On kernel mailing list behavior [LWN.net]

On kernel mailing list behavior

Posted Jul 17, 2013 18:31 UTC (Wed) by b7j0c (guest, #27559)
In reply to: On kernel mailing list behavior by smurf
Parent article: On kernel mailing list behavior

> Participants don't abdicate their civil rights when they join in.

private organizations in the US can absolutely discriminate in ways you might find reprehensible. see: the boy scouts. see: any country club that prohibits women members. all legal, as long as the group is private and membership voluntary

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On kernel mailing list behavior

Posted Jul 18, 2013 8:22 UTC (Thu) by niner (guest, #26151) [Link] (2 responses)

Linux kernel development has not, is not and very probably will never be US only. So it's irrelevant to this discussion what is allowed in the US and what is not.

On kernel mailing list behavior

Posted Jul 18, 2013 18:26 UTC (Thu) by b7j0c (guest, #27559) [Link] (1 responses)

but then the whole context of civil rights is also irrelevant - they are also the product of national legal codes

On kernel mailing list behavior

Posted Jul 19, 2013 15:28 UTC (Fri) by smurf (subscriber, #17840) [Link]

Most countries have libel laws. Not quite as many have laws about offensive or insulting public speech.

In any case, civil laws are supposed to codify what should be generally-accepted polite and/or reasonable behavior. Thus reasonable and polite conduct cannot require the existence, much less content, of any laws; that would be as circular as requiring a running Linux kernel to boot Linux from.

Nevertheless, having a code (legal code, code of conduct) as a reminder for, and if required as a basis for the punishment of, misbehaving people, is a good idea.