Code of Conduct

As a community we welcome everyone, and encourage a friendly and positive environment. We pledge to act and interact in ways that contribute to an open, welcoming, inspiring, diverse, inclusive, and healthy community for all. We are committed to creating a friendly and respectful place for learning, teaching, and contributing. We encourage everyone to participate and to show respect and courtesy to other community members at all times. As such, we do not tolerate disrespectful behaviour towards our community members. We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment by and/or of members of our community in any form.

In the interest of fostering an open and welcoming environment, we as members and contributors pledge to make participation in our community a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, personal appearance, visible or invisible disability, ethnicity, race, religion or beliefs, level of experience, technical ability, education, profession, socio-economic status, political beliefs, nationality, citizenship, familial status, gender identity and expression, or sexual identity and orientation.

Everyone participating in the Agape community must conform to and honour this code of conduct. This code of conduct applies within all Agape community spaces and when members are officially representing the community in public spaces. Examples of representing a project or community include using official online platforms, posting via social media account or channel, or acting as a representative at an online or offline event.

Participants who are asked to stop any inappropriate behaviour are expected to comply immediately. Anyone who violates this code of conduct may be banned from the community.

Examples of behaviour that contributes to a positive environment for our community include:

• Using welcoming and inclusive language
• Being friendly, patient, considerate and respectful
• Demonstrating empathy and kindness toward others
• Being respectful of differing opinions, viewpoints, and experiences
• Allowing maximum engagement by all participants
• Showing empathy towards other community members
• Respecting the privacy and safety of others and not harassing anyone
• Keeping in mind that English is not everyone’s first language
• Giving and gracefully accepting constructive feedback
• Accepting responsibility and apologising to those affected by our mistakes, and learning from the experience
• Focusing on what is best not just for us as individuals, but for the overall community

Examples of unacceptable behaviour include:

• Public or private harassment
• Publishing others’ personal and private information, such as a physical or email address, without their explicit permission
• Continuing to initiate interaction (including photography or recording) with someone after being asked to stop
• Trolling, insulting, and derogatory written or verbal comments which have the effect of excluding people on the basis of membership of any specific group or their beliefs
• Causing someone to fear for their safety, such as through stalking, following, or intimidation
• Violent threats or language directed against another person
• Incitement to violence, suicide, or self-harm
• The display of sexual or violent images
• The use of sexualised language or imagery, and sexual attention or advances of any kind
• Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, or exclusionary jokes
• Insults or put downs
• Sustained disruption of talks, events or communications
• Excessive swearing
• Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting

As a general rule, if someone asks you to stop, do so.

In case of a breach of code of conduct

Don’t be a bystander. If you see something inappropriate happening, speak up. If you don’t feel comfortable intervening but feel someone should, please feel free to ask a member of the core team for support.

If you experience or witness unacceptable behaviour, or have any other concerns, please report it by contacting the core team - Cassie, Yao, Aswathi, and Nina - at agape.open.science@gmail.com and in the Subject of your email indicate “COC breach - core team”. To report an issue involving one of the core team members, please indicate one of the other members who you trust and who you don’t wish to report in the Subject, e.g.: “COC breach - Cassie”.

In your report include:

• Your contact information
• Names (real, nicknames, or pseudonyms) of any individuals involved. If there are additional witnesses, please include them as well. Your account of what occurred, and if you believe the incident is ongoing.
• Any additional information that may be helpful

After filing a report, a representative will contact you personally, review the incident, and follow up with any additional questions. The projected timeline for resolution will be shared with you.

In case the report concerns one of the members of the core team this person will recuse themselves from handling your incident. If the member you originally addressed your message to is unavailable you will be contacted by another member of the core team that is not involved in the report. If the complaint originates from a member of the core team, it will be handled by a different member of the core team.

All reports will be handled with discretion and investigated promptly and fairly. The core team is obligated to respect the privacy and security of the reporter of any incident. We will respect confidentiality requests for the purpose of protecting victims of abuse.

Attribution

This code of conduct is adapted from the Code of Conduct found at the Contributor Covenant, The Turing Way, and from the Open Life Science.