The Winter Tech Forum is about discussion, inclusion and connection, and we want everyone to feel as comfortable as possible. Although we cannot guarantee you will have a good time, we can certainly do our best to make sure you don't have a bad time, and the baseline for this is that no one should ever be harrassed.
To achieve this goal, all participants, sponsors and volunteers at our event are required to agree with this code of conduct (CoC). Organizers will enforce this CoC throughout the event. We expect cooperation from all participants to help ensure a safe environment for everybody.
We do not tolerate harassment of participants in any form. Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to disability, gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion, technology choices, 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 attention of any kind.
Participants violating these rules are expected to immediately cease the offending behavior upon notification. Participants who continue to violate these rules after being notified may be sanctioned or expelled from the event without a refund at the discretion of the conference organizers.
We recognize that managing harassment at the Winter Tech Forum is not the job of its recipients. The conference organizers will make themselves available to address any & all complaints of harassment, and the relevant contact information will be made available to participants on arrival at the conference.
There are usually laws and rules and social norms about these issues. But those don't seem to be enough, as we've seen in many conferences. There are unspoken practices that are considered acceptable within subgroups, but never written down, and these produce behaviors that are considered acceptable as a result. Because no one says anything or puts a stake in the ground about these behaviors, it seems OK to those practicing them. Saying nothing doesn't work.
We don't, however, want people to be terrified that they might accidentally say something wrong, and if they do make such a faux pas they will immediately be forcibly ejected. Simply punishing mistakes without giving someone the opportunity to learn is not the goal of this CoC.
The CoC tells you when you've made a mistake, and empowers others to have a conversation with you about it. And most importantly, it will tell newcomers & traditionally marginalized attendees that we value their safety. The focus is on the goal that "you will not be harassed."
There are times when it doesn't matter what you do, someone might be having a bad day and feel anger or some other emotion regardless of who is nearby or what they do. The CoC shouldn't be a weapon in that situation, on either end. The CoC draws the line on harassment — it says what you cannot do (harass) but it doesn't say what you must do (speak a certain way).
These Principles of Nonviolent Communication might be helpful:
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Differentiate observation from evaluation.
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Carefully observe what is happening, free of evaluation.
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Specify behaviors and conditions that affect you.
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Differentiate feeling from thinking.
- Identify and express internal feeling states in a way that does not imply judgment, criticism, blame or punishment.
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Frame your experience within universal human needs that are being met or not met in relation to what is happening and how you are feeling.
- Examples: connection, sustenance, trust, and understanding.
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Make a Request.
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Clearly and specifically state what you do want, not what you don’t want.
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Make a request and not a demand. If it's truly a request, there is no consequence for saying "no."
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Before making the request, check your feelings to ensure you are not attempting to motivate, however subtly, through fear, guilt, shame, or obligation.
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A genuine request allows the other person to give you a gift.
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