Merge pull request #3663 from carolynvs/cocc-charter

Add Code of Conduct Committee Charter

committee-code-of-conduct/README.md

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ To understand how this file is generated, see https://git.k8s.io/community/gener
 
 The Kubernetes Code of Conduct Committee (CoCC) is the body that is responsible for enforcing and maintaining the Kubernetes Code of Conduct.
 
+The [charter](charter.md) defines the scope and governance of the Code of Conduct Committee.
 
 ## Members
 

committee-code-of-conduct/charter.md

@@ -0,0 +1,149 @@
+# Kubernetes Code of Conduct Committee Charter
+
+## Mission/Purpose
+Our primary mission is creating and maintaining a safe and respectful community.
+Our role is to provide and enforce a well-considered viewpoint on what
+constitutes acceptable behavior within our community. The [Code of
+Conduct](https://git.k8s.io/community/code-of-conduct.md) serves as the primary
+policy document and is supported with additional references and tools as needed.
+Since maintaining a safe environment is a very large part of what the committee
+does, we must carefully balance transparency of process with preserving the
+privacy of those who come to the committee or other community leaders with an
+incident report.
+
+The committee understands how challenging these matters are for everyone
+involved, and that the process is never perfect by nature of its need to serve
+everyone in the community equally. That said, the committee is oriented toward
+the protection of our community and takes that duty seriously.
+
+## Communication with the committee
+The committee maintains a private mailing list for reporting incidents, asking
+confidential questions, and internal committee communication:
+
+[conduct@kubernetes.io][email]
+
+This email alias may not be the fastest path to a response in urgent situations.
+**If a response is time critical, reaching individual committee members via
+Slack is advisable. But an email must also be sent to
+[conduct@kubernetes.io][email] for tracking purposes**. This feedback helps
+guide the implementation of new policies and procedures.
+
+### Others acting on behalf of the committee
+Community moderation administrators in Slack, the mailing list, community
+events, and elsewhere are extensions of the committee and are able to be first
+responders to incidents. They are explicitly empowered to take those actions
+necessary to protect the community, especially when no committee members are
+available. All such events must be retroactively reviewed by the committee for
+appropriateness and consistency. 
+
+Steering committee members may also act in limited cases to enforce the code of
+conduct. Examples of this may be the deletion of GitHub comments, offensive
+Slack messages, or the eviction of bad actors from public meetings. These
+actions must be communicated to the committee for review.
+
+## Composition and Scope
+The [committee is composed of 5
+members](https://git.k8s.io/community/committee-code-of-conduct).
+The committee is the primary recipient of all conduct complaints regardless of
+where in the community they originate. The only exception is at CNCF events,
+where the event Code of Conduct process supersedes this. That is primarily due
+to the high-impact nature of in-person violations and the need for more
+extensive staffing. This committee should be informed and consulted for all
+violations involving Kubernetes community members, regardless of circumstances.
+
+Additionally, the committee is responsible for drafting and executing on
+reporting, enforcement, and other policy matters. In most cases, policies are
+made public, however some materials will be confidential by nature of their
+content and application. As a general rule, the committee will provide as much
+transparency as possible, except in specific incident reports where no
+personally-identifying information about the reporter/reported will be shared.
+Anonymized aggregated incident data may be provided to the community as the
+committee sees fit. 
+
+*The Kubernetes Steering Committee has explicitly delegated all Code of Conduct
+authority and enforcement to this committee. The committee can, at its
+discretion, delegate some authority to those tasked with enforcement.*
+
+## Election
+TODO: Our election processes will be outlined in a separate document, coming soon.
+
+## Committee Operation
+The committee strives to respond quickly to reports, as well as initiate
+whatever actions are appropriate based on severity, risk, urgency, and impact.
+In some cases, this requires individual committee members to [take
+immediate](https://git.k8s.io/community/communication/moderation.md) action such
+as (but not limited to) removing a GitHub comment, deleting a Slack message, or
+ejecting someone from a community meeting. The committee, however, will
+retroactively review any action taken in such instances to ensure it was
+appropriate.
+
+The committee meets biweekly unless additional interstitial meetings are
+required to address incidents or other critical work. Meetings are not recorded,
+however confidential notes may be kept when necessary to provide continuity to
+future committee members. Wherever possible, documentation necessary for the
+internal operation of the committee will be stored in a private GitHub
+repository.
+
+### Meeting quorum
+Meetings are considered at quorum when a simple majority of the members are
+present. Where there are 4 or fewer members available due vacant seats or
+recusal, quorum is 2.
+
+### Policy change ratification
+Any changes to the charter require explicit LGTM or Approve from all
+committee members. For pull requests, a /hold will be applied until all
+approvals are present. Any changes merged without consensus will be reverted. 
+
+### Incident report confidentiality
+The Code of Conduct committee will keep your report confidential. The CoCC may
+share report information with the Steering Committee if they believe doing so is
+appropriate. Past incidents are communicated generally to new committee members
+so they can have historical context for future issues. While this may allow the
+establishment of bias in new members it is believed that the educational value
+of this information outweighs the potential negatives.
+
+### Incident Response Recusal
+A member of the Code of Conduct committee shall recuse themselves from
+evaluating and responding to any incident for which they are unable to be
+impartial. If a committee member does not recuse themselves they may be removed
+from participation by a unanimous vote of all other members of the committee. 
+
+### Committee seats unoccupied
+In the event that one or more of the seats on the committee is unoccupied, for any
+reason, a replacement member will be appointed by the steering committee as soon
+as reasonable. That person will serve out the remainder of the term of the
+person they are replacing.
+
+### Committee dissolution
+If committee members believe that the committee is no longer able to act in
+accordance with the above Mission/Purpose the committee may vote to dissolve.
+The committee should specify a date of dissolution. Dissolution requires an
+affirmative vote of more than 75% of committee members, and must be unamimous
+when the committee has only 4 or fewer members. If the committee is dissolved,
+all seats are vacated on the date specified.
+
+### Removal
+A committee member may be removed from the committee by a unanimous decision of
+the other committee members. The member should be given the opportunity to
+resign before they are removed. Removal should only be considered for the
+following reasons:
+
+* The member has been found to have committed a code of conduct violation.
+* The member is convicted of a felony.
+* The member has been completely out of contact for more than 30 consecutive
+  calendar days without having made prior arrangements.
+* The member has explicitly, publicly violated the privacy of individuals
+  involved by disclosure of personally-identifiable information (accidental
+  disclosure via inference is not a valid reason for removal, though may be
+  cause for a code of conduct violation report.)
+* The member is no longer able to perform the duties of the position due to
+  extreme circumstances such as refugee displacement or diminution of mental
+  capacity.
+
+### Resignation
+If a committee member chooses not to continue in their role, for whatever
+self-elected reason, they must notify the committee as well as the steering
+committee in writing. As a courtesy, such notifications should be given at least
+30 calendar days in advance of their departure.
+
+[email]: conduct@kubernetes.io

sigs.yaml

@@ -2758,6 +2758,7 @@ committees:
     The Kubernetes Code of Conduct Committee (CoCC) is the body that is responsible
     for enforcing and maintaining the Kubernetes Code of Conduct.
 
+  charter_link: charter.md
   label: conduct
   leadership:
     chairs: