This is the current enforcement manual followed by the F# Software Foundation's Board of Trustees and Officers. It is used when responding to conduct issues to promote fairness and consistency in handling any potential violation. While this is intended as an internal working document, the Board of Trustees is publishing this document in the interests of transparency.
Potential Code of Conduct violation reporting
Reports of conduct violations will be managed and reviewed directly by the Board of Trustees. Reports may be sent via the dedicated email ([email protected]), via direct contact of a Board member, via the FSSF phone system, or any other mechanism.
Procedure for responses to potential conduct violations
When a report is sent to the Board, a member of the Board of Trustees will attempt to reply immediately to confirm receipt, and notify the other Board members of the potential violation. Response time for the initial reply should always be within 24 hours, though every attempt will be made to respond more quickly when possible. All reports will be kept confidential.
The report will then be reviewed to see if it follows the reporting guidelines. If a report is lacking in any information, the Board will attempt to obtain all relevant data prior to acting. Any member of the Board is empowered to act on the behalf of the FSSF in contacting individuals involved when required to obtain a complete account of events. The initial reviewer shall also determine whether unilateral action is required.
The reporting party's identity will be kept anonymous, unless they explicitly choose otherwise. Unless they choose to not be anonymous, all effort will be made to keep the report, as well as the reporting party's identity, confidential. The Board will not disclose the identity of any reporter or victim unless instructed otherwise by those specific individuals.
The Board will then review the incident and determine, to the best of their ability:
- What occurred
- Whether this event constitutes a violation of the Code of Conduct
- Who, if anybody, was in violation of the Code of Conduct
- The intent behind the issue
- Whether the situation is ongoing
- Whether there is a threat to anybody's safety
The information shall be collected and retained in writing, and when possible, records of the deliberation shall be retained. All investigations should remain unbiased and will be fully investigated.
The Board shall aim to agree upon a resolution within one week. In the event that a resolution cannot be determined within that time frame, the reporter will be notified and a projected timeline will be provided.
Acting Unilaterally
If the act is ongoing or involves a threat to anybody's safety, any member of the Board of Trustees may act immediately, without reaching a consensus or waiting for discussion, to remedy the situation.
If the act involves physical danger, any Board member should act unilaterally to protect safety. This may include contacting law enforcement or other local personnel, employ any tools available to rectify the situation, and may speak directly on behalf of the FSSF.
Any unilateral action made by an individual member of the Board of Trustees must be reported to the rest of the Board within 24 hours.
Resolutions
The Board must agree upon a resolution using the normal mechanisms, procedures, and policies as defined within the bylaws, which currently means a majority vote.
Possible responses may include, but are not limited to:
- Taking no further action (if the determination is that no violation occurred)
- A private reprimand from the Board to the individual(s) involved. This will be done via email, with the rest of the Board copied on the response.
- A public reprimand, delivered in the same venue in which the violation occurred. The Board may also choose to publish the message elsewhere if deemed appropriate.
- An imposed "vacation" - The Board representative may ask somebody to voluntarily leave and not participate within the specific venue (such as a the mailing list). If the individual refuses, a temporary ban may be imposed.
- A permanent or temporary ban from all FSSF activities and venues, including electronic spaces managed by the FSSF (such as mailing lists)
- Removal from leadership or prominent community positions, such as board or working group positions, forum moderator position, keynote or speaking engagement, or event organizer position.
- Permanent removal of membership
Any resolution will be presented to the reporting party prior to enactment for feedback. The Board will ask whether the resolution is acceptable, and will note the feedback in the records of the incident. The Board is not, however, required to act upon or change their proposed resolution based on feedback received.
All public announcements of consequences for violations of the Code of Conduct will be made by the Board, or by a member of the Board when unilateral action is appropriate. All efforts will be made to preserve the anonymity of the victims and reporting parties.
Conflicts of Interest
In the event of any conflict of interest, the Board member should immediately notify the Board, and recuse themselves from participating in the resolution as necessary.
Note from the Executive Director: This document was inspired by the Django Project's Enforcement Manual. It is intended to be a working document, and subject to change at any time. The underlying values and goals shall remain the same, but the specific mechanisms by which reports are managed may change over time as the FSSF grows. The goal is to always strive to best serve the community and members of the F# Software Foundation.