Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation’s (ALSF) Childhood Cancer Data Lab (Data Lab) values the involvement of everyone in the community. We are committed to creating a friendly and respectful place for contributing and learning. Everyone participating in the Open Single-cell Pediatric Cancer Atlas (OpenScPCA) project is expected to show respect and courtesy to others.
Table of contents:
- Summary
- Code of Conduct
- When and how to use these guidelines
- Expected behavior
- Unacceptable behavior
- Report an Incident
- What happens after a report is filed?
- Retaliation
- Consequences
- Attribution
- Modifications to these guidelines
The Data Lab team is dedicated to providing a welcoming and supportive environment for all people, regardless of background or identity. As such, we do not tolerate behavior that is disrespectful to community members 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.
To make clear what is expected, everyone participating in the OpenScPCA project is required to conform to this Code of Conduct. This Code of Conduct applies to all spaces managed by the Data Lab including, but not limited to meetings, trainings, email lists, online forums such as GitHub, Slack, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and any in-person spaces.
By participating, all community members indicate their acceptance of the procedures by which the Data Lab resolves any Code of Conduct incidents, which may include storage and processing of their personal information.
These guidelines outline our behavior expectations as a part of the OpenScPCA community and in all ALSF or Data Lab activities, both online and in-person. Your participation is contingent upon following these guidelines, including but not limited to:
- Working in any ALSF or Data Lab spaces, online or in-person
- Working with OpenScPCA community members, and other ALSF or Data Lab community members, online or in-person
- Representing ALSF, the Data Lab, and the OpenScPCA project at public events
- Representing ALSF, the Data Lab, and the OpenScPCA project on social media
- Participating in OpenScPCA-related trainings
- Participating in OpenScPCA-related communications including comments, messages, pull requests and reviews on GitHub, conversations on Slack, emails, and meetings
All participants in our projects are expected to show respect and courtesy to others. All interactions should be professional regardless of platform: either online or in-person.
To foster a positive and professional environment we encourage the following kinds of behaviors from all OpenScPCA community members:
- Focus on what is best for the community
- Show courtesy and respect toward all community members
- Use inclusive language
- Be respectful of different viewpoints and recognize the value of diverse people and experiences
- Gracefully accept constructive criticism
- Be kind when giving feedback or making suggestions for improvement
- Learn, ask questions, and help create an environment where others feel comfortable doing the same
- Be welcoming and helpful when new collaborators join the project
Examples of unacceptable behavior by members of the OpenScPCA community include:
- Written or verbal comments which have the effect of excluding people on the basis of membership of any specific group. This includes sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, or exclusionary jokes.
- Causing someone to fear for their safety, such as through stalking, following, or intimidation online or in-person
- Incitement to violence, suicide, or self-harm
- Violent threats or language directed at another person
- The display of sexual or violent images, including in your GitHub and Slack avatars and profile photos
- Unwelcome sexual attention
- Continuing to initiate interaction with someone after being asked to stop
- Nonconsensual or unwelcome physical contact, should you meet community members in-person
- Sustained disruption of meetings, webinars, or other communications
- Insults or put downs
- Deliberately referring to someone by a gender that they do not identify with, and/or questioning the legitimacy of an individual’s gender identity
- Excessive swearing or use of derogatory language in community spaces like GitHub and Slack, including in usernames and profiles. If you’re unsure if a word is derogatory, it’s best to avoid using it.
- Publication, or the threat of publishing, private communication or other people’s personally identifying information (“doxxing”) online. This includes publishing text/screenshots of anything shared in private messages on Slack without explicit consent from the author.
Please make a Data Lab staff member aware of any incidents that occur where someone has engaged in behavior that is potentially illegal or makes you or another community member feel unsafe, unwelcome, or uncomfortable. If you believe someone is in immediate danger, call your local emergency number.
We reserve the right to reject any report we believe to have been made in bad faith or that we do not feel has violated the Code of Conduct. For example, reports about legitimate criticism or feedback you disagree with may not receive a response.
If you believe you are experiencing or witnessing unacceptable behavior as outlined by the Code of Conduct, you can submit a report via email or through an anonymous form.
Privately report an incident by emailing [email protected]. Your email will be received by the Director and the Scientific Community Manager of the Data Lab.
What to include in your email:
- Your name, contact information, and role in the community.
- Names of the people involved (or if names are unknown, use any identifiable information such as role, handle, or project/community affiliation).
- Detailed description of the incident
- Where this occurred - Describe the online (email, GitHub, Slack, social media etc.) or in-person space
- Approximately when this occurred
You also have the option to submit an anonymous report through this Google form. Please be advised that if you report anonymously, we may be limited in taking certain actions. For example, we will be unable to follow up for further information or to report on the status of the investigation. Please fill out the entire report with as much detail as possible.
| Submit an anonymous report here |
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If you are reporting an incident that involves the Director or Scientific Community Manager of the Data Lab, do not use the email address for reporting. Please submit your report via Slack DM to another Data Lab staff member (https://github.com/orgs/AlexsLemonade/people). The person you are reporting about will not be allowed to investigate your claim, and the report will be handled discreetly.
Reports will be triaged by Data Lab staff members who are responsible for maintaining this community. Reports are handled privately, and will only be shared with the people who can investigate and advise. As part of the investigation, it may be necessary for some information to be disclosed to other members of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation or outside specialists (such as legal counsel). We will take appropriate measures, within our control, to address and resolve the situation.
You will receive an email response once your report is reviewed. We will do our best to provide an initial response within 1 business day and will continue to provide timely updates throughout the investigation of your report. Please note that we cannot communicate with you if you submit an anonymous report via the Google form.
We will not tolerate retaliation against any community member who reports a concern. Please follow the same reporting process to make us aware of any acts of retaliation.
Anyone being asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately. They will be given warning that failure to comply can result in removal from the OpenScPCA community, either temporarily or for the duration of the project. They may also be banned from participation in future ALSF Data Lab projects and activities. We reserve the right to remove anyone from the OpenScPCA community immediately and without warning, if we feel this is necessary for the comfort and safety of other community members.
ALSF Data Lab staff are held accountable, in addition to these guidelines, to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation’s policies and principles.
Any community members who abuse the reporting process will be subject to the same consequences. False reporting, reports made in bad faith, or reporting as retaliation will not be accepted or tolerated.
These guidelines are based on the code of conduct written by The Carpentries, which is adapted from the guidelines by the Django Project, which was itself based on the Ada Initiative template.
These guidelines are also influenced by Mozilla’s Community Participation Guidelines, which has been adapted from Mozilla’s original Community Participation Guidelines, the Ubuntu Code of Conduct, Mozilla’s View Source Conference Code of Conduct, and the Rust Language Code of Conduct, which are based on Stumptown Syndicate’s Citizen Code of Conduct. Additional text from the Bioinformatics Research Network Code of Conduct, R-Ladies Code of Conduct, the LGBTQ in Technology Code of Conduct, and the WisCon Code of Conduct.
The Data Lab may amend the guidelines from time to time and may also vary the procedures it sets out where appropriate in a particular case. Your agreement to comply with the guidelines will be deemed agreement to any changes to it.