When we communicate by email or by comments in a thread, we often use informal language, and occasionally may say something which subsequently causes offence. ICANN of course has a policy about expected standards of behaviour within the ICANN community which can be found at this link. In particular, there is one section which deal specifically with communication which I quote “Treat all members of the ICANN community equally, irrespective of nationality, gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or beliefs, disability, age, or sexual orientation; members of the ICANN community should treat each other with civility both face to face and online”.
I have recently had a complaint about the use of sexist language in communication dealing with a policy development process. When the complainant raised the issue of the use of sexist language, she advises that initially she was told to take this to me as the ombudsman, but later members of the group attempted to talk her out of making such a complaint. Those attempts were seen by her as an attempt to bully her into letting the issue die.I am in the process of obtaining comments from the members of the group so that I can get some perspective and understand what has happened.
As ICANN matures into an international organisation, we do need to remember that robust communication in that some societies may be perceived as quite offensive in others. These issues are not simple, but in my view we are best looking at them as educational challenges, rather than engaging in a process of criticism. If one party realises that their comments were inappropriate after discussion, then we can evolve to more skilful interaction, without causing offence.
Neither sexist language or bullying should be tolerated and we need to be vigilant to ensure we do not offend. I would welcome comment from the Community on this issue, and any complaints or comments can be confidential if needed. Contact me at ombudsman@icann.org if you want to deal with confidential matters.