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Code of Conduct Conversations in Open Source Software Projects on Github

Published:22 April 2021Publication History
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Abstract

The rapid growth of open source software necessitates a deeper understanding of moderation and governance methods currently used within these projects. The code of conduct, a set of rules articulating standard behavior and responsibilities for participation within a community, is becoming an increasingly common policy document in open source software projects for setting project norms of behavior and discouraging negative or harassing comments and conversation. This study describes the conversations around adopting and crafting a code of conduct as well as those utilizing code of conduct for community governance. We conduct a qualitative analysis of a random sample of GitHub issues that involve the code of conduct. We find that codes of conduct are used both proactively and reactively to govern community behavior in project issues. Oftentimes, the initial addition of a code of conduct does not involve much community participation and input. However, a controversial moderation act is capable of inciting mass community feedback and backlash. Project maintainers balance the tension between disciplining potentially offensive forms of speech and encouraging broad and inclusive participation. These results have implications for the design of inclusive and effective governance practices for open source software communities.

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        cover image Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
        Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction  Volume 5, Issue CSCW1
        CSCW
        April 2021
        5016 pages
        EISSN:2573-0142
        DOI:10.1145/3460939
        Issue’s Table of Contents

        Copyright © 2021 ACM

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        Association for Computing Machinery

        New York, NY, United States

        Publication History

        • Published: 22 April 2021
        Published in pacmhci Volume 5, Issue CSCW1

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