Ubuntu Wiki

• Launchpad Entry: ubuntu-planet-editorial-policy

• Created: 2007-05-01

• Contributors: CoreyBurger, MatthewEast

• Packages affected: None

• See also: PlanetUbuntu

Summary

Planet Ubuntu, an aggregate of blogs by Ubuntu members, needs a set of loose guidelines to resolve content disputes and to help with clear communication after an issue has arisen. This spec attempts to create such a policy, for eventual approval by the Community Council.

Rationale

Occasionally issues arise in relation to posts syndicated on Planet Ubuntu. There are two types of such issues:

1. Confidential information is leaked (generally unintentionally) by an employee or subsequently a community member which could give rise to difficulties in that employer's relationship with a business partner. This includes not only Canonical but any other business which has employees blogging on Planet Ubuntu.
2. Material is posted which (generally unintentionally) offends another community member.

In each case it is necessary to have clear processes for resolving the issue as appropriate.

Use Cases

Jane is a community member and wishes to write about rumours of a pending Canonical announcement. She is concerned about being censored, given the previous experience with the Dell deal. She wants reassurance that provided her information comes from outside sources, she is free to post about such deals.

Mark runs Canonical and wants to make certain that future deals are not jeopardized by accidental release of information by his employees. He wants to be able to remove his employees blogs without concerns of censorship

Larry runs an Ubuntu business and one of his employees whose blog is syndicated on Planet Ubuntu was, either accidentally or not, leaked confidential information. He wants to be able to remove that blog from Planet Ubuntu in a confidential manner.

Sally has posted a followup to another blog post by an employee who leaked information. She wants to know what is going to happen to her blog post, now that the employees blog post has been pulled.

Eric objects to some content on their blog, content which does not violate the Code of Conduct. He wishes to know if there is a way and a venue to have a discussion about this content.

Scope

Covers [http://planet.ubuntu.com Planet Ubuntu].

Implementation

Introduce a brief disclaimer into the sidebar on Planet Ubuntu:

Planet Ubuntu is a window into the world, work and lives of Ubuntu developers and contributors. Opinions are those of the individuals and do not represent Ubuntu as a whole.

Confidential Information

Internally, Canonical and all employees with blogs on Planet Ubuntu should develop policies that ensure that all employees are aware of what information is confidential, and what is not.

Where a legal issue arises in relation to confidential information, the [https://launchpad.net/~canonical-sysadmins Canonical sysadmins] may be contacted for an emergency removal of a post. It is imperative that where a post is removed, the relevant user is contacted and respectfully explained the reason why - miscommunication is the main problem in such situations.

Inappropriate Posts

The Code of Conduct applies to all actions by Ubuntu members, including posting to their blogs. Guidance should be added to the PlanetUbuntu page to ensure that this is clear. The following text would be appropriate:

Please remember when aggregating posts to Planet Ubuntu that the Ubuntu code of conduct applies. Ubuntu is a global project, and while we do not ask that members censor their posts, we would ask all members to bear in mind that highly controversial subjects may offend some readers.

Where a community member is offended by content on another member's blog, the best approach will generally be to attempt to resolve the issue peacefully through respectful discussion. In extremely serious cases and in the event that it is not possible to resolve the issue, the CommunityCouncil can mediate the problem.

Outstanding Issues

Comments

See ["/talk"]

CategorySpec