Code of Conduct

This code of conduct was developed for the Bioconductor conferences. For more details, see the Bioconductor Code of Conduct.

To read the latest Code of Conduct in other languages, see the multilingual Project-wide Code of Conduct statement for Bioconductor.

Social media policy

Images and content from talks, workshops, and posters may be shared publicly through social media (e.g., Mastodon). Videos will be released on the Youtube Bioconductor channel. Please, inform the organizing committee as soon as possible if you don’t wish your presentation material to be shared.

The Bioconductor conference aims to provide a supportive, collegial, and harassment-free environment

The Bioconductor community values an open approach to science that promotes

  • sharing of ideas, code, software and expertise
  • collaboration
  • diversity and inclusivity
  • a kind and welcoming environment
  • community contributions

In line with these values, Bioconductor is dedicated to providing a welcoming, supportive, collegial experience free of harassment, intimidation, and bullying regardless of:

  • identity: gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, ethnicity, body size, race, age, religion, language, etc.
  • intellectual position: approaches to data analysis, software preferences, coding style, scientific perspective, stage of career, etc.

By participating in this community, you agree not to engage in behavior contrary to these values at any Bioconductor-sponsored event (in person or virtual, including but not limited to talks, workshops, poster sessions, social activities), electronic communication channels (including but not limited to community-bioc Slack, the support site, online forums, package review site, and social media communications), or packages (including commits). Furthermore, we require all participants to have identifiable accounts in Bioconductor online forums. Accounts that do not adhere to this after request to de-anonymise may be deleted.

We do not tolerate harassment, intimidation, or bullying of community members. Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate in presentations, communications or in online venues, including chats.

Any person/s violating the Code of Conduct may be sanctioned or expelled temporarily or permanently from an electronic platform or event at the discretion of the Code of Conduct committee.

Examples of unacceptable harassment, intimidation, and bullying behavior

Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

  • Making comments in chats, to an audience or personally, that belittle or demean another person
  • Sharing sexual images online
  • Harassing photography or recording
  • Sustained disruption of talks or other events
  • Unwelcome sexual attention
  • Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior

Intimidation and bullying include, but are not limited to:

  • Aggressive or browbeating behavior
  • Mocking or insulting another person’s intellect, work, perspective, or question/comment
  • Making reference to someone’s gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religion, or other personal attributes in the context of a scientific discussion
  • Deliberately making someone feel unwelcome
  • Trolling behaviour (deliberately inflammatory or offensive messages)
  • Sustained off-topic posts

Enforcement

Anyone asked to stop harassing or intimidating behavior are expected to comply immediately.

If a person contravene the Code of Conduct, the Code of Conduct committee retains the right to take any action that ensures a welcoming environment for all community members. This includes warning the alleged offender or temporary/permanent expulsion from the event and/or electronic platforms under Bioconductor’s control.

The Code of Conduct committee may take action to redress anything designed to, or with the clear impact of, disrupting an event or electronic communication platform or making the environment hostile for any community member.

We expect everyone in the Bioconductor community to comply with the Code of Conduct when participating in Bioconductor events and online communication platforms.

Reporting

If someone makes you or anyone else feel unsafe or unwelcome, please report it as soon as possible. You can make a report either anonymously or personally. All reports will be reviewed by the Code of Conduct Committee and will be kept confidential.

Electronically

You can make an anonymous or non-anonymous report via the following link: https://forms.gle/gEWHBWnXvZbEdFsq5. It is a free-form text box that will be forwarded to the Code of Conduct Committee. Alternatively you can email the Code of Conduct Committee (code-of-conduct@bioconductor.org). If you are uncomfortable reporting to the Code of Conduct committee as a group, you can contact any individual committee member via email or a direct message on the community-bioc Slack channel. Please include screenshots/copies of all relevant electronic conversations whenever possible (you don’t need to compromise your anonymity!).

We can’t follow up an anonymous report with you directly, but we will fully investigate it and take whatever action is necessary to prevent a recurrence.

Personal Report (for any Bioconductor events: in-person or virtual)

You can make a personal report to any member of the event Code of Conduct committee present at an event.

When taking a personal report, we will ensure you are safe and cannot be overheard. We may involve other event staff to ensure your report is managed properly. Once safe, we’ll ask you to tell us about what happened. This can be upsetting, but we’ll handle it as respectfully as possible, and you can bring someone to support you. You won’t be asked to confront anyone, and we won’t tell anyone who you are.

Our team will be happy to help you get the relevant support (e.g. help contacting hotel/venue security, local law enforcement, local support services, provide escorts, or otherwise assist you to feel safe for the duration of the event).

We value your attendance and participation at Bioconductor events and in our community.

Ombudsperson

We understand that you may want a person unrelated to Bioconductor overseeing your conflict resolution. To facilitate this, the Code of Conduct Committee will appoint an ombudsperson from a different open source community than members of the Bioconductor project. While they do not have power to establish, change or set aside decisions made by the Code of Conduct Committee, they can assist community members by offering consultation, mediation, coaching and referrals to other resources. The ombudsperson can be contacted directly via email (see below) to ensure a confidential, impartial, informal and independent process.

Incident procedure

The Code of Conduct Committee follows a standard procedure to deal with conflicts. This procedure is briefly summarized here. Incident procedures are based on the book “How to Respond to Code of Conduct Reports” by Valerie Aurora and Mary Gardiner.

Code of Conduct violation reports