Code of Conduct

This is a living document. It is subject to change based on the values and considerations within the group.

Reporting a conduct issue

If you see a Code of Conduct violation, follow these steps:

1. Let the person know that what they did is not appropriate and ask them to stop and/or edit their message(s).
2. That person should immediately stop the behavior and correct the issue.
3. If this doesn’t happen, or if you’re uncomfortable speaking up, contact the admins.
4. As soon as available, an admin will join, identify themselves, and take further action (see below), which may include a warning, temporary deactivation, or long-term deactivation.

When reporting, please include any relevant details, links, screenshots, context, or other information that may be used to better understand and resolve the situation.

The Admin team will prioritize the well-being and comfort of the recipients of the violation over the comfort of the violator.

As members of this community, we uphold that:

We will foster a welcoming and inclusive culture and pledge to make participation a harassment-free experience for everyone.

We expect everyone within Ethical Technology spaces to uphold our standards, follow our rules, and refrain from prohibited behaviors. Ethical Technology spaces include:

• Ethical Technology events and meetings
• All of our online forums and virtual collaboration tools, including:
  • Chat rooms, like Slack
  • Mailing lists and email
  • The Wiki
  • Publications, such as Medium

Standards of the community

A positive environment is one that is in inclusive of viewpoints from everyone in the community, and that seeks inclusivity not only in message, but in language, representation and action.

To foster this environment, we pledge to:

• Listen carefully and actively.
• Encourage other people to listen as much as they speak.
• Use welcoming and inclusive language.
• Be respectful of differing viewpoints and experiences.
• Gracefully accept constructive feedback.
• Focus on what is best for the community.
• Show empathy and kindness towards other community members.

Members should not:

• Post messages that personally attack other members, or respond to such attacks.
• Use the community for solicitations, advertising, or self-promotion.
• Post messages that may be perceived as violations of applicable law.

Conduct that does not comply with these standards includes, but is not limited to:

• The use of sexualized language or imagery and unwelcome sexual attention or advances, including when simulated online.
• Trolling, insulting/derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks.
• Casual mention of slavery or indentured servitude and/or false comparisons of one’s occupation or situation to slavery. Please consider using or asking about alternate terminology when referring to such metaphors in technology.
• Public or private harassment, deliberate intimidation, or threats. Unwelcome verbal or written comment or physical conduct that is so objectively offensive that it creates a hostile environment; when it is based on: genetic information, physical appearance, body size, clothing, color, race, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, mental illness, neuro(a)typicality, parental status, marital status, socioeconomic status or background, or political affiliation.
• Intentionally or repeatedly referring to people in a way that rejects the validity of their gender identity; for instance, by using incorrect pronouns or forms of address (misgendering).
• Microagressions, which are small comments or questions, either intentional or unintentional, that marginalize people by communicating hostile, derogatory, or negative beliefs. Examples include:
  • Patronizing language or behavior
  • Pedantic corrections that don’t contribute to the conversation.
  • Assuming without asking that particular people or groups need concepts defined or explained to them. 
  • Assuming that particular groups of people are technically unskilled ("So easy your grandmother could do it.")
• Repeatedly interrupting or talking over someone else
• Feigning surprise at someone’s lack of knowledge or awareness about a topic
• The use of racially charged language to describe an individual or thing such as "thug" or “ghetto”
• Referring to an individual in a way that demeans or challenges the validity of their racial identity
• Mocking someone’s real or perceived accent, or first language.
• Publishing others’ private information, such as a physical or electronic address, without explicit permission. This includes any sort of “outing” of any aspect of someone’s identity without their consent.
• Publishing screenshots or quotes, especially from identity channels, without all quoted users’ explicit consent.
• Publishing or telling others that a member belongs to a particular identity channel without asking their consent first.
• Publishing of any private communication without consent, with or without regards to harassment.
• Any of the above even when presented as “ironic” or “joking”.
• Any attempt to present “reverse-ism” versions of the above as violations. Examples of reverse-isms are “reverse racism”, “reverse sexism”, “heterophobia”, and “cisphobia”.
• Unsolicited explanations under the assumption that someone doesn’t already know it. Ask before you teach! Don’t assume what people’s knowledge gaps are.
• Feigning or exaggerating surprise when someone admits to not knowing something.
• “Well-actuallies”
• Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional or community setting.

Scope

This Code of Conduct applies both within community spaces and in other spaces involving the community. This includes the Ethical Technology Slack, its Twitter community, private email communications in the context of the community, and any events where members of the community are participating, as well as adjacent communities and venues affecting the community’s members.

Admin Enforcement

Ethical Technology administrators reserve the right to:

• Remove an account at any time for any reason.
• Remove or reorganize posted messages or uploaded media.
• Trace the origins of messages of an objectionable nature.

If a conduct violation is reported, the administrators may take any of the following steps as needed, depending on the severity or repetition of the violation:

• Give an official warning.
• Deactivate the person’s account temporarily or permanently.

Credits

• TTS Code of Conduct
• Geek Feminism Code of Conduct

Thank you to Celeste Espinoza, Ada Powers, and Andrew Maier for developing the initial draft of the Code of Conduct.