What follows is a straw-dog draft proposal of a code of conduct for the Handspring Alum Slack. Comments welcome. Worth noting: at this time it’s not entirely clear how to formally adopt a code of conduct for the community.

Code of Conduct

All participants in the Handspring Alum Slack community are expected to abide by our Code of Conduct, both online and during in-person events associated with the community.

Our Pledge

In the interest of fostering an open and welcoming environment, we pledge to make our community welcoming and harassment-free.

We recognize that there are multiple dimensions to safety within our community. As a company alumni group, we acknowledge that our members may have a hierarchical relationship or have had one in the past. As a result, we pledge to maintain an environment where individuals can share potentially sensitive information without concern that the information could be used against them professionally or result in any kind of retribution.

Our Standards

Examples of behavior that contributes to creating a positive environment include:

• Using welcoming and inclusive language
• Being respectful of differing viewpoints and experiences
• Referring to people by their preferred pronouns and using gender-neutral pronouns when uncertain
• Gracefully accepting constructive criticism
• Focusing on what is best for the community
• Showing empathy towards other community members
• Maintaining the confidentiality of sensitive information

Examples of unacceptable behavior by participants include:

• Sharing others’ private information, such as informing a manager that one of their reports is seeking new employment, or publishing a physical or electronic address without explicit permission
• The use of sexualized language or imagery and unwelcome sexual attention or advances
• Trolling, insulting/derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks
• Public or private harassment
• Using information an individual shares with the community
• Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting
• Dismissing or attacking inclusion-oriented requests

We pledge to prioritize marginalized people’s safety over privileged people’s comfort. We will not act on complaints regarding:

• ‘Reverse’ -isms, including ‘reverse racism,’ ‘reverse sexism,’ and ‘cisphobia’
• Reasonable communication of boundaries, such as ‘leave me alone,’ ‘go away,’ or ‘I’m not discussing this with you.’
• Someone’s refusal to explain or debate social justice concepts
• Criticisms of racist, sexist, cissexist, or otherwise oppressive behavior or assumptions

Enforcement

Violations of the Code of Conduct may be reported to the moderators by (TBD). All reports will be reviewed and investigated and will result in a response that is deemed necessary and appropriate to the circumstances. Further details of specific enforcement policies may be posted separately.

Moderators have the right and responsibility to remove comments or other contributions that are not aligned to this Code of Conduct, or to suspend temporarily or permanently any members for other behaviors that they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful.

Attribution

This Code of Conduct is adapted from Dev.to’s Code of Conduct, which in turn was adapted from Contributor Covenant version 1.4, Write/Speak/Code, and Geek Feminism.