Yeah, it was against the code of conduct. And they were members of a large audience. Not sure how either of those facts make it a big deal. PyCon's response was appropriate.
That doesn't strike me as a violation of the code of conduct. The CoC says PyCon won't participate in public shaming, but it definitely doesn't forbid attendees from talking about things they experienced at PyCon.
In particular, I think this was the part that was violated: "All communication should be appropriate for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for any conference venue, including talks."
The jokes were about forking and big dongles; they were obvious sexual references. The maker of the joke, the overhearer, and the people running the conference all agreed that it was a code of conduct violation, so there's nothing really up for debate about that.
That you don't understand why these codes were created or what practical benefit they have means little other that you haven't taken the time to learn anything before opening your mouth.
The conference had a code of conduct ( https://us.pycon.org/2013/about/code-of-conduct/ ). Which they almost certainly broke. If you're at a conference as a rep of your company, and break that conference's code of conduct, the company might not like it.
That is in fact what happened. PyCon posted a statement afterwards (http://pycon.blogspot.ca/2013/03/pycon-response-to-inappropr...) that said "Both parties were met with, in private. The comments that were made were in poor taste, and individuals involved agreed, apologized and no further actions were taken by the staff of PyCon 2013. No individuals were removed from the conference, no sanctions were levied."
This sucks, period - there's no two ways about it. Things like this are why I am glad PyCon (us.pycon.org) has a code of conduct in place (https://us.pycon.org/2012/codeofconduct/) which is enforced by staff. There is no place for this type of behavior, anywhere.
I am sorry this happened to you Julia, it should not have, and the conference organizers should not have blinked before ejecting the responsible party from the conference.
"Report the harassment incident (preferably in writing) to a conference staff member - all reports are confidential...The staff is well informed on how to deal with the incident and how to further proceed with the situation...Note: Public shaming can be counter-productive to building a strong community. PyCon does not condone nor participate in such actions out of respect."
> PyCon values the privacy of all attendees above everything.
She took three pictures of the two guys without their consent (something that is against the code of conduit). Why their privacy values were not respected?
She complained about someone's behavior; PyCon staff talked to everyone involved for a few minutes in the hall; everyone went back to their seats and watched the rest of the presentation. No one was expelled or punished in any way whatsoever.
In what way is that some sort of "zero tolerance" punishment that "exacerbated" the situation? Isn't that pretty much what any conference on any subject would do anywhere in the world if they received a complaint about attendee behavior?
I think you're taking it too personally. Step back and look at the big picture. PyCon was by all accounts a success and this incident a minor distraction that's gotten way too much attention and blown out of proportion.
As an aside, every PyCon attendee agreed to a code of conduct during registration, and the conference staff are available to address and remedy violations of that code.
pyCon clearly set their expectations for their guests during this event. I think if the "community" has such a large issue with it, they can stop attending conferences that don't adhere to their social expectations. (pyCon would not get any smaller though)
The PyCon code of conduct[1] appears to clearly disagree with your characterization that the event is not for a professional audience:
> All communication should be appropriate for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for any conference venue, including talks.
> Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other attendees. Behave professionally. Remember that harassment and sexist, racist, or exclusionary jokes are not appropriate for PyCon.
I understand you're trying to use "professional" in the sense of being someone who earns their living using the language and wears a stuffy suit, but that's not the sense used by the GP or PyCon.
Conferences are generally professional environments, which means that some degree of strictures on behaviour is normal. Conferences that are trying to be welcoming to groups that historically have found them unwelcoming try to limit the things that make them unwelcoming. Things like 'Dongle jokes' have been identified as one of those things. The Pythonic way is 'explicit over implicit'. So, Pycon's code of conduct. Can you understand this?
From what I understand in the Pycon incident there was an apology and admission that it shouldn't have happened, and parties were happy with the result. The problem came later because of the tweeted picture.
> All communication should be appropriate for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for any conference venue, including talks.
> Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other attendees. Behave professionally. Remember that harassment and sexist, racist, or exclusionary jokes are not appropriate for PyCon.
What's more, I no longer think that PyCon behaved entirely appropriately either. These things need to be taken in the context of what is clearly acceptable in society at large.
This doesn't seem to be known by most of the people raging about it. PyCon organizers talked to the parties involved. They didn't even kick anyone out, let alone post pictures or get either party fired.
"Note: Public shaming can be counter-productive to building a strong community. PyCon does not condone nor participate in such actions out of respect."
Not really. I liked how PyCon organizers behaved during this whole thing - so good publicity for them, they showed they can handle such situations well and react to them sensibly.
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