Code Of Conduct

The COKI Code Of Conduct

The Curtin Open Knowledge Initiative (COKI) is dedicated to providing a welcoming and supportive environment for all people, regardless of background or identity. By participating in the activities of the COKI community, participants accept to abide by The COKI Code of Conduct and accept the procedures by which any Code of Conduct incidents are resolved. Any form of behaviour to exclude, intimidate, or cause discomfort is a violation of the Code of Conduct. In order to foster a positive and professional environment we encourage the following kinds of behaviours in all platforms and events:

Use welcoming and inclusive language
Be respectful of different viewpoints and experiences
Gracefully accept constructive criticism
Focus on what is best for the community
Show courtesy and respect towards other community members

If you believe someone is violating the Code of Conduct, we ask that you please report it to [email protected], who will take the appropriate action to address the situation.

Code of Conduct (Detailed View)

Part 1. Introduction

The Curtin Open Knowledge Initiative’s (COKI) goal is to “change the stories that universities tell about themselves, and to put open knowledge at the heart of that narrative”. We believe the future role of the university is as an Open Knowledge Institution, a platform for supporting groups to come together and create and apply knowledge. Knowledge-making for, and with society, requires us to rethink the boundaries of our institutions and to create systems that support effective communication, diversity and coordination amongst groups.

COKI is a strategic initiative of the Research Office at Curtin, the Faculty of Humanities, School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry and the Curtin Institute for Data Science, with additional support from the Mellon Foundation and Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin.

The COKI project team collaborates with national and international partners to create fresh insights into Open Knowledge practices around the world. The COKI project team develops digital tools and infrastructure, leads community engagements, authors publications, reports and blog posts, presents at conferences and webinars, and teaches workshops.

We value the involvement of everyone who participates in the COKI community. We are committed to creating a friendly and respectful place for discussion and contribution. All participants in our events, platforms and communications are expected to show respect and courtesy to others.

To make clear what is expected, everyone participating in COKI activities is required to conform to the Code of Conduct. This Code of Conduct applies to all spaces managed by COKI including, but not limited to, workshops and webinars, email lists, and online forums such as GitHub, Slack and Twitter.

If you believe someone is violating the Code of Conduct, we ask that you please report it by emailing [email protected].

Part 2. The COKI Code of Conduct

COKI is dedicated to providing a welcoming and supportive environment for all people, regardless of background or identity. As such, we do not tolerate behaviour that is disrespectful to our community or that excludes, intimidates, or causes discomfort to others. We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on characteristics that include, but are not limited to, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, citizenship, nationality, ethnic or social origin, pregnancy, familial status, veteran status, genetic information, religion or belief (or lack thereof), membership of a national minority, property, age, education, socio-economic status, technical choices, and experience level.

Everyone who participates in COKI activities is required to conform to this Code of Conduct. It applies to all spaces managed by COKI including, but not limited to, workshops and webinars, email lists, and online forums such as GitHub, Slack and Twitter.

COKI project team members are expected to assist with the enforcement of the Code of Conduct. By participating, participants indicate their acceptance of the procedures by which the COKI project team resolves any Code of Conduct incidents, which may include storage and processing of their supplied personal information such as names and email addresses.

Part 2.1 Expected behaviour

All participants who engage with COKI’s events, platforms and communications are expected to show respect and courtesy to others. All interactions should be professional regardless of the platform: either online, in-writing, or in-person. In order to foster a positive and professional community we encourage the following kinds of behaviours in all COKI events and platforms:

Use welcoming and inclusive language
Be respectful of different viewpoints and experiences
Gracefully accept constructive criticism
Focus on what is best for the community
Show courtesy and respect towards other community members

Note: See the four social rules for further recommendations.

Part 2.2 Unacceptable behaviour

Examples of unacceptable behaviour by participants at any COKI event or platform include:

Written or verbal comments which have the effect of excluding people on the basis of membership of any specific group
Causing someone to fear for their safety, such as through stalking, following, or intimidation
Violent threats or language directed against another person
The display of sexual or violent images
Unwelcome sexual attention
Nonconsensual or unwelcome physical contact
Sustained disruption of talks, events or communications
Insults or put downs
Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, or exclusionary language or jokes
Excessive swearing
Incitement to violence, suicide, or self-harm
Continuing to initiate interaction (including photography or recording) with someone after being asked to stop
Publication of private communication without consent

Part 2.3 Consequences of Unacceptable behaviour

Participants who are asked to stop any inappropriate behaviour are expected to comply immediately. This applies to any COKI events and platforms, either online, or in-writing, or in-person. If a participant engages in behaviour that violates this Code of Conduct, members of the COKI project team may warn the offender, ask them to leave the event or platform, or remove them from the platform. The COKI project team has the right and responsibility to remove, edit, or reject comments, commits, code, issues, and other contributions that are not aligned to this Code of Conduct.

Part 3. Reporting Guidelines

If you believe someone is violating the Code of Conduct, we ask that you please report it by emailing [email protected]. This email address is monitored by Lucy Montgomery, Kathryn Napier and Cameron Neylon. If you wish to report an issue that involves one of these COKI team members, please use one of the following contacts to email another individual directly:

Lucy Montgomery, [email protected]
Cameron Neylon, [email protected]
Kathryn Napier, [email protected]

All reports will be kept confidential. In your email report please include:

Your contact information such as name and email address. You may keep the report anonymous, but will not receive any follow-up information.
Names or usernames of any individuals involved. If there were other witnesses besides you, please try to include them as well.
When and where the incident occurred. Please be as specific as possible.
Your account of what occurred. If there is a publicly available record (e.g. a GitHub issue or comment) please include a link.
Any extra context you believe existed for the incident.
If you believe this incident is ongoing.
Any other information you believe we should have.

About this Document

This document is adapted from guidelines written by both The Carpentries and the Django Project. The Carpentries Code of Conduct is itself based on guidelines written by the Django Project which was based on the Ada Initiative template and the PyCon 2013 Procedure for Handling Harassment Incidents.