Diversity Statement

ACCESS welcomes and encourages participation in our community by people of all backgrounds and identities. We, the members of ACCESS, are committed to promoting and sustaining a culture that values mutual respect, tolerance, and learning. 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 research. 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 the achievement of our goals.

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 ACCESS regardless of their identity or background.

Introduction & Scope

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

This code of conduct applies to all spaces managed by ACCESS, including all public and private mailing lists, issue trackers, wikis, forums, code repositories, and any other communication channel used by our community. The code of conduct equally applies at ACCESS 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 ACCESS community.

We require all ACCESS sponsored and affiliated projects, activities, and events, to adopt a code of conduct that encourages a productive, respectful environment for all contributors and community members.

If a person is found to violate the ACCESS Code of Conduct, the steering committee may take any action they deem appropriate to resolve the situation, including warning the person in question, removing them from a specific activity, banning them from further participation in activities (in person or online), or expulsion from the ACCESS community.

Standards for Behavior

All communication should be appropriate for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds. Please always be kind and courteous. There is never a need to be mean, rude, or disrespectful. Thank you for helping make this a welcoming, friendly community for all.

We, the members of ACCESS, strive to:

  • Be empathetic, respectful, welcoming, friendly, and patient. We remember that every ACCESS event, 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. Effective and friendly collaboration enables everyone to better achieve their goals.
  • 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, the members of ACCESS, 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 or group
  • 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
  • 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 (see How to Submit a Report). Code of conduct violations reduce the value of the community for everyone. ACCESS members take reports of misconduct very seriously and are committed to preserving and maintaining the welcoming nature of our community.

All complaints will be reviewed and investigated and will result in a response that is deemed necessary and appropriate to the circumstances. All reports will be kept confidential, with the exception of cases where the Steering Committee determines the report should be shared with law enforcement. In those cases, the report will be shared with the proper legal authorities.

In some cases the ACCESS Leadership 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.

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 report the issue (see How to Submit a Report) or contact a ACCESS steering committee member for assistance.

Take care of each other. Alert the ACCESS steering committee 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, contact local law enforcement before making a report to ACCESS. (In the U.S., dial 911.)

ACCESS is committed to promptly addressing any reported issues. If you have experienced or witnessed behavior that violates the ACCESS Code of Conduct, please submit a ticket to ACCESS by using this online form.

License

This code of conduct has been adapted from the US-RSE Association and NumFocus code of conducts, which was itself 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.

The ACCESS Code of Conduct is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License