As usual, what I write here is my opinion and I don’t speak for anyone else. In particular, this isn’t any sort of official PyCon anything.

Recently, tech conferences have started publishing a new kind of document: a code of conduct or anti-harassment policy [1]. Attendees are being explicitly told that they’re expected to follow these policies.

To some, this sounds patronizing; or like tools for group-think and censorship; or like a bad episode of The Morality Police. To my mind these are all valid criticisms. Most people aren’t jerks, so telling them to “be nice” certainly sounds patronizing. And it’s true that there are plenty of past situations where codes of conduct have been used to silence controversial opinions. And, yes, morality is sometimes relative; imposing one set of morals upon a diverse group isn’t fair.