Code of conduct
is a small room of people who take the work seriously and each other seriously. We want every speaker, guest, and member of the team to feel safe, respected, and free to do the honest, candid talking this event exists for. This code applies to everyone at Misaligned: speakers, attendees, organizers, the team, and anyone we host. By taking part, you agree to it.
Anyone who breaks this code may be removed from the event at the organizers' discretion, with no refund where one applies. If you have questions about this policy or ideas for improving it, write to us at [email protected].
The short version
We are committed to a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neurotype, physical appearance, body, age, race, ethnicity, nationality, language, or religion. We do not tolerate harassment of participants in any form, in the room or online. If you are asked to stop a behavior, stop. If something is wrong, tell the team and we will handle it.
What we mean by harassment
Harassment includes, and is not limited to:
- Offensive comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neurotype, physical appearance, body, age, race, ethnicity, nationality, language, or religion
- Deliberate misgendering or use of rejected or former names
- Unwelcome sexual attention, language, or imagery in spaces where it is not appropriate, which at Misaligned is all of them
- Physical contact without consent, or after a request to stop
- Threats of violence, or incitement of violence toward anyone, including encouraging self-harm
- Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following
- Harassing photography or recording, including capturing someone after they have asked you to stop
- Sustained disruption of talks, conversations, or other events
- Continued one-on-one contact after a request to stop
- Publishing or threatening to publish someone's private information, or any aspect of their identity, without their consent
This is a technical room with strong, contrarian opinions, and we want them. Disagreeing hard with someone's argument is not harassment. Targeting the person is.
Safety over comfort
Misaligned prioritizes the safety of marginalized people over the comfort of others. We will not act on complaints about:
- "Reverse" -isms, including "reverse racism," "reverse sexism," or "cisphobia"
- A reasonable statement of a boundary, such as "leave me alone," "go away," or "I am not discussing this with you"
- Communicating in a tone you do not find agreeable
- Criticism of racist, sexist, transphobic, or otherwise oppressive behavior or assumptions
Recording, photography, and publishing
Misaligned is professionally filmed. The talks and the room are recorded by our crew and published after the event, and by attending you may appear in that footage. If you would prefer not to be filmed, tell the team when you arrive and we will seat you accordingly and work to keep you out of frame.
For everyone else: ask before you photograph or record another attendee, and respect a no. If someone asks you to delete a photo or recording of them, do it. The candor in the room depends on people trusting that what they say and show here is not being captured and shared without their say-so
Consequences
Participants asked to stop a harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. If you engage in harassing behavior, the organizers may take any action we consider appropriate, up to and including a warning, removal from the event with no refund where one applies, and a report to venue security or local law enforcement. Sponsors and partners are held to the same standard as everyone else.
Reporting
If you are being harassed, see someone else being harassed, or have any other concern, tell us. You can reach the team in two ways:
- In person. Find any Misaligned organizer at the event. It is a small room, and we will be easy to find.
- By email. Write to [email protected]. Reports go straight to the team.
Tell us as much as you can: what happened, when, where, who was involved, and what you would like to see done. You can report anonymously, and you can ask us to keep your report in confidence. If the person you are reporting is on the team, they will step away from handling it. We will respond as quickly as we can.If you are ever in immediate danger, call 9-1-1 first.
License
This code of conduct is adapted from the open-source policies published by XOXO, JSConf, and [un]prompted, which in turn draw on the work of the Ada Initiative and Geek Feminism. It is shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Please feel free to adopt and adapt it for your own event.