CODE OF CONDUCT

Technologists for the Public Good believes in fostering a safe and inclusive community for our members and anyone participating in our events and activities. This Code of Conduct governs the behaviors of individuals who participate in this community and outlines how to report any violations of our code. This applies to all TPG community spaces, including digital and in-person interactions. 

By taking part in our community spaces, you agree to abide by the following or risk having privileges and access limited or revoked:

• Uphold a safe and inclusive community environment.

• Value the contributions of others equally, regardless of identity or professional background.

• Represent your authentic self rather than an assumed identity and/or the organization you work for.

• Foster an environment where people are free from discrimination and harassment.

• Make connections with others, and not sell services or products to members.

We reserve the right to moderate content at our discretion in any of our community spaces in order to keep the focus on our mission and the people we serve. 

ANTI-HARASSMENT POLICY

Technologists for the Public Good is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of race, nationality, religion, sexual identity or orientation, gender, gender identity and expression, country of origin, age, ability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other identity protected by applicable law. We do not tolerate discrimination and harassment of participants in any form. The Safety team is responsible for enforcement of the code of conduct and handles any violations to our policies. Anyone in violation of these policies may be expelled from our activities and events at the discretion of the event organizer or the TPG Safety team, Board of Directors, or staff.

We recognize a diverse membership increases our ability to have a positive impact on the communities we serve. With that diverse membership comes varied experiences. We work to maintain a safe environment where members feel comfortable being heard. This includes at member meetings, in online conversations, official internal and external organization communications, member-to-member interactions, and any other TPG-facilitated engagement. We also do not tolerate harassment or abuse by members against others, regardless of TPG affiliation, based on their identity. 

Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

• Offensive comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neuro(a)typicality, physical appearance, body size, age, race, or religion.

• Unwelcome comments regarding a person’s lifestyle choices and practices, including those related to food, health, parenting, drugs, and employment.

• Deliberate misgendering or use of ‘dead’ or rejected names.

• Gratuitous or off-topic sexual images or behaviour in spaces where they’re not appropriate.

• Physical contact and simulated physical contact (eg, textual descriptions like “*hug*” or “*backrub*”) without consent or after a request to stop.

• Threats of violence.

• Incitement of violence towards any individual, including encouraging a person to commit suicide or to engage in self-harm.

• Deliberate intimidation.

• Stalking or following.

• Harassing photography or recording, including logging online activity for harassment purposes.

• Sustained disruption of discussion.

• Unwelcome sexual attention.

• Pattern of inappropriate social contact, such as requesting/assuming inappropriate levels of intimacy with others

• Continued one-on-one communication after requests to cease.

• Deliberate “outing” of any aspect of a person’s identity without their consent except as necessary to protect vulnerable people from intentional abuse.

• Publication of non-harassing private communication.

TPG prioritizes marginalized people’s safety over privileged people’s comfort. The Safety team reserves the right not to act on complaints regarding:

• ‘Reverse’ -isms, including ‘reverse racism,’ ‘reverse sexism,’ and ‘cisphobia’

• Reasonable communication of boundaries, such as “leave me alone,” “go away,” or “I’m not discussing this with you.”

• Communicating in a ‘tone’ you don’t find congenial

• Criticizing racist, sexist, cissexist, or otherwise oppressive behavior or assumptions

SLACK COMMUNITY GUIDELINES

TPG’s policies and practices help ensure we’re creating and maintaining a safe and engaging community. A healthy community is reliant on the behavior of members, so we encourage every person to do the following when engaging in the TPG Slack: 

When you join Slack, please introduce yourself to the community in the following ways:

1. 1. Fill out all the fields in your Slack profile:

      1. Update your "display name." 

      2. Add your pronouns.

   2. If/as you’re comfortable, upload a photo of yourself so that we can learn each other's names/faces. Especially in our virtual world it makes it a lot easier to see who's who in the chat. It also helps build trust. We recommend using a headshot where someone can clearly see your face.

   3. Introduce yourself to the rest of the TPG community by joining the conversation in #intros. Here are a few prompts to get you started: Who are you? Where are you located? Where do you work? What do you think? What are you passionate about? Anything else everyone should know?

As a TPG-facilitated community space, all Slack interactions must adhere to our Code of Conduct. Specifically for Slack, we ask that participants:

• Strive to share with the community as often or more than you seek information and opportunities.

• Do NOT send repetitive or spammy messages, in channels or as Direct Messages. 

• Do NOT publish or monetize private information shared in the community, including by scraping user data manually or programmatically.

As noted above, TPG maintains the right to moderate content in order to keep the focus on our mission and the people we serve.

REPORTING VIOLATIONS

If you have experienced or observed a violation of the code of conduct by a TPG member, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact the Safety team. You may also submit the report anonymously using this Google Form. If you encounter an incident that raises concerns but you're unsure if it qualifies as a violation, please don't hesitate to bring it to our team's attention.

The Safety team is made up of representatives from the Board and staff. If the person who is harassing you is on the Safety team, they will be restricted from any engagement in investigating the reported violation. We will respond as promptly as we can.

TPG does not tolerate retaliation against those who report violations of the code of conduct. The Safety team will review community behavior to the best of their abilities to monitor any signs of retaliation. Additionally, if you experience retaliation after reporting a violation, please inform the Board. Retaliation will be investigated along with the original violation.

AFTER YOU SUBMIT A REPORT

The Safety team is required to keep the report confidential. The report will be reviewed and investigated and escalated to the appropriate individuals. If you do not submit the report anonymously, the team will inform you of the results of the investigation and any disciplinary or corrective action being taken. The Safety team will work with you to ensure you have support to find ways to help you feel safe again within TPG spaces.

Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. Valid complaints will be documented in a permanent file. If a participant engages in harassing behavior, the Safety team may take any action they deem appropriate, up to and including expulsion from all TPG spaces and identification of the participant as a harasser to other TPG members or the general public.

This anti-harassment policy is based on the example policy from the Geek Feminism wiki, created by the Ada Initiative and other volunteers.

Updated May 22, 2024