NumFOCUS Code of Conduct

THE SHORT VERSION

Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down others. Behave professionally. Remember that harassment and sexist, racist, or exclusionary jokes are not appropriate for NumFOCUS.

All communication should be appropriate for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate.

NumFOCUS is dedicated to providing a harassment-free community for everyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion. We do not tolerate harassment of community members in any form.

Thank you for helping make this a welcoming, friendly community for all.

THE LONGER VERSION

NumFOCUS Diversity Statement

NumFOCUS welcomes and encourages participation in our community by people of all backgrounds and identities. We are committed to promoting and sustaining a culture that values mutual respect, tolerance, and learning, and we work together as a community to help each other live out these values.

We have created this diversity statement because we believe that a diverse community is stronger, more vibrant, and produces better software and better science. A diverse community where people treat each other with respect has more potential contributors, more sources for ideas, and fewer shared assumptions that might hinder development or research.

Although we have phrased the formal diversity statement generically to make it all-inclusive, we recognize that there are specific identities that are impacted by systemic discrimination and marginalization. We welcome all people to participate in the NumFOCUS community regardless of their identity or background.

NumFOCUS Code of Conduct: Introduction & Scope

This code of conduct should be honored by everyone who participates in the NumFOCUS community. It should be honored in any NumFOCUS-related activities, by anyone claiming affiliation with NumFOCUS, and especially when someone is representing NumFOCUS in any role (including as an event volunteer or speaker).

This code of conduct applies to all spaces managed by NumFOCUS, including all public and private mailing lists, issue trackers, wikis, forums, and any other communication channel used by our community. The code of conduct equally applies at NumFOCUS events and governs standards of behavior for attendees, speakers, volunteers, booth staff, and event sponsors.

This code is not exhaustive or complete. It serves to distill our understanding of a collaborative, inclusive community culture. Please try to follow this code in spirit as much as in letter, to create a friendly and productive environment that enriches the NumFOCUS community.

We require all NumFOCUS sponsored and affiliated projects to adopt a code of conduct for their project that encourages a productive, respectful environment for all open source contributors and community members. The NumFOCUS Code of Conduct follows below.

Standards for Behavior

NumFOCUS is a worldwide community. All communication should be appropriate for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds.

Please always be kind and courteous. There’s never a need to be mean or rude or disrespectful. Thank you for helping make this a welcoming, friendly community for all.

We strive to:

Be empathetic, welcoming, friendly, and patient. We remember that every NumFOCUS project and program is crafted by human beings who deserve to be treated with kindness and empathy. We work together to resolve conflict and assume good intentions. We may all experience some frustration from time to time, but we do not allow frustration to turn into a personal attack. A community where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one.

Be collaborative. Our work depends on the participation of many people, and in turn others depend on our work. Open source communities depend on effective and friendly collaboration to achieve their goals.

Be inquisitive. Nobody knows everything! Asking questions early avoids many problems later, so we encourage questions, although we may direct them to the appropriate forum. We will try hard to be responsive and helpful.

Be careful in the words that we choose. We are careful and respectful in our communication and we take responsibility for our own speech. Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other members of the community.

Unacceptable Behavior

We are committed to making participation in this community a harassment-free experience.

We will not accept harassment or other exclusionary behaviors, such as:

• The use of sexualized language or imagery
• Excessive profanity (please avoid curse words; people differ greatly in their sensitivity to swearing)
• Posting sexually explicit or violent material
• Violent or intimidating threats or language directed against another person
• Inappropriate physical contact and/or unwelcome sexual attention or sexual comments
• Sexist, racist, or otherwise discriminatory jokes and language
• Trolling or insulting and derogatory comments
• Written or verbal comments which have the effect of excluding people on the basis of membership in a specific group, including level of experience, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, neurotype, personal appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, age, religion, or nationality
• Public or private harassment
• Sharing private content, such as emails sent privately or non-publicly, or direct message history, without the sender’s consent
• Continuing to initiate interaction (such as photography, recording, messaging, or conversation) with someone after being asked to stop
• Sustained disruption of talks, events, or communications, such as heckling of a speaker
• Publishing (or threatening to post) other people’s personally identifying information (“doxing”), such as physical or electronic addresses, without explicit permission
• Other unethical or unprofessional conduct
• Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behaviors

Reporting Guidelines

If you believe someone is violating the code of conduct, please report this in a timely manner. Code of conduct violations reduce the value of the community for everyone. The team at NumFOCUS takes reports of misconduct very seriously and is committed to preserving and maintaining the welcoming nature of our community.

All reports will be kept confidential.

In some cases we may determine that a public statement will need to be made. If that’s the case, the identities of all involved parties and reporters will remain confidential unless those individuals instruct us otherwise.

All complaints will be reviewed and investigated and will result in a response that is deemed necessary and appropriate to the circumstances. The NumFOCUS team commits to maintaining confidentiality with regard to the reporter of an incident.

For possibly unintentional breaches of the code of conduct, you may want to respond to the person and point out this code of conduct (either in public or in private, whatever is most appropriate). If you would prefer not to do that, please submit a report to NumFOCUS.

Take care of each other. Alert NumFOCUS if you notice a dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of this code of conduct, even if they seem inconsequential.

How to Submit a Report

If you feel your safety is in jeopardy or the situation is an emergency, we urge you to contact local law enforcement before making a report to NumFOCUS. (In the U.S., dial 911.)

NumFOCUS is committed to promptly addressing any reported issues. If you have experienced or witnessed behavior that violates the NumFOCUS Code of Conduct, please complete the form below to make a report.

REPORTING FORM: https://numfocus.typeform.com/to/ynjGdT

Reports are sent to the NumFOCUS Code of Conduct Enforcement Team (see below).

You can view the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service for TypeForm here.
The NumFOCUS Privacy Policy is here: https://www.numfocus.org/privacy-policy

Person(s) Responsible for Resolving Incidents

All reports of breaches of the code of conduct will be investigated and handled by the NumFOCUS Code of Conduct Enforcement Team.

The current NumFOCUS Code of Conduct Enforcement Team consists of the NumFOCUS Board of Directors who will handle intake procedures. 

You can reach the Enforcement Team by emailing .

If an incident takes place at an event or meetup or within the community channels of a NumFOCUS project, the NumFOCUS Code of Conduct Enforcement Team will reach out to the relevant organizers/community managers/project leaders as necessary to follow up on the incident.

Conflicts of Interest

In the event of any conflict of interest, the team member will immediately notify the Board and recuse themselves if necessary.

If you are concerned about making a report that will be read by any of the above individuals, please reach out to one of the members of the NumFOCUS Board.

Reporting at NumFOCUS Events and Meetups

If you are at a NumFOCUS event or meetup and wish to make a report, please reach out to the event staff/meetup organizers so that they can take any appropriate immediate response.

Event staff/meetup 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/meetup.

Event-specific reporting instructions may be found on the website for the event. Meetup-specific reporting instructions should be found on the Meetup group’s page. Reporting instructions should also be announced and/or posted at the event/meetup itself.

What to Include in a Report

Our ability to address any code of conduct breaches in a timely and effective manner is impacted by the amount of information you can provide, so, our reporting form asks you to include as much of the following information as you can:

• Your contact info (so we can get in touch with you if we need to follow up). This will be kept confidential. If you wish to remain anonymous, your information will not be shared beyond the person receiving the initial report.
• The approximate time and location of the incident (please be as specific as possible)
• Identifying information (e.g. name, nickname, screen name, physical description) of the individual whose behavior is being reported
• Description of the behavior (if reporting harassing language, please be specific about the words used), your account of what happened, and any available supporting records (e.g. email, GitHub issue, screenshots, etc.)
• Description of the circumstances/context surrounding the incident
• Let us know if the incident is ongoing, and/or if this is part of an ongoing pattern of behavior
• Names and contact info, if possible, of anyone else who witnessed or was involved in this incident. (Did anyone else observe the incident?)
• Any other relevant information you believe we should have

Event staff/meetup organizers will attempt to gather and write down the above information from anyone making a verbal report in-person at an event. Recording the details in writing is exceedingly important in order for us to effectively respond to reports. If event staff/meetup organizers write down a report taken verbally, then the person making the report will be asked to review the written report for accuracy.

If urgent action is needed regarding an incident at an in-person event, we strongly encourage you to reach out to the local event staff/meetup organizers for immediate assistance.

Enforcement: What Happens After a Report is Filed?

Acknowledgment and Responding to Immediate Needs

NumFOCUS and/or our event staff will attempt to ensure your safety and help with any immediate needs, particularly at an in-person event. NumFOCUS will make every effort to acknowledge receipt within 24 hours (and we’ll aim for much more quickly than that).

Reviewing the Report

NumFOCUS will review the incident as quickly as possible and determine:

• Whether this is an ongoing situation, or if there is a threat to anyone’s physical safety
• What happened
• Whether this event constitutes a code of conduct violation
• Who the bad actor was, if any

If the incident took place at an event or meetup or within the community channels of a NumFOCUS project, the NumFOCUS Code of Conduct Enforcement Team will reach out to the relevant organizers/community managers/project leaders as necessary to follow up on the incident.

Contacting the Person Reported

After NumFOCUS has had time to review and discuss the report, someone will attempt to contact the person who is the subject of the report to inform them of what has been reported about them. We will then ask that person for their account of what happened.

Response and Potential Consequences

Once NumFOCUS has completed our investigation of the report, we will make a decision as to how to respond. The person making a report will not normally be consulted as to the proposed resolution of the issue, except insofar as we need to understand how to help them feel safe.

Potential consequences for violating the NumFOCUS code of conduct include:

• Nothing (if we determine that no violation occurred)
• Private feedback or reprimand from NumFOCUS to the individual(s) involved
• Warning the person to cease their behavior and that any further reports will result in sanctions
• A public announcement that an incident occurred
• Mediation (only if both reporter and reportee agree)
• An imposed vacation (e.g. asking someone to “take a week off” from a mailing list)
• A permanent or temporary ban from some or all NumFOCUS spaces (mailing lists, GitHub repos, in-person events, etc.)
• Assistance to the complainant with a report to other bodies, for example, institutional offices or appropriate law enforcement agencies
• Removing a person from NumFOCUS membership or other formal affiliation
• Publishing an account of the harassment and calling for the resignation of the alleged harasser from their responsibilities (usually pursued by people without formal authority: may be called for if the person is the event leader, or refuses to stand aside from the conflict of interest, or similar)
• Any other response that NumFOCUS deems necessary and appropriate to the situation

At NumFOCUS events, if a participant engages in behavior that violates this code of conduct, the conference organizers and staff may take any action they deem appropriate.

Potential consequences for violating the NumFOCUS Code of Conduct at an in-person event include:

• Warning the person to cease their behavior and that any further reports will result in sanctions
• Requiring that the person avoid any interaction with, and physical proximity to, the person they are harassing for the remainder of the event
• Ending a talk that violates the policy early
• Not publishing the video or slides of a talk that violated the policy
• Not allowing a speaker who violated the policy to give (further) talks at the event now or in the future
• Immediately ending any event volunteer responsibilities and privileges the reported person holds
• Requiring that the person not volunteer for future events NumFOCUS runs (either indefinitely or for a certain time period)
• Expelling the person from the event without a refund
• Requiring that the person immediately leave the event and not return
• Banning the person from future events (either indefinitely or for a certain time period)
• Any other response that NumFOCUS deems necessary and appropriate to the situation

No one espousing views or values contrary to the standards of our code of conduct will be permitted to hold any position representing NumFOCUS, including volunteer positions. NumFOCUS has the right and responsibility to remove, edit, or reject comments, commits, code, wiki edits, issues, and other contributions that are not aligned with this code of conduct.

We will contact the person who is the subject of the report to let them know what actions will be taken as a result of the report, if any.

Our policy is to make sure that everyone aware of the initial incident is also made aware that official action has been taken, while still respecting the privacy of individuals. NumFOCUS may choose to make a public report of the incident, while maintaining the anonymity of those involved.

Appealing a Decision

To appeal a decision of NumFOCUS, contact with your appeal and the Board will review the case.

License

This code of conduct has been adapted from numerous sources, including the Geek Feminism wiki, created by the Ada Initiative and other volunteers, which is under a Creative Commons Zero license, the Contributor Covenant version 1.2.0, the Bokeh Code of Conduct, the SciPy Code of Conduct, the Carpentries Code of Conduct, and the NeurIPS Code of Conduct.

NumFOCUS Code of Conduct is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.