On kernel mailing list behavior [LWN.net]

On kernel mailing list behavior

Posted Jul 18, 2013 18:26 UTC (Thu) by b7j0c (guest, #27559)
In reply to: On kernel mailing list behavior by niner
Parent article: On kernel mailing list behavior

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

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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.