Code of conduct

Sheffield Content Club wants to be a friendly community where everyone should feel welcome and safe at meetups and events.

This code of conduct is to protect that atmosphere of inclusivity. It helps us all to understand the community’s shared values and provides clear guidelines on how we should behave.

All attendees, speakers, performers, patrons, and volunteers must agree with this code of conduct. We must all work together to make sure our events are a safe environment for everybody.

Summary

We want to make sure that all Sheffield Content Club events are a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion (or lack thereof).

We should all listen and communicate respectfully, regardless of appearance or background. We do not tolerate harassment in any form.

Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate for any venue, including talks, parties, Twitter, our Slack channel, and other online media.

Sheffield Content Club events are not for people to attend with the sole purpose of selling or recruiting.

Anyone who breaks this code of conduct may be sanctioned or expelled from events at the organisers’ discretion.

The details

No harassment

We do not tolerate harassment at any Sheffield Content Club event.

Harassment includes offensive verbal comments that relate to gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.

We also have a general policy that we do not tolerate disruptive behaviour including repeated interruption, inebriation (or similar intoxication), fighting and open aggression.

We expect anyone who we ask to stop any disruptive or inappropriate behaviour to do so immediately.

If someone being at an event becomes a problem, we will take appropriate action, which may include a warning or expulsion.

No selling or solicitation

Sheffield Content Club is not a platform for anyone to send spam or broadcasts, nor is it for solicitation or job recruiting. Anyone who attends a Sheffield Content Club event with the sole purpose of selling products or goods will not be tolerated.

Speakers who use their time to sell a particular product will also find their talk won’t be well received. It’s fine to mention that your company sells products, but talks should focus on its technical aspects. Encourage people to try it out – avoid solution selling.

No recruiting during events

We want job seekers to find employment and for our attendees to be successful, but there is a right way to communicate.

It is appropriate for a recruitment company to sponsor refreshments and do a quick pitch to a relevant audience of potential candidates. The pitch should be short and ask anyone interested to speak to a representative after all talks at the event have ended.

Report a concern

If you are being harassed or feel uncomfortable, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please speak to the event organiser immediately.

If you are not able to to do this or you feel that your concern is not being taken seriously then please contact the organisers of Sheffield Content Club using the email address: team@sheffieldcontent.club

The Sheffield Content Club team is here to listen to your concerns or questions and you don’t have to make a formal report unless you want to. You do not have to give us details of the harassment.

If you wish to report it, we will take details of the harassment and work with you to respond to the issue in a way that helps you feel safe.

If necessary, the event organisers will help participants contact police or venue security, provide escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the event.

When this code of conduct applies

We expect participants to follow this code of conduct at all our events, partner events, related social events, such as post-event drinks, networking discussions, meetups and workshops. Event sponsors must also follow this anti-harassment policy, which includes not using sexualised images, activities, or other material.

Exceptions

Any discussion or images that relate to sex, pornography, discriminatory language, or similar must meet the following criteria.

1. The organisers must specifically grant permission in writing.
2. It must be necessary to the topic of discussion and no alternative exists.
3. It must be presented in a respectful manner.
4. Attendees must be warned in advance and respectfully given plenty of warning and the opportunity to leave beforehand.
5. This exception specifically does not allow the use of gratuitous sexual images as a device to grab attention or for unnecessary examples.

Thank you

This document is adapted from the community meetup code of conduct provided by Sheffield Digital, which itself was based on the work of JSConf, Geek Feminism, confcodeofconduct.com, and inspired by resources provided by Ashe Dryden.

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

This is version 1 of the Sheffield Content Club code of conduct for our in-person community meetups. It was last updated by Iain Broome on 12 December 2022.