W3C

– DRAFT –
Positive Work Environment CG

05 May 2020

Attendees

Present
Jeff, Jory, Tzviya, wendyreid
Regrets
-
Chair
Tzviya
Scribe
Ralph

Meeting minutes

previous 21-Apr

Open issues/PRs on CEPC

pull requests

Tzviya: #130 ...

<tzviya> https://‌github.com/‌w3c/‌PWETF/‌pull/‌130

Tzviya: I only want to discuss objections
… #130 is about ombuds links
… so people who have issues they want to raise know where that goes

<tzviya> https://‌github.com/‌w3c/‌PWETF/‌pull/‌130

<Ralph> +1 to #130

Judy: WFM

<jeff> wfm

Wendy: merging ...

Tzviya: #131
… the comment is that the text talks about execution of CEPC, not about "unacceptable behaviors"
… simple fix is to add a subheading

<Judy> wfm

Wendy: wfm

Jeff: I don't object but I think it's a bit of a strange word
… showing up in the middle
… "Priorities" could be over everything
… perhaps "safety and comfort" ?

Tzviya: that suggestion works for me

Jory: +1 to Jeff's improvement; more descriptive

Judy: "comfort range" might cause people to think about it in a dismissive way
… we can't make everybody comfortable

Jeff: I simply extracted text from the first sentence

Tzviya: I do like Jeff's suggestion

<Judy> https://‌github.com/‌w3c/‌PWETF/‌pull/‌133

Tzviya: #133
… this is just about whitespace

Wendy: there should not have been a space

Judy: just copyediting!

Tzviya: #134
… we had lots of discussion about this at the @@ last meeting

<tzviya> https://‌pr-preview.s3.amazonaws.com/‌w3c/‌PWETF/‌134/‌dce89a7...edc0281.html

Judy: it appears the only change is "respect request" changes to 'accommodate participants' needs"

Tzviya: there's a slight nuance

<Judy> +1 to accommodate needs

Tzviya: my initial wording "request requests for" puts the burden on the person with the need
… "accommodate needs" removes the onus on a particular person

Judy: Vlad is aiming for the result

<Ralph> +1

Tzviya: merged

Tzviya: back to #131 ...
… Jeff suggested "Safety versus Comfort"
… change from subheading "Priorities" to "Safety vs. Comfort"

<Ralph> +1

[[

Retaliating, or taking adverse action, against anyone who files a complaint that someone has violated this code of conduct.

3.2.1 Priorities

This Code prioritizes the safety of individuals, particularly those in marginalized communities, over the comfort of others, for example in situations involving:

]]

<Ralph> ^^ is the current diff from the pr

<Ralph> ... the proposal now is just to change the subheading text

Judy: just checking what just got categorized as just "comfort".... ...
… OK; I'm fine

Tzvya: "versus" or "and" ?

Wendy: "versus" fits better with the first line of that section

Jeff: I'm comfortable with either

Judy: "versus" is closer to what we want

Tzviya: ok, "versus" it is

Wendy: I'll edit and merge

Tzviya: we're closed all the open pull requests and all the open issues!
… we can pass this on for the final round of approvals
… I'll work on writing something up for Comm to pass along

Jeff: before we send for AC approval, do we need another CfC?

Ralph: if the chairs and editors believe all this is editorial, I don't think a formal CfC is necessary

Tzviya: I'll confirm with An Qi tomorrow

Ralph: anyone here think any of this is more than editorial? my answer is 'no'

Wendy: also no

Jory: also no

Update on MIT IDHR for ombuds program (Judy, Ralph)

Judy: MIT is now holding regular appointments again
… I'll propose some times to Ralph

Ralph: nothing new on my part

Judy: we could meet with both offices at the same time

Tzviya: we'll come back to this at the next meeting

Update from Jory

Jory: update on work and conversations since my presentation to W3T
… we've had a couple of meetings to collect more feedback from the Team
… thinking about changes to the original plan in light of current COVID workmode
… I'm hoping to talk here about incorporating real-world examples
… W3C experiences of conflict
… to incorporate into the framework of conflict
… show by way of example
… I had hoped to find some time with the group to have this conversation and get your thoughts on types of experiences you've had that we could possibly work in
… another development is shifting to on-line delivery and changing the format to something like Big Blue Button
… to allow polling and more interactivity

Jory: interactive components to make the content more "sticky"
… can we have time in a future meeting to workshop that together?

Judy: you're thinking pretty far ahead; maybe we can try to start that brainstorming now?
… you had several conceptual blocks in the Team training
… we could highlight those blocks and think about what W3C examples come to mind

<jorydotcom> https://‌docs.google.com/‌presentation/‌d/‌1ga3qv3EbdFJGGesEmknwNJ72AQvh3ULn6FmvYHN-LyE/‌edit

Jory: I'd been encouraged to pose this before the meeting and didn't have time so I didn't want to ask people to start brainstorming :)
… in the session I ran I presented framework followed by examples
… the idea is to do examples first then framework

Jeff: the next meeting is in conflict with the AC meeting

Tzviya: yep
… we probably need to skip that meeting and make 2 June the next meeting

<jeff> Ralph and Judy ++ in advance

Resolution: next meeting will be 2 June

Judy: back to brainstorming ...
… shortly before the Team training PLH was starting to add W3C examples
… let's look at one of those topics to start

Jory: the examples that came easiest were at the top;
… basic structural things and default conflict modes
… .what I felt warranted more conversation is in the escalation model
… we see many different things as a conflict comes together
… behavior, context from the environment and the situation
… makes us wonder if this is phase 1 or phase 2
… I wanted to look specifically at phases 2-4
… slides 34 and 35

Judy: our favorite ratholes!

Tzviya: we have to be super-cautious about real-world examples

Jory: absolutely; every example has to be thoroughly scrubbed of identifying information

Judy: looking for recurring conflicts?

Jory: tension is the first clue we humans have that a conflict is brewing
… the shift from feeling the tension to seeing it play out in conversation is what we're looking to describe
… a debate that no longer feels that it is using conflict behaviors that keep it in a productive zone
… e.g. appealing to authority

Jeff: maybe we can talk about examples to see what is problematic behavior and what is not
… it is standard operating practice that I've seen where one participant says "we've already shipped and aren't changing"
… that could be "appeal to higher authority"
… but there's a level of detail underneath that is highly complex

Tzviya: agree with Jeff; maybe it helps to use CEPC as a guide
… a nuanced scenario in which people involved day-to-day perceived bullying but the record wasn't so clear from the outside

<Zakim> tzviya, you wanted to mention an example

<Zakim> jeff, you wanted to differentiate "timing" and "argumentative"

Jeff: this helps illustrate why these are so complex
… in a verbal conversation, rapid-fire interruption is problematic
… [in asynchronous conversation] a rapid response might not be such a problem
… the content of the response matters more [then]

Judy: I've seen reactions that I characterize as reflexive dismissal
… rapid-fire electronic communication operates differently
… and affects how others contribute

Ralph: that's pretty much what I raised my hand to say

Judy: so stage 1 identifiers can be tricky; people might not be listening in the optimum way

Jory: behaviors that are likely to increase rather than decrease the conflict
… that's what I'm trying to help people understand

Judy: I experienced a case where a well-respected expert was invited to advise a Group and was being dismissed as not informed

Jory: there's a pattern that occurs in debate of denial of another person's experience

Wendy: it's also a matter of tone of response

Jeff: yes; tone is a very important point
… perhaps it needs to be added to Jory's terminology

<Zakim> Judy, you wanted to ask Jory about positive behaviors in this thread -- and how they fit with your model

Summary of resolutions

  1. next meeting will be 2 June
Minutes manually created (not a transcript), formatted by scribe.perl version 114 (Tue Mar 17 13:45:45 2020 UTC).