Code of Conduct

CodeWith wants to be a friendly community where everyone feels welcome and safe at meetups and events.

This code of conduct is to protect that atmosphere of inclusivity. It helps us all to understand the community’s shared values and provides clear guidelines on how we should behave.

All attendees, speakers, hosts, and mentors must agree with this code of conduct. We must all cooperate to ensure a safe environment for everybody.

Summary

We want to make sure that all CodeWith events are a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion (or lack thereof).

We should all listen and communicate respectfully, regardless of appearance or background. We do not tolerate harassment of participants in any form.

Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate for any venue, including talks, parties, Twitter, Facebook, Meetup, Eventbrite, our Slack channel, and other online media.

CodeWith events are not for people to attend with the sole purpose of selling or recruiting.

Anyone who breaks this code of conduct may be sanctioned or expelled from events at the organisers’ discretion.

The details

No harassment

We do not tolerate harassment at any CodeWith event.

Harassment includes offensive verbal comments that relate to gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.

We also have a general policy that we do not tolerate disruptive behaviour including repeated interruption, inebriation (or similar intoxication), fighting and open aggression.

We expect anyone who we ask to stop any disruptive or inappropriate behaviour to do so immediately.

If someone being at an event becomes a problem, we will take appropriate action, which may include a warning or expulsion without a refund (if applicable).

No selling or solicitation

CodeWith is not a platform for anyone to send spam or broadcasts, nor is it for solicitation or job recruiting. Anyone who attends a CodeWith event with the sole purpose of selling products or goods will not be tolerated.

Speakers who use their time to sell a particular product will also find their talk won’t be well received. It’s fine to mention that your company sells products, but talks should focus on its technical aspects. Encourage people to try it out – avoid solution selling.

No recruiting during events

We want job seekers to find employment and for our attendees to be successful, but there is a right way to communicate.

It may be appropriate for a recruitment company to sponsor refreshments and do a quick pitch to a relevant audience of potential candidates, but this is down to the discretion of the event organiser(s). Recruiting during an event without prior arrangement will be treated as a breach of this code of conduct.

What to do if you have a concern

If you are being harassed or feel uncomfortable, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, CodeWith is here to listen to your concerns or questions. You don’t have to make a formal report unless you want to. You don’t have to give us details of the harassment.

If you wish to report something, please use the Code Of Conduct Report Form to send a report directly to the Code of Conduct Committee.

If you witness a incident at an event that you think should be addressed right away, please bring it to the attention of the event organiser(s). If necessary, the event organiser(s) will help you contact police or venue security, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the event. After the event, please also submit a report using the reporting form, so that the Code of Conduct Committee has your account of the incident.

If you have a concern or a question and do not wish to make a formal report, you can write to the Equity Officer at [email protected].

Where and when this code of conduct applies

We expect participants to follow this code of conduct at all our events, partner events, related social events, such as post-event drinks, networking discussions, meetups and workshops. Event sponsors must also follow this anti-harassment policy, which includes not using sexualised images, activities, or other material.

Exceptions

Any discussion or images that relate to sex, pornography, discriminatory language, or similar must meet the following criteria.

• The organisers must specifically grant permission in writing.
• It must be necessary to the topic of discussion and no alternative exists.
• It must be presented in a respectful manner.
• Attendees must be warned in advance and respectfully given plenty of warning and the opportunity to leave beforehand.
• This exception specifically does not allow the use of gratuitous sexual images as a device to grab attention or for unnecessary examples.

Thank you

This document was based on the Sheffield Digital Code of Conduct, which in turn is based on the work of JSConf, Geek Feminism, confcodeofconduct.com, and inspired by resources provided by Ashe Dryden.

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Version 2

This is version 2 of the CodeWith Code of Conduct. It was last updated by Simon Davey on 31 August 2021. If you think we have made any errors or omissions, please contact us by email ([email protected]) or through one of the communication channels listed on the contact page.