[beej71]

Does your organization have a code of conduct itself?

[kergonath]

Mine does not, but then around here we have anti-bullying, anti-harassment and anti-discrimination laws so these things are penal matters, not merely contract breaches.

[iudqnolq]

CoC is not a contract. It's a non-binding promise that the project leadership will take actions up to banning someone if harassment happens.

[kergonath]

The whole point of it is that there are consequences if you breach it, otherwise it is almost entirely pointless.

[iudqnolq]

yes but the consequences are decided by normal humans via the organization's normal decision-making procedures. The legal system isn't involved.

[kergonath]

Right, but the legal system gets involved in cases of wrongful termination of contract or if the code enforcement itself leads to discrimination, harassment, or other issues.

[beej71]

Do you believe there are legal things you could do outside of work that would get you fired?

[kergonath]

Maybe, but they’d need to prove that it has an effect on how I do my job. They cannot just fire me because I say something they don’t like.

[beej71]

Most places hire "at will" and can fire anyone for any reason or no reason unless prohibited by law.

[newZWhoDis]

I don’t believe private, for-profit organizations and OSS communities are equivalent.

If OP’s org does have a CoC equivalent, it wouldn’t be the gotcha you seem to think it is