September 17-20, 2024

Code of Conduct

1. Purpose

WordCamp US believes our community should be truly open for everyone. As such, we are committed to providing a friendly, safe and welcoming environment for all, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, religion, age, caste, social class, preferred operating system, programming language, or text editor, among other identifying characteristics.

This code of conduct outlines our expectations for participant behavior as well as the consequences for unacceptable behavior.

We invite all sponsors, volunteers, speakers, attendees, and other participants to help us realize a safe and positive conference experience for everyone.

2. Expected Behavior

  • Be considerate, respectful, and collaborative.
  • Refrain from demeaning, discriminatory or harassing behavior and speech.
  • Be mindful of your surroundings and of your fellow participants. Alert conference organizers if you notice a dangerous situation or someone in distress.
  • Participate in an authentic and active way. In doing so, you help to create WordCamp US and make it your own.

3. Unacceptable Behavior

Unacceptable behaviors include: intimidating, harassing, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory or demeaning conduct by any attendees of WordCamp US and related events. All WordCamp US venues may be shared with members of the public; please be respectful to all patrons of these locations.

Harassment includes: offensive verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, disability; inappropriate use of nudity and/or sexual images in public spaces (including presentation slides); deliberate intimidation, stalking or following; harassing photography or recording; sustained disruption of talks or other events; inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.

4. Consequences Of Unacceptable Behavior

Unacceptable behavior will not be tolerated whether by other attendees, organizers, venue staff, sponsors, or other patrons of WordCamp US venues.

Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately.

If a participant engages in unacceptable behavior, the conference organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, up to and including expulsion from the conference without warning or refund.

5. What To Do If You Witness Or Are Subject To Unacceptable Behavior

If you are subject to unacceptable behavior, notice that someone else is being subject to unacceptable behavior, or have any other concerns, please notify a conference organizer as soon as possible.

The WordCamp US team will be available to help participants contact venue security or local law enforcement, to provide escorts, or to otherwise assist those experiencing unacceptable behavior to feel safe for the duration of the conference. Volunteers will be wearing clearly demarcated shirts. Any volunteer can connect you with a conference organizer. You can also come to the registration desk and ask for the organizers.

6. Scope

We expect all conference participants (sponsors, volunteers, speakers, attendees, and other guests) to abide by this code of conduct at all conference venues and conference-related social events.

7. Contact Information

You can reach the WordCamp US organizing team by emailing us@wordcamp.org, and you can reach the WordCamp US Lead Organizers by emailing USLeads@wordcamp.org. You can reach the WordPress Incident Response Team by emailing reports@wordpress.org.

8. License And Attribution

This Code of Conduct is a direct swipe from the awesome work of Open Source Bridge, but with our event information substituted. The original is available at Open Source Bridge 2018 [archived] and is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license.

Statement about Socials or Supplemental Events (where applicable)

Social and supplemental events are intended to provide networking and additional educational opportunities, as well as an opportunity to unwind after a full WordCamp. They should also be places where attendees can feel safe and secure.

We want you to enjoy yourself at these events, and we want you to do so safely. If you experience a Code of Conduct violation, see a violation, are concerned about the well-being, safety or behavior of another attendee, or have a general question (we understand that violations are not always obvious!) contact us immediately by notifying a WordCamp organizer or emailing reports@wordpress.org. For in-person events, if you need help or are unable to comfortably or safely remove yourself from a situation you do not want to be in, organizers will prioritize assisting you immediately and discretely. Some examples are: not feeling well; your transportation arrangements fall through; you are intoxicated, you are alone or with someone you do not trust, you are overwhelmed, you have experienced or witnessed a Code of Conduct violation. Please ask any nearby event volunteer or organizer to help you.