IRC operators code of conduct

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This page describes expectations and guidelines for Fedora's IRC operators in the IRC #fedora channel, and some other IRC channels. The IRC operators are volunteers who give freely of their time to:

• help users find the resources and assistance they need
• provide correct information about the Fedora Project, the Fedora distribution, and operation and maintenance of Fedora
• maintain a friendly and positive environment for the community

The IRC operators are Fedora contributors. As such their conduct reflects on the Fedora community, especially because they interact with people who are often new to that community. They are, at the same time, volunteers who deserve common courtesy and respect. IRC operators help not users, but each other in following this code of conduct.

Code of Conduct

Channel operators will be held to a much higher standard than normal users and are expected to follow the guidelines on the Freenode Catalyst page and to abide by the Fedora Foundations.

Operators who act in a fashion that is considered to be against any of Fedora's Foundations (Freedom, Friends, Features, First) will have subsequent action taken against them, including (but not limited to) a warning, temporary or permanent removal of Operator rights.

Operators should discourage personal attacks or insults of other users in the channel, while not taking offense at attacks on themselves.

Operators as a whole will interject when any users gets out of line, regardless of the offender being an OP or a standard user.

Don't keep channel operator privileges. Displaying these privileges on your nick with a "+o" attracts participants who are interested in gaining them and using them actively; it also attracts the attention of participants who react negatively to authority. Have your nick added to the channel access list and op yourself only when needed, or use the irc management bot to perform operator actions.

If you remove a user from the channel, note the action in the #fedora-ops channel. This will allow other ops to know who made the action, the time and a short blurb as to why. In the event of disputes, the entire pool of operators will be consulted and the action could be reversed or maintained. If known, also note what # offense this is, in case further action is needed.

Tell other ops about any ongoing activity they should watch for upon leaving the channel or going inactive. You can do this in the #fedora-ops communication channel.

Activities that take place outside the fedora channels, (ie, private messages, activity in non fedora channels, real life interaction, mailing lists, forums, etc) should be considered separate from operator responsibilities. Judge user action based on their channel activity only.

Disputes about the actions of a channel operator are to be taken to the entire pool of operators for rough consensus.

New channel operators should be elevated from the group of channel helpers. Interested helpers should be nominated and approved by a majority vote of the other existing operators. All operators must agree to follow these guidelines.

Duties

Channel operators should monitor the channel when they are able, and take the following actions:

1. Users who use offensive and distracting profanity should be warned about the use of such language, then it is up to the operators discretion as to the option taken from the standard operators guidelines listed below.
2. Users who paste or dump large amounts of text in the channel (more than 4 lines) may be kicked mid flood and should be warned. Continued infractions should be enforced per the standard operators guidelines listed below.
3. Users who are consistently off topic and not helping when others are trying to get help should be warned and then will be subject to the standard operators guidelines listed below.
4. Users who are dropping on or off and flooding the channel with many leave/join messages and/or nick change flooding the channel may be removed from the channel until they contact an operator in #fedora-ops.
5. Long term or repeat offenders may be removed for longer time periods at the discretion of the entire pool of operators.
6. Users who consistently provide incorrect or dangerous help (telling users to 'rm -rf /' or the like) will be warned and then will be subject to the standard operators guidelines listed below.
7. Advertising or ad spamming the #fedora channel with non-Fedora related advertisements either by user or adbots will not be tolerated. Violators are subject to an automatic 24 hour ban and repeat offenders may be banned for longer durations of time.
8. Users who repeatedly Personal Message (PM) individuals rather than direct support questions through the channel should be instructed politely to direct questions to the channel so others can learn from the answers. If the behavior continues, it is appropriate to silently ignore the nick, and deal with any adverse activity in the channel as shown in the standard operators guidelines listed below.
9. Offtopic usage may be subject to automated kicks or bans. Operators should encourage users to avoid such usage and note that they may be removed by automated policies, freenode staff or operators if they continue.

Standard Operator Guidelines

1. For a first offense a warning should suffice.
2. For a second offense a 15minute quiet should be used. User is still on channel, but cannot send to channel.
3. For a third offense a kick.
4. For a fourth offense a 15 minute ban.
5. For a fifth offense a 1 hour ban.
6. For a sixth offense a 24 hour ban.
7. For a seventh offense a 1 week ban.
8. For any further offenses a ban longer in duration may apply.