Code of Conduct
News Futures is committed to providing a welcoming and harassment-free environment for participants of all races, gender and trans statuses, sexual orientations, physical abilities, physical appearances, and beliefs. We’ve written this code of conduct not because we expect bad behavior from our community—which, in our experience, is overwhelmingly kind and civil—but because we believe a clear code of conduct is one necessary part of building a respectful community space.
News Futures is a “do-ocracy” with a consensus-oriented culture of collaboration. We actively seek and include diverse perspectives and marginalized experiences. When engaging in News Futures spaces, or with the News Futures community; News Futures contributors and stewards agree to:
Be considerate in speech and actions, and actively seek to acknowledge and respect the boundaries of fellow attendees.
Be accountable. Let News Futures community members know what you’re doing with organizational materials, time and resources.
Refrain from demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behavior and speech in physical and digital spaces.
Say what you need to say, or stand aside. Change is hard—try to find outcomes with broad agreement, but embrace a ‘bias toward action.’ If you disagree with a decision, start a conversation. Please don’t block organizational actions without engaging in an effort toward compromise. Offer advice when asked and always speak with people most impacted by an action you plan to take.
Take care of each other. Alert a News Future staff member if you notice a dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of this code of conduct, even if they seem inconsequential.
If you believe someone has violated this code of conduct, please email Community and Culture Steward Sierra Sangetti-Daniels at sierra@newsfutures.org. You can also email team@newsfutures.org, which will also be received by the Executive Steward and Working Group Steward. News Futures may take any lawful action we deem appropriate, including but not limited to warning the offender or revoking access to News Futures spaces. If you have any questions about this policy or its enforcement, contact the News Futures team.
This code of conduct covers the entirety of any News Futures space, including working groups, and any convening hosted by News Futures. We welcome your feedback on this and every other aspect of our network, and we thank you for working with us to make it a safe, enjoyable, and friendly experience for everyone who participates.
Above text is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Credit to SRCCON from which we’ve extensively borrowed and who, in their Code of Conduct, credits the Citizen Code of Conduct, the Django Project’s code of conduct and Theorizing the Web code of conduct, with general thanks to the Ada Initiative’s “how to design a code of conduct for your community.”