Re: Forwarded comment on our Code of Conduct

Thanks, Ralph. We can discuss on Tuesday whether we want to address.

On 11/20/2025 12:54 PM, Ralph Swick wrote:
> The following email was received at our general mail address.  I 
> forward it here in the event that this group wishes to consider any of 
> the writer’s comments.
>
>> Begin forwarded message:
>>
>> *From: *[redacted]
>> *Subject: **Code of Conduct missing addition*
>> *Date: *November 18, 2025 at 20:33:34 EST
>> *To: *contact@w3.org
>>
>> Hey people :)
>>
>> I loved reading through your amazing code of conduct BUT it felt like 
>> a nightmare to not read about conflict resolution in a way that 
>> enables variation, instead of - it felt like for me reading - forcing 
>> peace upon both parties. Thats why I would love to read something 
>> like this:
>>
>> conflict is not a by product - its bad design.
>>
>> Consideration for point 14 Ode of Conduct.
>>
>> 3. Code of conduct
>>
>> 3.14. The right to go separate ways — and the understanding that 
>> until that time, everything co-created belongs to both sides.
>>
>>
>> Conflict is rarely a sign of “bad people”; it is often a sign of bad 
>> design: systems that do not allow all voices to move freely toward 
>> the place where they feel most alive, safe, and true.
>>
>>
>> Sometimes the loudest voices are not “dominating” —
>>
>> they are signaling that something inside them is not yet free.
>>
>>
>> In a healthy system:
>>
>>
>>  *
>>
>>     Everyone is allowed to express experiences of suppression.
>>
>>  *
>>
>>     Anyone may state what they need in order to feel safe.
>>
>>  *
>>
>>     We do not frame this as opposition or sides.
>>
>>  *
>>
>>     We treat conflict as information, not as moral failure.
>>
>>  *
>>
>>     We acknowledge that co-creation generates shared responsibility
>>     and shared ownership until a clean transition is intentionally
>>     designed.
>>
>>
>>
>> Freedom means multiple interpretations of life may coexist —
>>
>> and each person or group retains the right to move toward the most 
>> appealing, most resonant interpretation without being punished for it.
>>
>>
>> Designing for collective well-being means building structures where:
>>
>>
>>  *
>>
>>     Divergence is allowed.
>>
>>  *
>>
>>     Separation does not equal betrayal.
>>
>>  *
>>
>>     Expression of pain is welcomed, not pathologized.
>>
>>  *
>>
>>     And co-created value stays in integrity until a fair, mutual
>>     transition can be made.
>>
>>
>>
>> This is not about winning
>>
>> or being right
>>
>> or silencing discomfort.
>>
>>
>> It is about designing a social architecture where everyone — 
>> including those who struggle, shout, or shake — can move from 
>> constraint into freedom.
>>
>>
>
-- 
Tzviya Siegman
Director, Sustainability/Member Relations
tzviya@w3.org

Received on Thursday, 20 November 2025 18:55:14 UTC