In order to foster and maintain a safe and welcoming environment, attendees, staff, associates, and online members are expected to adhere to the following code of conduct.
- Be kind and courteous. It is the responsibility of every member of ASC to foster a welcoming environment. Let’s treat everyone with respect.
- No hate speech or bullying. Make sure everyone feels safe. Bullying of any kind isn’t allowed, and degrading comments about race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender, identity, or any other status, will not be tolerated.
- Respect everyone’s privacy. Being part of this community requires mutual trust. Authentic, expressive discussions make our environment unique, but may also be sensitive and private. What’s shared in the group should stay in the group, and requesting contact information or sending unsolicited private messages to community members is prohibited.
- No self-promotion or spam. Give more than you take in this community. Self-promotion, spam and irrelevant links aren’t allowed. While we want to celebrate new releases and milestones, this is not the place to promote your books or services. If someone asks for a recommendation, and you meet the criteria, that is not considered self-promotion.
- No one under 18 may join. Given this group is strictly 18+, please do not post any photos of children or minors in any channel.
- De-escalate conflict. Members are expected to exceed civility and respect by disengaging from conflict rather than escalating it. (It is appropriate to draw and enforce a boundary. It is not appropriate to retaliate.)
If you witness behavior that goes against our code of conduct, please help keep the community welcoming for everyone and report the behavior to a Community Moderator via the reporting button in Discord or the reporting process described below.
Collect the appropriate documentation and DM a report to a member of the organizing team via safeguarding@authorsustainability.com. Take note of the participant in question’s username, the time, and the venue where the misconduct occurred (DM, text, email, discord server, workshop, etc.)
If the infraction takes place via direct message or text, take screen shots of the offending messages (be sure time and date stamps are enabled). You may crop images to avoid revealing personal data or other areas of your screen not related to the conversation if needed, but do not alter the conversation’s content.
If harassment happens through email, forward emails upon request.
Moderators do our best to be available and moderate situations in real time, but if we don’t know something is happening, we cannot fix it.
Flagrant violations of the code of conduct will result in immediate removal from the ASC, as well as in-person conferences when applicable. Multiple minor violations will be treated as a flagrant violation. When applicable, should an individual behave in a way that is threatening, unsafe, or considered criminal activity, legal recourse will be pursued. ASC associates reserve the right to remove a member for reasons not explicitly stated in the code of conduct.
In addition to our online and community codes of conduct, the following safeguards will be put into place for in-person events:
- Safety and comfort expectations will be clear and unambiguous.
- Policies and procedures will be clearly defined, communicated and prominently displayed.
- Safe Space Advocates will be made available at conferences. These will be trained, vetted individuals who are clearly identified. Their role is to guide people to reporting mechanisms, to listen, and to refer people to the places that can help them.
- Conference sign-ups will include an attendee agreement to policy and behavior standards.
- Reporting mechanisms for in person events will be put in place and easily accessed.