Boston Devops Slack Community Code of Conduct

Purpose

Boston DevOps values the input, knowledge, experiences, and involvement of individuals and organizations that comprise Boston’s DevOps community. A primary goal of Boston DevOps (also known as BDO) community, meetups, and slack is to be inclusive to the largest number of devops and related practitioners, 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. Misconduct and unacceptable behavior or conduct not in keeping with the spirit and intent of the Boston DevOps Citizens Code of Conduct will be subject to sanctions by the community leaders as appropriate. All sanctions will be governed through principles and procedures characteristic of Natural Justice.

We invite all those who participate in Boston DevOps Meetup to help us create safe and positive experiences for everyone. To that end, we will treat each other with respect and dignity – where everyone can expect an environment that is free of harassment, bullying, and discrimination.

Harassment, bullying and discrimination take many forms, including (See Supporting Definitions)

• Unwelcome remarks, gestures or physical contact
• Display or circulation of offensive, derogatory or sexually explicit pictures or other materials, including by email and on the Internet
• Offensive or derogatory jokes or comments (explicit or by innuendo)
• Verbal or physical abuse and threats

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, text, and actions.
• Always assume “good intent” when engaged with other members, partners, affiliates.
• Avoid conflict
• Be collaborative
• Alert community leaders if you notice a dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of this Code of Conduct, even if they seem inconsequential.
• Be mindful of your surroundings and of your fellow participants.
• Remember that community event venues may be shared with members of the public; please be respectful to all patrons of these locations.
• Do not demean, discriminate, bully, or harass others.

Unacceptable Behavior

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

• Directing violence, threats of violence or violent language against another person or group.
• Using language that is sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, or demeaning (including jokes).
• Posting or displaying sexually explicit or violent material.
• Posting or threatening to post other people’s personally identifying information (“doxing”).
• Insulting other participants.
• Taking inappropriate photos or records.
• Making inappropriate physical contact and/or unwelcome sexual advances.
• Deliberately intimidating, stalking or following someone (online or in person).
• Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behaviors.
• Disrupting community events, talks, and presentations.
• Spam (see section on Spam)
• Monopolizing discussions and conversations at the expense of others’ participation.

Consequences of Unacceptable Behavior

• Unacceptable behavior from any community member, including sponsors and leaders, 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).
• In the event that a disruption persists, community leaders have the right to contact the police to assure the safety of all participants.

Spam and Pitches

If you’re coming here only to make a sales pitch, please don’t.

What should I do if I see spam, conduct violation, or otherwise not welcome in this slack?

Users should flag inappropriate behavior to admins rather than addressing it themselves, using @mods to page the admins. This includes but is not limited to reporting: violations of this code of conduct, spam messages, messages posted in the wrong channel or category. Obvious spam posts should be promptly deleted; non-obvious spam may be flagged for review.

What is spam? Why did someone call my post spam?

This Slack has a pretty strong cultural norm against people dropping in just to advertise their companies or otherwise promote something that benefits only the original poster. We encourage users to meaningfully engage - this is a great community! Ask questions, introduce yourself in #introductions , join in our meetups, and most of all have fun - but leave the pitches at the door.

Spam is a post or a series of posts where the content is primarily solicitation (a call to action), nonsense, overly short/long, repetitive, or off-topic. This includes but is not limited to product advertisements, surveys, resumes (aside from in #jobs). Posts where the content is not hand-crafted or is too generic/useless may also be considered spam. It is unacceptable to simply copy/paste your message across multiple channels for added visibility. It is also unacceptable to post the same message or similar message frequently within the same channel and/or directly spam users. If a moderator notices multiple spam posts in succession, the account may be terminated.

Unwelcome Direct Messages (DMs)

Direct messages sent to another user that are unsolicited, or unwelcome at the discretion of the recipient are prohibited.

Reporting

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact the admins. They’ll respond as promptly as they can.

Our current admins are @knach and @paulsbruce

We will respect confidentiality requests for the purpose of protecting victims of abuse. At our discretion, we may publicly name a person about whom we’ve received harassment complaints, or privately warn third parties about them. We will not name harassment victims without their affirmative consent.

Supporting Definitions

Discrimination means to treat an individual less favorably because of their particular attributes, background, identify or heritage. It includes imposing unreasonable terms or conditions for which individuals with a particular attribute are unable to engage in Boston DevOps community. Attributes include:

• Gender and gender identity
• relationship status
• parental status – including pregnancy, child rearing, family responsibilities including and breastfeeding
• religious belief or activity
• political belief or activity
• sexual orientation and sexuality
• age, race, nationality or ethnic origin
• disability or impairment
• trade union activity
• association with, or relation to, a person identified on the basis of any of the above attributes

Harassment is any form of behavior that is unwelcome, unsolicited, unreciprocated, and usually (but not always) repeated. It is behavior that is likely to offend, humiliate, or intimidate. Harassment can be based on any of the attributes listed under the definition of discrimination and for example, can include sexual, disability, racial, sexuality or gender-based harassment.

Sexual harassment is a specific form of harassment. It means any unsolicited, unwelcome, and unreciprocated behavior, act, or conduct of a sexual nature that embarrasses, humiliates or offends other persons. It can be a single incident or a persistent pattern and can range from subtle behavior to explicit demands for sexual activity or criminal assault.

Sexual harassment includes but is not limited to the following examples:

• inappropriate jokes or comments with sexual connotations
• display of offensive material
• stares, leers, and offensive hand or body gestures
• comments and questions about another person’s sexual conduct and/or private relationships
• persistent unwelcome invitations
• requests for sexual favors
• offensive written, telephone or email communication, or any other electronic means of communication
• unnecessary close physical proximity including persistently following a person
• unwelcome physical contact such as brushing against or touching a person
• denigrating comments regarding a person’s gender or sexual preference
• negative behaviors, e.g., intimidation or exclusions related to the sex of the recipient

Bullying is repeated and unreasonable behavior directed towards an individual or a group that creates a risk to health and safety. It is possible for a person to be bullied, harassed, and discriminated against at the same time.

Below are examples of such behaviors, whether intentional or unintentional, that may be regarded as unreasonable and creates a risk to health, well-being, and safety of the members of the community.

This is not an exhaustive list – however, it does outline some of the more common types of bullying behaviors that are unacceptable.

• Abusive, insulting or offensive language or comments
• Unjustified criticism or complaints
• Deliberately excluding someone from Boston DevOps events, activities or related activities
• Withholding information that is vital for effective participation in the group
• Denying access to information, or isolating individuals from participation
• Spreading misinformation or malicious rumors
• Using email, text messaging or social media channels to bully, harass or discriminate.

Conflict of Interest is a situation in which an individual has competing professional or personal interests. Such competing interests could compromise other’s participation in the community and make it difficult for an individual to participate fully in the Boston DevOps community.

Victimization means treating someone unfairly because they have made, or intend to make, a discrimination or harassment complaint. This also includes those who have supported another person in making a complaint.

Natural Justice provides that all parties must be given the opportunity to present their case, be fully informed about allegations and decisions made, and have the right of representation by another person. A decision-maker in relation to the matter should have no personal interest in the matter and should be unbiased in their decisions.