The US-RSE expects everyone who participates in the community will honor our Code of Conduct. This includes anyone participating in any US-RSE-related activities, anyone claiming affiliation with the US-RSE, and especially anyone representing the US-RSE Association in any role (including as a volunteer or speaker).
This log serves to inform the US-RSE community about all responses to Code of Conduct reports in a public, aggregated, and anonymized form. We believe that a community must be able to see that a Code of Conduct is enforced in order for it to be effective. Without a visible process, potential community members may not feel comfortable joining. A visible log can also help the community establish the social standards expressed in the Code of Conduct.
A public record allows the community to monitor the enforcement of the Code of Conduct and propose changes to the reporting and enforcement process if necessary. This log is updated once every six months.
The Code of Conduct committee was made aware of one conference participant who had a multi-faceted issue/concern with how welcoming and inclusive the event was upon entering. Upon follow-up, the committee determined that no code of conduct violations were made.
Updated as of Feb 9, 2024. Reports listed in reverse chronological order.
Note: we have chosen to not include dates going forward to maintain anonymity of all involved.
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Many incidents occurred at the US-RSE 2023 conference wherein people were not compliant with the masking policy. In all cases, they were asked to comply and they did so without issue.
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A speaker was referred to the Code of Conduct committee because they announced that they had stopped testing positive for COVID-19 several weeks ago but still had a persistent cough. After they were offered to present remotely, they answered that they were already at the conference venue. It was determined that they could present.
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A message was reported on the US-RSE Slack channel for having a harsh tone. It was determined that the exchange in question did not violate the Code of Conduct, but that further escalation of the user’s behavior would result in a warning message.
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A statement during a US-RSE Zoom call was reported as an example of gendered language. It was determined that this particular language was not a violation of the Code of Conduct as it was not derogatory or exclusionary, but that further communication and discussion should be had about gendered and other biased language in US-RSE spaces.
The [email protected] address received a report of a single individual's potential professional misconduct and academic dishonesty in violation of the Code of Conduct. A request from the Code of Conduct response group to the reported individual went unanswered. The subsequent CoC review and investigation concluded that the reported individual’s actions were unethical and unprofessional and therefore violated the Code of Conduct. The reported individual’s membership in US-RSE was suspended for 2 years during which time the individual may not participate in any US-RSE events or communication, in person, virtually, or asynchronously.
A member reported receiving an unusual unsolicited direct message in the US-RSE Slack workspace in September. The reporter did not reply and no action was taken. On November 7, 2022, the same member reported a second Slack direct message from the same user. This unsolicited message consisted of a 56s audio recording. After reviewing the content of the message, the SC determined in consultation with the reporter that no action was warranted at the time. The two incidents have been noted for context in case future incidents involving the reported individual occur.
The [email protected] address received two reports of potential code of conduct violations from two US-RSE members. The reports were in regard to a post and subsequent comments made in a public US-RSE Slack channel that were perceived to have a hostile and antagonistic tone in a context that devalued the efforts of other members of the US-RSE community. The CoC review concluded that the language was negatively impactful and inconsistent with the CoC goals of maintaining a “welcoming, friendly community for all”, regardless of intent. A subgroup of the Steering Committee examined the CoC complaint. The group decided that privately communicating the nature of the complaint to the reported person was the appropriate action. It was decided that no further action was necessary.
A message was sent to [email protected] to report an incident in a 1:1 interaction in a US-RSE Slack DM, with a request to keep the matter private. A response was sent to the reporter that the code of conduct review group could not determine a responsive action that would maintain confidentiality, but that a general reminder about the Code of Conduct would be posted to members on Slack and in the newsletter.
In the process of verifying membership via email in September/October 2020, the [email protected] account received threatening emails. This email address that sent the threatening emails was removed from all US-RSE lists and membership.