TL;DR
All attendees and members of PAASTA are expected to be respectful towards all members regardless of background, and actively participate in creating a welcoming and friendly community. Unacceptable or illegal behaviour will not be tolerated and the organisers reserve the right to remove anyone violating the Code of Conduct from both in-person or online channels. If at any point you feel unsafe or the code of conduct is violated, please contact the designated safety officers: (yet to be determined as of October 2023) who will deal with any issues respectfully and anonymously, as required.
This is only for guidance, and the main body of this page is the enforceable document.
1. Purpose
A primary goal of PAASTA is to be inclusive to the largest number of contributors and to welcome those from varied and diverse backgrounds. As such, we are committed to providing a friendly, safe, and welcoming environment for all, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ability, ethnicity, socio-economic status, religion (or lack thereof), and/or any other personal identities.
This code of conduct outlines our expectations for all those who participate in our community, as well as the consequences for unacceptable behaviour.
All attendees at our meetings are required to agree to and comply with the following code of conduct. Organisers will enforce this code throughout all events. We expect cooperation from all participants to help ensure a safe and positive environment for everybody.
2. Expected Behaviour
The following behaviours are expected and requested of all community members:
- Participate in an authentic and active way. In doing so, you contribute to the atmosphere and longevity of this community.
- Exercise consideration and respect in your speech and actions.
- Attempt to respectfully resolve issues before conflicts arise.
- Refrain from demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behaviour and speech.
- Be mindful of your surroundings and of your fellow participants. Alert organisers if you notice a dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of this Code of Conduct, even if they seem inconsequential.
- Remember that events may be shared with members of the public; please be respectful to all patrons of these locations.
3. Unacceptable Behaviour
The following behaviours are considered harassment and are unacceptable within our community, both in person and online:
- Violence, threats of violence, or violent language directed against another person or persons. -Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, or otherwise discriminatory jokes and language. -Posting or displaying sexually explicit or violent material. -Posting or threatening to post other people’s personally identifying information (“doxxing”). -Personal insults, particularly those related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or disability. -Inappropriate photography or recording. -Inappropriate physical contact. You should have someone’s consent before touching them. -Unwelcome sexual attention. This includes, sexualized comments or jokes, inappropriate touching, groping, and unwelcome sexual advances. -Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following (online or in person). -Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behaviour. -Sustained disruption of community events, including talks and presentations.
Furthermore, we will follow all legal guidance from the European Commission on non-discrimination
4. Consequences of Unacceptable Behavior
Unacceptable behaviour from any participant, including those with decision-making authority, will not be tolerated.
Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behaviour is expected to comply immediately.
If a participant engages in unacceptable behaviour, the community organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, up to and including a temporary ban or permanent expulsion from PAASTA without warning (and without refund in the case of any payments).
5. Reporting Guidelines
If you are subject to or witness unacceptable behaviour, or have any other concerns, please notify either of the safety officers (see section 8) as soon as possible. They will ensure that the report can be shared in a safe space, and the report recorded in a respectful manner and where requested, maintaining the individual’s (or in cases of multiple individuals raising a concern, the group’s) anonymity.
Additionally, our safety officers are available to help attendees engage with local law enforcement or to otherwise help those experiencing unacceptable behaviour to feel safe. In the context of in-person events, organizers will also provide escorts as desired by the person experiencing distress.
6. Scope
We expect all participants (contributors, paid or otherwise, and other guests) to abide by this Code of Conduct in all community venues - online and in-person - as well as in all interpersonal one-on-one communications pertaining to PAASTA business.
7. Contact info
The PAASTA safety officers are:
- Liam Lanigan, University of Copenhagen (liamlanigan@palaeome.org)
- Virginie Sinet-Mathiot, University of Bordeaux (virginie.sinetmathiot@palaeome.org)
Apart from contacting the safety officers directly an anonymous reporting form is also in the making, which will be shared in this document once available.
8. License and attribution
This Code of Conduct was modelled after the Code of Conduct of the SPAAM community, which in turn is based on the Code of Conduct distributed by Stumptown Syndicate and Conf Code of Conduct under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license.
Portions of text derived from the Django Code of Conduct and the Geek Feminism Anti-Harassment Policy.
