> It’s GitLab’s sandbox, their rules (including not being crass if desired).
They can ban people who clicked on the "Reversed Hand With Middle Finger Extended" emojis. If it's against their rules, they should (otherwise there's no point in having rules in the first place). That said, if the emoji is in their system (and it's not there by accident), it probably serves a purpose. In this case, it accurately represents the sentiment of people who gave that feedback.
> How is this different than what would be expected with a Code of Conduct?
No different at all; Codes of Conduct exist primarily to signal allegiance or submission to the social justice crowd. They introduce nothing new on top of regular rulesets that existed in on-line communities since on-line was a thing.
I am absolutely of the mind that Codes of Conduct have been weaponized, but there’s no reason for participants to be so overtly rude in the discussion, regardless of reactji availability.
They can ban people who clicked on the "Reversed Hand With Middle Finger Extended" emojis. If it's against their rules, they should (otherwise there's no point in having rules in the first place). That said, if the emoji is in their system (and it's not there by accident), it probably serves a purpose. In this case, it accurately represents the sentiment of people who gave that feedback.
> How is this different than what would be expected with a Code of Conduct?
No different at all; Codes of Conduct exist primarily to signal allegiance or submission to the social justice crowd. They introduce nothing new on top of regular rulesets that existed in on-line communities since on-line was a thing.