Re: On harassment at IETF

["Dr. Pala" <[e-mail]>]

Hi all,

small (but important) distinction: let me re-write one of the sentences 
here (I do not want to be mistaken). When I wrote:

    " in my message, in any way, I wanted to imply that people that have
    experienced this issue, should come forward if they do not feel like
    doing it (for absolutely ANY reason) - It is extremely difficult
    (and requires a lot of courage) to speak out."

I mean that "/in my message I NEVER WANTED to imply that people... /" - 
I just wanted to clarify the point because while I was re-reading the 
e-mail I realized that what I wrote might not convey what I wanted to say.

Best,
Max


On 3/30/19 12:15 PM, Dr. Pala wrote:
>
> Hi Ross,
>
> I understand your point of view and - on the surface, at least - it 
> might appear like I am advocating for the same behavior that we are 
> trying to prevent. I actually think that if you dig a little deeper, 
> the two are very different. I am sorry about the fact that this may 
> have come across very strong and lacking compassion - that was not my 
> intention. I tend to be very strict when it comes to unjust behavior, 
> and the fact that I do really care about this topic does not justify 
> me being too harsh or suggest policies/solutions.
>
> One very important aspect I would like to further explain is that in 
> my message, in any way, I wanted to imply that people that have 
> experienced this issue, should come forward if they do not feel like 
> doing it (for absolutely ANY reason) - It is extremely difficult (and 
> requires a lot of courage) to speak out. The first priority, I think, 
> as a community, is to provide compassion and support to help the 
> individuals to handle the situation. And maybe there could be means to 
> allow who reports anything to be involved and have their saying about 
> how to handle the situation - it could be that no official action is 
> requested, but at least we might understand (in an anonymous form 
> even) how widespread this issue is.
>
> I do not have the answers - it is a very complex problem. However, as 
> a Community I think we need to continue to work on this and strive for 
> a safer and happier environment. We try and we might succeed or we 
> might fail... and if the latter happens, we just look at why we 
> failed, where we can improve, how we can provide a better support 
> network - until we finally eradicate this fowl behavior. And if we 
> fail again, we work together to improve again.
>
> After all, if this is still going on, maybe we shall think about new 
> ways to address this issue.
>
> In my opinion, there is also the possibility for an even harder 
> target. Although, I understand that we might not change the world in a 
> day, but we could provide a model that could be brought back home to 
> our companies and our communities around the world. We might not solve 
> this problem around the world, but if we do not even try... what does 
> it say about us ?
>
> I thank everybody who replied and I hope this discussion inspired deep 
> introspection in each and every one of us: awareness is not a 
> solution, but, I think, a good start. Many good points have been 
> raised, and I hope that the conversation will continue.
>
> I would be happy to further explore solutions with the ombusteam 
> (https://www.ietf.org/contact/ombudsteam/) - if there is an interest 
> to continue the conversation in a more appropriate venue (now that, I 
> think, we raised a bit the level of awareness in our great Community).
>
> Cheers,
> Max
>
>
> On 3/30/19 1:43 AM, Ross Finlayson wrote:
>> On the subject of “harassment” - I hope I’m not the only person who sees some irony here:
>>
>>> And if you are one the people that think this community will tolerate your behavior maybe because you are a well-known figure in the Industry, be sure of one thing: I will fight to make sure that (a) your behavior is publicly exposed, and (b) you get shamed and BANNED from IETF. The behavior, I think, should also be reported to the HR department of the organization that sent that individual for further actions.
> -- 
> Best Regards,
> Massimiliano Pala, Ph.D.
> OpenCA Labs Director
> OpenCA Logo
-- 
Best Regards,
Massimiliano Pala, Ph.D.
OpenCA Labs Director
OpenCA Logo