Code of Conduct¶

This is a Civilized Place for Public Discussion¶

Please treat this workshop with the same respect you would a public park. We, too, are a shared community resource — a place to share skills, knowledge, and interests through ongoing conversation.

These are not hard and fast rules, merely aids to the human judgment of our community. Use these guidelines to keep this a clean, well-lighted place for civilized public discourse.

Inclusivity¶

We want to be unequivocal in recognizing that the scientific community has serious issues with representation, with people being excluded or marginalized on the basis of sex, race, and other personal characteristics. There is absolutely no place for sexism, racism, or any other kind of discrimination or prejudice in modern science, and we want to take an active role to ensure our community is a fair, equitable, and welcoming place. Our community is stronger and more effective when it recognizes all voices equally and treats everyone with respect.

There will be zero tolerance for harassment and any behavior that is discriminatory on the basis of age, disability, gender, relationship status, maternity, race, ethnicity, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or other personal characteristics. If any such behavior is noticed, members of the workshop are encouraged to let us know so that appropriate action can be taken.

Improve the Discussion¶

Help us make this a great place for discussion by always working to improve the discussion in some way, however small. If you are not sure your response adds to the conversation, think over what you want to say and try again later.

The topics discussed here matter to us, and we want you to act as if they matter to you, too. Be respectful of the topics and the people discussing them, even if you disagree with some of what is being said.

Be Agreeable, Even When You Disagree¶

You may wish to respond to something by disagreeing with it. That’s fine. But, remember to criticize ideas, not people. Please avoid:

• Name-calling.
• Ad hominem attacks.
• Responding to a post’s tone instead of its actual content.
• Knee-jerk contradiction.

Instead, provide reasoned counter-arguments that improve the conversation.

Your Participation Counts¶

The conversations we have here set the tone for everyone. Help us influence the future of this community by choosing to engage in discussions that make this workshop an interesting place to be — and avoiding those that do not.

Let’s try to leave our park better than we found it.

If You See a Problem, Report It¶

Instructors have special authority; they are responsible for this workshop. But so are you. With your help, moderators can be community facilitators, not just janitors or police.

When you see bad behavior, don’t reply. It encourages bad behavior by acknowledging it, consumes your energy, and wastes everyone’s time. Just report it.

In order to maintain our community, instructors reserve the right to remove any content and any user account for any reason at any time. Instructors do not preview new attendee material in any way; the instructors and site operators take no responsibility for any content posted by the community.

Always Be Civil¶

Nothing sabotages a healthy conversation like rudeness:

• Be civil. Don’t post anything that a reasonable person would consider offensive, abusive, or hate speech.
• Keep it clean. Don’t post anything obscene or sexually explicit.
• Respect each other. Don’t harass or grief anyone, impersonate people, or expose their private information.
• Respect our workshop. Don’t post spam or otherwise vandalize the Slack.

These are not concrete terms with precise definitions — avoid even the appearance of any of these things. If you’re unsure, ask yourself how you would feel if your post was featured on the front page of the New York Times.

Keep the language, links, and images safe for family and friends.