In the interest of simplifying the typical process of determining what a proper Code of Conduct should consist of, I've come up with the simplest, clearest, and most concise Code of Conduct ever. It is licensed under the "Do What The Fuck You Want To" Public License.
The full text of the Don't be a Dick Code of Conduct is as follows:
If at anytime you choose to do something that a rational person of average intelligence could reasonably consider your actions as "Being a dick", you are in violation of this code of conduct.
No.
Yes it does. Let's face it, people that harass others know they're being dicks. Everyone in modern society has heard of the Golden Rule. There's a version of the Golden Rule in every major religion and therefore exists as common knowledge in every modern society in the World. People know what dickish behavior is even if they don't want to admit it.
Absolutely not. But I guess I am making light of the bikeshedding that takes place when considering codes of conduct. Instead of arguing over and over about what should or should not exist in a Code of Conduct, we should trust that people understand when they're being a dick or not. If someone violates the Code of Conduct, boot them without prejudice. Boot them with zero tolerance. Boot them from your conference/ project/ workplace/ whatever and move on.
Have some guts and do it. Verify the complaint. Determine if you think the accused person has been a dick. Then, confront the person, tell them they're a dick and that they need to go away.
Then you're a dick.
If you'd like to use the "Don't Be a Dick" Code of Conduct in your own project, you can do so by copying the contents of the Code of Conduct into a CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md file in the root of your repository. You may also link back to this repository as the source.
All contributors are expected to adhere to the Don't Be a Dick Code of Conduct. Please read it before participating in discussions, opening issues, or submitting pull requests.