Code of Conduct (Summary View)

We are dedicated to providing a welcoming and supportive environment for all people, regardless of background or identity. By participating in this community, participants accept to abide by OpenMS' Code of Conduct and accept the procedures by which any Code of Conduct incidents are resolved. Any form of behaviour to exclude, intimidate, or cause discomfort is a violation of the Code of Conduct. In order to foster a positive and professional learning environment we encourage the following kinds of behaviours in all platforms and events:

  • Use welcoming and inclusive language
  • Be respectful of different viewpoints and experiences
  • Gracefully accept constructive criticism
  • Focus on what is best for the community
  • Show courtesy and respect towards other community members

If you believe someone is violating the Code of Conduct, we ask that you report it to the Code of Conduct Committee, who will take the appropriate action to address the situation.

Code of Conduct (Detailed View)

Part 1 - Introduction

OpenMS is a community-led project. We value the involvement of everyone in the community. We are committed to creating a friendly and respectful place for learning, teaching and contributing. All participants in our events and communications are expected to show respect and courtesy to others.

To make clear what is expected, everyone participating in OpenMS activities is required to conform to the Code of Conduct. This Code of Conduct applies to all spaces managed by OpenMS including, but not limited to, workshops, email lists, and online forums such as GitHub, Slack and Twitter. Workshop hosts are expected to assist with the enforcement of the Code of Conduct.

The OpenMS Code of Conduct Committee is responsible for enforcing the Code of Conduct. It can be contacted by emailing open-ms-c_o_c@lists.sourceforge.net. All reports will be reviewed by the Code of Conduct Committee and will be kept confidential.

Part 2 - OpenMS Code of Conduct

OpenMS is dedicated to providing a welcoming and supportive environment for all people, regardless of background or identity. As such, we do not tolerate behaviour that is disrespectful to our teachers or learners or that excludes, intimidates, or causes discomfort to others. We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on characteristics that include, but are not limited to, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, citizenship, nationality, ethnic or social origin, pregnancy, familial status, veteran status, genetic information, religion or belief (or lack thereof), membership of a national minority, property, age, education, socio-economic status, technical choices, and experience level.

Everyone who participates in OpenMS activities is required to conform to this Code of Conduct. It applies to all spaces managed by OpenMS including, but not limited to, workshops, email lists, and online forums such as GitHub, Gitter and Twitter. Workshop hosts are expected to assist with the enforcement of the Code of Conduct. By participating, participants indicate their acceptance of the procedures by which OpenMS resolves any Code of Conduct incidents, which may include storage and processing of their personal information.

Part 2.1 - Expected behaviour

All participants in our events and communications are expected to show respect and courtesy to others. All interactions should be professional regardless of platform: either online or in-person. In order to foster a positive and professional learning environment we encourage the following kinds of behaviours in all OpenMS events and platforms:

  • Use welcoming and inclusive language
  • Be respectful of different viewpoints and experiences
  • Gracefully accept constructive criticism
  • Focus on what is best for the community
  • Show courtesy and respect towards other community members

Note: See the four social rules for further recommendations.

Part 2.2 - Unacceptable behaviour

Examples of unacceptable behaviour by participants at any OpenMS event/platform include:

  • written or verbal comments which have the effect of excluding people on the basis of membership of any specific group
  • causing someone to fear for their safety, such as through stalking, following, or intimidation
  • violent threats or language directed against another person
  • the display of sexual or violent images
  • unwelcome sexual attention
  • nonconsensual or unwelcome physical contact
  • sustained disruption of talks, events or communications
  • insults or put downs
  • sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, or exclusionary jokes
  • excessive swearing
  • incitement to violence, suicide, or self-harm
  • continuing to initiate interaction (including photography or recording) with someone after being asked to stop
  • publication of private communication without consent

Part 2.3 Consequences of Unacceptable behaviour

Participants who are asked to stop any inappropriate behaviour are expected to comply immediately. This applies to any OpenMS events and platforms, either online or in-person. If a participant engages in behaviour that violates this code of conduct, the organisers may warn the offender, ask them to leave the event or platform (without refund), or engage OpenMS Code of Conduct Committee to investigate the Code of Conduct violation and impose appropriate sanctions.

Incident reporting resolution & Code of Conduct enforcement

This section summarizes the most important points, more details can be found in OpenMS Code of Conduct - How to follow up on a report.

We will investigate and respond to all complaints. The OpenMS Code of Conduct Committee and the OpenMS Executive Committee (if involved) will protect the identity of the reporter, and treat the content of complaints as confidential (unless the reporter agrees otherwise).

In case of severe and obvious breaches, e.g. personal threat or violent, sexist or racist language, we will immediately disconnect the originator from OpenMS communication channels; please see the manual for details.

In cases not involving clear severe and obvious breaches of this Code of Conduct the process for acting on any received Code of Conduct violation report will be:

  1. Acknowledge report is received,
  2. Reasonable discussion/feedback,
  3. Mediation (if feedback didn’t help, and only if both reporter and reportee agree to this),
  4. Enforcement via transparent decision (see Resolutions) by the Code of Conduct Committee.

The Committee will respond to any report as soon as possible, and at most within 72 hours.

About this Document

This document is adapted from guidelines written by the The Carpentries Project, which was itself based on the Django Project and Ada Initiative template and the PyCon 2013 Procedure for Handling Harassment Incidents.

licensed CC BY 3.0