Code of Conduct

Last reviewed: August 2023

All attendees of DevFest WI must agree to adhere to this code of conduct if they wish to participate in any associated events of the conference.

Summary

DevFest WI is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone. We do not tolerate harassment of participants in any form. This code of conduct applies to all DevFest WI spaces, both online and off. Anyone who violates this code of conduct will face consequences, up to and including expulsion from all DevFest WI spaces and identification of the participant as a harasser to other DevFest WI members or the general public.

It is important to note that the impact on the person being harassed overrides the intention of the person doing the harassing.

Harassment includes:

  • Offensive comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neuro(a)typicality, physical appearance, body size, age, race, arrest or conviction record, or religion.

  • Unwelcome comments regarding a person’s lifestyle choices and practices, including those related to food, health, parenting, drugs, and employment.

  • Deliberate misgendering.

  • Gratuitous or off-topic sexual images or behavior.

  • Physical contact without consent or after a request to stop.

  • Threats of violence.

  • Deliberate intimidation.

  • Sustained disruption of discussion.

  • Unwelcome sexual attention.

  • Continued one-on-one communication after requests to cease.

DevFest WI prioritizes marginalized people’s safety over privileged people’s comfort.

DevFest WI leadership reserves the right not to act on complaints regarding:

  • Reasonable communication of boundaries, such as, “Please leave me alone” or “I’m not discussing this with you.”

  • Criticizing oppressive behavior or assumptions, including racist, sexist, cissexist, ableist, etc.

If you experience a code of conduct violation, these are the next steps.

DevFest WI leadership reserves the right to take any action deemed appropriate against harassers, even if their actions are not technically illegal (according to Wisconsin law). 

If you yourself are being harassed by someone attending or involved with DevFest WI in any way, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, you have several options. If you feel comfortable doing so, say "no" to the harasser so the harasser knows their actions are unwelcome. If you would prefer DevFest WI take action to address the situation, please notify a DevFest WI organizer or volunteer, or contact us at gdgmadison@gmail.com. We will respond as promptly as we can.

If the person who is harassing you is on the team, they will be recused from handling your incident.

We will respect confidentiality requests for the purpose of protecting victims of abuse. At our discretion, we may publicly name a person about whom we’ve received harassment complaints, or privately warn third parties about them, if we believe that doing so will increase the safety of DevFest WI members or the general public. We will not name harassment victims without their affirmative consent.

Consequences

Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

If a participant engages in harassing behavior, DevFest WI organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, up to and including expulsion from all DevFest WI spaces and identification of the participant as a harasser to other DevFest WI members or the general public.