[andoon]

Someone who doesn't know that he has to "be professional and don't be a dick" is likely to disregard the code of conduct. And you don't need a code of conduct to kick someone out of a project because he's being unprofessional and/or a dick. Therefore codes of conduct are useless.

[vertex-four]

> And you don't need a code of conduct to kick someone out of a project because he's being unprofessional and/or a dick.

Unfortunately, my experience is that you actually do need to be able to point to something (a) precise and (b) that the community broadly agrees is a valid reason, in order to kick someone out without practically dissolving your community. A code of conduct is simply an agreement which states the community's beliefs on what are valid reasons to kick someone out.

[menacingly]

I agree. It at least feels like it's more a way to showcase your beliefs and give a list of things that may be used to justify actions later, rather than something constructive.