Rails School is committed to inclusiveness and will not tolerate harassment. We believe requiring our participants to adhere to an explicit Code of Conduct is one step toward creating the kind of positive environment where we can come together to learn and teach.
This code of conduct is a collaboration in the Charlottesville community to proactively create a safe and inclusive environment for participants of meetups, group, and online groups. Organizers implement this Code of Conduct by doing the following:
- Link this Code of Conduct to the main page of the organization.
- Provide contact information of an Organizer with the Code of Conduct link.
- Summarize this Code of Conduct at the start of events.
Contributors to this Code of Conduct are listed here. If you have comments or would like to contribute, you can submit a note or a pull request in the issues area. You can find a wiki list of known organizations using this Code of Conduct here.
###Charolettesville
- Yellow Cab: Call 434-295-4131 or text address to 434-202-5525.
- Non-Emergency Police: 434-970-3280.
- Sexual Assault 24-Hour Hotline: 434-977-7273.
- UVA Health System Emergency Department: 434-924-2231.
###San Francisco
- Yellow Cab: Call 415-333-3333 or use the Lyft or Flywheel app on your smartphone.
- Non-Emergency Police: 415-553-0123.
- Sexual Assault Hotline (Courtesy San Francisco Woman Against Rape): 415-861-2024.
- Trauma Recovery Center: 415-905-5050.
Harassment includes verbal comments that reinforce social structures of domination -- related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religion, or socioeconomic status -- as well as 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. 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 expulsion from the group. If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact organizers immediately.
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 the duration of the event. We expect participants to follow these rules at all event venues and social events. We value your attendance.
Any organizer can issue a verbal warning to a participant that their behavior violates the anti-harassment policy. Warnings should be reported to event organizers as soon as practical. The report should include:
- Identifying information (name) of the participant
- The time you issued the warning
- The behavior that was in violation
- The approximate time of the behavior (if different than the time of warning)
- The circumstances surrounding the incident
- Your identity
- Other people involved in the incident
Presentations or similar events should not be stopped for one-time gaffes or minor problems, although an organizer should speak to the presenter afterward. However, organizers should take immediate action to politely and calmly stop any presentation or event that repeatedly or seriously violates the anti-harassment policy. For example, simply say "I'm sorry, this presentation cannot be continued at the present time" with further explanation to follow in a less public manner as appropriate.
When taking a report from someone experiencing harassment you should record what they say and reassure them they are being taken seriously, but avoid making specific promises about what actions the organizers will take. Ask for any other information if the reporter has not volunteered it (such as time, place) but do not pressure them to provide it if they are reluctant. Even if the report lacks important details such as the identity of the person taking the harassing actions, it should still be recorded and passed along to the appropriate staff member(s). If the reporter desires it, arrange for an escort by conference staff or a trusted person, contact a friend, and contact local law enforcement. Do not pressure the reporter to take any action if they do not want to do it. Respect the reporter's privacy by not sharing unnecessary details with others, especially individuals who were not involved with the situation or non-staff members.
The report should include:
- Identifying information (name) of the participant
- The time you issued the warning
- The behavior that was in violation
- The approximate time of the behavior (if different than the time of warning)
- The circumstances surrounding the incident
- Your identity
- Other people involved in the incident
A participant may be expelled by the decision of any of the above listed entities for whatever reasons they deem sufficient. However, here are some general guidelines for when a participant should be expelled:
- A third offense resulting in a warning from other participants
- Continuing to harass after any "No" or "Stop" instruction
- A pattern of harassing behavior, with or without warnings
- Any harassment including physical contact (e.g., punching or groping someone)
- Any intentional (including non-physical) offense, i.e., taking compromising photos
- Organizers and local authorities should be contacted when appropriate.
As a general rule, organizers should not make any public statements about the behavior of individual people during or after the event.
In general, consult with other organizers when possible but act when necessary.
This policy is licensed under the Creative Commons Zero license. It is public domain, no credit and no open licensing of your version is required.
It was forked on Sep 23, 2014, from the example policy from the Geek Feminism wiki, created by the Ada Initiative and other volunteers.