Code of Conduct

CocoaHeads Boston Code of Conduct

All speakers and attendees at CocoaHeads Boston, and participants in our online discussions, are required to agree with this code of conduct. Organizers will enforce this code. We require cooperation to help ensuring a safe environment for everybody.

Need Help?

Contact the Organizers. The current organizers are John Brayton (jbrayton@goldenhillsoftware.com) and Mitch Cohen (mcohen@proactiveinteractive.com). Organizers will gladly share their phone numbers upon request. The Organizers may designate an interim organizer in the event no Organizer is available for a specific event.

(Left: John Brayton. Right: Mitch Cohen.)

The Quick Version

CocoaHeads Boston is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of programming skill or experience, preferred development platforms, gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion (or lack thereof). We do not tolerate harassment in any form, intentional or inadvertent. Sexual, violent, or offensive language and imagery is not appropriate for our meetings, social events, or online discussions. Participants violating these rules may be required to leave the meeting or event, barred from future events, or removed from our online discussion channels at the sole discretion of the organizers.

The Less Quick Version

Harassment includes offensive comments, whether verbal, written, or via imagery, related to programming skill or experience, preferred development platforms, gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, veteran status, 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 sexual attention, visual displays of degrading sexual images, sexually suggestive conduct, or offensive remarks of a sexual nature. Some kinds of harassment are prohibited by law, but all harassment is prohibited by this Code of Conduct.

We consider all those in attendance at meetings, social events, and online discussions as “Participants” whether or not they are actively presenting. This Code of Conduct applies to all group meetings, social events, and online discussions.

Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

If a participant engages in harassing behavior, the organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender, or asking the offender to leave a meeting, or banning the participant from all future meetings, events, and online discussions.

Any person barred from group meetings, events, or online discussions may request permission from the Organizers to be readmitted. The Organizers shall consider the totality of the situation, input from all involved, and feedback from the group, before reaching a decision. Any such decision shall be made in writing and is at the discretion of the Organizers.

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact an organizer immediately. Contacting an Organizer in private is preferred, and is most likely to have the best outcome. Participants should not be publicly shamed for what may be an unintentional deviation from this Code of Conduct. See the “Need Help” section above for the names and contact information of the organizers.

The organizers will be happy to help participants contact venue security or local law enforcement, provide escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for in all meetings, social events, and online discussions. We value your participation.

If you have a presentation planned for a meeting, you are expected to prepare and review your presentation to be consistent with this policy. If you have any reason to believe your presentation may be offensive, it probably is not appropriate for our meeting. The Organizers are happy to help any presenter review materials in advance of meetings.

We expect participants to follow these rules at our meetings, surrounding social events, and online discussions including our email distribution list. We also expect participants to follow these rules within the community at large.

This Code of Conduct is a modified version of the Code of Conduct from http://confcodeofconduct.com/ and is used under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. This Code of Conduct may be modified by the Organizers when necessary. Whenever possible, proposed revisions will be offered to participants for feedback. Feedback and suggestions for improving this Code of Conduct are always welcome.

Effective date: June 1, 2015