Code of Conduct: Welcoming Diversity

Here you are: registration for your conference is open. It looks like you’ll be hosting a big and diverse crowd. Even in this kind of environment, misconduct can be an issue.

A Code of Conduct (CoC) serves the comfort and well-being of everyone involved.

Plenty of templates and online resources are available to choose from. To keep it simple, start with three key elements:

√ behaviors that are considered unacceptable

√ how and to whom incidents should be reported

sanctions for offenders

Tip 1: Mozilla’s Code of Conduct is a good sample to follow. In their case, besides the above points, attention is drawn to inclusion and diversity.

Tip 2: If worried that nobody bothers reading the CoC, for the impatient ones, publish a short, simplified version. The longer, more elaborate CoC can also be accessed on your website. One example is the I T.A.K.E. Unconference CoC.

Keep in mind: the organizing team’s familiarity and quick response to misconduct is appreciated by participants. It also helps provide discovery and learning opportunities in a positive, welcoming environment.


Also published on Medium.

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