[Linux-aus] Linux Australia Code of Conduct - revised draft

[Donna Benjamin]

It's really important we have a code like this... but I feel this is too
long, and too specific.  We need a short, grokkable version - perhaps it
refers to this full length version... but as it stands it will suffer
from tl:dr

I strongly advise seeking guidance from Susanne Ruthven before this
document is finalised.

On Fri, 2011-11-25 at 11:55 +1100, Alice Boxhall wrote:
> Greetings,
> 
> The council has received a lot of excellent feedback for the initial
> draft for a Code of Conduct to cover all Linux Australia events, sent
> to the linux-aus list on 13 September
> (http://lists.linux.org.au/pipermail/linux-aus/2011-September/019082.html).
> We have tried our best to incorporate these suggestions into our
> revised draft, included below.
> 
> We hope to make this, or something very similar to it, our official
> Code of Conduct for Linux Australia events as soon as possible. Thus,
> we would like to ask the Linux Australia community once more for any
> comments or suggestions on this draft, prior to our posting a final
> version.
> 
> Thanks,
> Alice
> 
> =====
> 
> ## Linux Australia Code of Conduct
> 
> Linux Australia events invite diverse groups of people - regardless of
> age, race, gender identity or expression, background, ability,
> appearance, sexuality, walk of life, or religion - to discuss and
> learn about all things Free and Open Source.
> 
> We wish all attendees at our events to enjoy an environment of mutual
> respect, tolerance and encouragement, in accordance with the Linux
> Australia statement of values [http://linux.org.au/values].
> 
> This, in turn, is the responsibility of all attendees: each attendee
> is expected to show respect and courtesy to all other attendees
> throughout the event and at all associated events, whether officially
> sponsored by Linux Australia or not. To this end, all delegates,
> speakers, exhibitors, sponsors, suppliers, venue and media personnel,
> event organisers and volunteers at any Linux Australia event are
> required to agree to and abide by the following Code of Conduct.
> Organisers will enforce this code throughout the event.
> 
> # Appropriate behaviour
> 
> Attendees and speakers must not engage in any intimidation,
> harassment, or abusive or discriminatory behaviour.
> 
> Harassment includes, but is not limited to:
> 
> - offensive verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation,
> disability, physical appearance, body size, race or religion;
> - sexual images in public spaces (including presentation slides);
> - deliberate intimidation;
> - stalking or following;
> - unwanted photography or recording;
> - sustained disruption of talks or other events;
> - inappropriate physical contact;
> - unwelcome sexual attention.
> 
> Discriminatory behaviour includes, but is not limited to:
> 
> - sexist, racist, or other exclusionary jokes;
> - exclusionary language;
> - unwarranted exclusion from conference or related events based on
> gender, sexual orientation, ability, physical appearance, body size,
> race, religion or other attributes;
> - making unjustified assumptions about attendees.
> 
> Participants asked by event staff to stop any inappropriate behavior
> are expected to comply immediately. Consequences for refusal to to
> comply with such a request are explained below.
> 
> # Appropriate content
> 
> As we wish all of our attendees to feel welcome and comfortable at all
> times during the event, all communication should be appropriate for a
> professional, diverse audience.
> 
> Any public presentation which is part of the conference, including but
> not limited to keynotes, presentations, lightning talks and addresses,
> is subject to the appropriate behaviour guidelines above and thus may
> not contain:
> 
> - sexual or violent imagery;
> - exclusionary language;
> - exclusionary humour of any kind;
> - language which is not appropriate for an all-ages audience.
> 
> Any presenter who violates these guidelines will be given a warning at
> the first violation if it is minor, and the presentation will be
> stopped if either a second minor violation occurs or any major
> violation occurs.
> 
> If presenters are unsure whether their material is suitable, they are
> encouraged to show it to the conference’s speaker liaison before their
> session.
> 
> # Reporting and consequences
> 
> If you see or hear a speaker/attendee displaying any behaviour which
> is disallowed by the code of conduct and which is distressing to you
> or another attendee, or have any other concerns, please contact a
> member of the Linux Australia Event staff.
> 
> All complaints made to Linux Australia or event organisers will remain
> confidential, be taken seriously, investigated, and dealt with
> appropriately.
> 
> The event organisers or Linux Australia may take any or all of the
> following measures:
> 
> - The alleged offender may be asked to stop or modify their behaviour.
> - The alleged offender may be warned that enforcement action will be
> taken if the behaviour continues.
> - If the behaviour continues, the alleged offender may be asked to
> immediately leave the venue and/or be prohibited from continuing to
> attend the event (without reimbursement).
> - The incident may be reported to the appropriate authorities.
> 
> Linux Australia is aware of the responsibility required to ensure a
> successful and productive event. If an incident occurs, Linux
> Australia will formally apologise to those affected. A record of the
> incident will be kept and future measures will be taken to ensure that
> it does not happen again.
> 
> _______________________________________________
> linux-aus mailing list
> linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au
> http://lists.linux.org.au/listinfo/linux-aus

-- 
Donna Benjamin - Executive Director
Creative Contingencies - http://cc.com.au
ph +61 3 9326 9985 - mob +61 418 310 414

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