[AusNOG] AusNOG 2.0

[Terry Manderson]

Hi Andrew,

As I have stepped away from the AusNOG board I feel I can now comment publicly on these items in an individual capacity. While I agree with much that has been said in regard to the simple understanding that people should be good humans. David (as a board member) clarifying that the situation happened outside of any AusNOG event was quite correct and appropriate. It's fact. Actually I feel that while Narelle was good to point out some truths, it was inappropriate to infer that it happened at an AusNOG event. If you see that as distancing AusNOG from it, then I guess we will have to agree to disagree.

As you know there is a solid code of conduct (https://www.ausnog.net/ausnog_coc.pdf), as there should be. And any person that attends AusNOG firstly represent themselves and the company they work for. When IN the AusNOG sessions and AT the AusNOG social they are expected to follow the AusNOG Code of Conduct. Outside of that, the individual is under the expectations of their employer's codes and their employment contract along with the appropriate state and federal laws.

I think that there is something everyone on the AusNOG list needs to do. Go have strong and probing discussions with their own employers and ask the hard questions about their norms of behaviour when socialising with people both in and out side of sponsored or organised events. Perhaps also getting those companies to wrap their arms around the strong AusNOG posture of good behaviour and publicly support and recognise those good behaviours that all of us have demonstrated and championed over the many years to date.

Cheers
Terry



> On 11 Apr 2022, at 2:15 pm, Andrew Yager <andrew at rwts.com.au> wrote:
> 
> Hello!
> 
> Following the recent AusNOG event, I made a comment on LinkedIn expressing disappointment about the fact that we had another sexual harrassment incident, and that the conference organisers didn't take a stronger approach from the platform to condemn it.
> 
> To clarify, David did publicly say that this type of behaviour was unacceptable. David did seek to distance the conference itself from the behaviour. I personally felt that the way this happened effectively downplayed the incident. I feel like he could have done better.
> 
> I stand by those comments; and firmly believe we need to do more as an industry to combat these.
> 
> Since these comments have been made, there has been an increase in calls for a new alternate conference. I know that Bevan mooted this idea on LinkedIn today; and there have been similar calls on my original post and in other conversational forums.
> 
> I will note that at the time the Code of Conduct for the conference was not available online; but this has been restored after David was alerted to this issue. I should have done this myself and asked David directly, and I did not.
> 
> I want to reiterate that:
> 
> The AusNOG community is a great community. Sure we cycle through phases, but the networks and community that have been built within this group works to support and grow the Australian Telecommunications Industry, encourage development, and support those within our sphere.
> 
> I support the AusNOG conference. I think more work can be done to address incidents of harassment and assault; but this isn't a uniquely AusNOG problem. This is as much an industry problem. Other conferences have and continue to have these issues. As AusNOG transitions to a member-led organisation under the new constitution, I want to see us collectively learn from what we haven't done well as a community in the past and grow and change. If there is another conference, I'll encourage my team to attend; but I will continue to support AusNOG for as long as we can.
> 
> We need to find ways and places to talk about this problem. The AusNOG mailing list is likely not this; and I'm not sure where it is. But we need to find ways to change thoughts, attitudes and perceptions; and to provide ways to create safe and supportive work, social and educational environments for all people in our industry.
> 
> I don't have the answers on how we as an industry change. The statistics of assault and harassment within our ranks are discouraging; but the overwhelming feedback I've had over the last few days is that people want change, and want to be part of it.
> 
> I don't know exactly how AusNOG 2.0 will work. I don't know how the new membership system will impact the decision making processes, or encourage engagement, or provide enhanced ways to make this change.
> 
> But I want to publicly thank David, Joe and the rest of the board for taking the first steps to make this happen.
> 
> And lastly; thanks for organising a great conference. It was fun, informative and educational. There was new content, content that sparked discussion and thinking, and encouraged and challenged our practice - which is exactly what we wanted.
> 
> I don't really want or need replies to this email. I'm happy to leave it as it is; but I do think that something needs to be said in the AusNOG mailing list context given the wide discussion happening in other places.
> 
> Thanks,
> Andrew
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