Community Guidelines

A primary goal of First Next Step is to be inclusive to the largest number of contributors, with the most varied and diverse backgrounds possible. As such, we are committed to providing a friendly, safe and welcoming environment for all, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ability, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and religion (or lack thereof).

This code of conduct outlines our expectations for all those who participate in our community, as well as the consequences for unacceptable behavior.

We invite all those who participate in First Next Step to help us create safe and positive experiences for everyone.

Open Culture Citizenship

A supplemental goal of this Code of Conduct is to increase open culture citizenship by encouraging participants to recognize and strengthen the relationships between our actions and their effects on our community.

Communities mirror the societies in which they exist and positive action is essential to counteract the many forms of inequality and abuses of power that exist in society.

If you see someone who is making an extra effort to ensure our community is welcoming, friendly, and encourages all participants to contribute to the fullest extent, we want to know.

Expected Behavior

The following behaviors are expected and requested of all community members:

• Participate in an authentic and active way. In doing so, you contribute to the health and longevity of this community.

• Exercise consideration and respect in your speech and actions. Attempt collaboration before conflict.

• Refrain from demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behavior and speech.

• Be mindful of your surroundings and of your fellow participants. Alert community leaders if you notice a dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of this Code of Conduct, even if they seem inconsequential.

• Remember that community event venues may be shared with members of the public; please be respectful to all patrons of these locations.

Unacceptable Behavior

The following behaviors are considered harassment and are unacceptable within our community:

• Violence, threats of violence or violent language directed against another person.

• 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 unwelcomed sexual advances.

• Deliberate intimidation, stalking or following (online or in person). Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior.

• Sustained disruption of community events, including talks and presentations.

Weapons Policy

No weapons will be allowed at First Next Step events, community spaces, or in other spaces covered by the scope of this Code of Conduct. Weapons include but are not limited to guns, explosives (including fireworks), and large knives such as those used for hunting or display, as well as any other item used for the purpose of causing injury or harm to others. Anyone seen in possession of one of these items will be asked to leave immediately.

Consequences of Unacceptable Behavior

Unacceptable behavior from any community member, including sponsors and those with decision-making authority, will not be tolerated.

Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately.

If a community member engages in unacceptable behavior, the community organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, up to and including a temporary ban or permanent expulsion from the community without warning (and without refund in the case of a paid event).

Reporting Guidelines

If you are subject to or witness unacceptable behavior, or have any other concerns, please notify Hugh Elliott as soon as possible.

If you experience or witness unacceptable behavior—or have any other concerns—please report it by contacting Hugh Elliott. All reports will be handled with discretion. In your report please include:

• Your contact information.

• Names (real, nicknames, or pseudonyms) of any individuals involved. If there are additional witnesses, please include them as well. Your account of what occurred, and if you believe the incident is ongoing. If there is a publicly available record (e.g. a mailing list archive or a public IRC logger), please include a link.

• Any additional information that may be helpful.

After filing a report, a representative will contact you personally, review the incident, follow up with any additional questions, and make a decision as to how to respond. If the person who is harassing you is part of the response team, they will recuse themselves from handling your incident. If the complaint originates from a member of the response team, it will be handled by a different member of the response team. We will respect confidentiality requests for the purpose of protecting victims of abuse.

Addressing Grievances

If you feel you have been falsely or unfairly accused of violating this Code of Conduct, you should notify Hugh with a concise description of your grievance.

Scope

We expect all community participants (contributors, paid or otherwise; sponsors; and other guests) to abide by this Code of Conduct in all community venues–online and in-person–as well as in all one-on-one communications pertaining to community business. This code of conduct and its related procedures also applies to unacceptable behavior occurring outside the scope of community activities when such behavior has the potential to adversely affect the safety and well-being of community members.

Contact info

Please use the contact form found here. While this forms does go directly to Hugh Elliott, if you’d prefer to use your own email program, his email address is here

License and attribution

This Code of Conduct is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license.

Portions of text derived from the Django Code of Conduct, the Open Code of Conduct, and the Geek Feminism Anti-Harassment Policy.