not. Everything was and is perfectly fine and cordial without them.

> Everything was and is perfectly fine and cordial without them.

For you.

Not having something isn't the same as not needing something.

"We didn't need X for Y years" is an excellent way of preventing progress, and/or gatekeeping. I feel like this has been covered pretty well online before, but I can expand my thoughts if you'd like.

because software development has become a professional enterprise, and with that people develop standards on how to interact with each other in large and small organisations, rather than just winging it in a garage.

Anyway, "we didn't need X then, why do we need X now" is an absolutely atrocious argument. Because demands and communities change obviously, and with them how we conduct and organise our communities and organisations.

A lot of sensitive people work in the field now, and they need a set of rules so other people won't be mean to them.

Don't like the project community, don't use it, don't advocate for it, don't contribute to it, create an alternative.

Why is this so difficult to understand? Why this wave of active policing?

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