Inclusive Design Un-Guide Community Participation

Version 1.0 — Updated October 23, 2020

Ask questions and contribute!

Everyone is encouraged to ask questions about these guidelines, using our anonymous web form. We also invite you to comment on the guidelines themselves! The Google Doc will retain the comments and change history, and comments will periodically be added to this webpage.

<Editor’s note: Why don’t we structure the guide as a continuous provocation: can we make this doc open and editable? The edits make the thinking visible. (Perhaps we can keep the edits in the version history and graduate them within a particular period of time. We can also publish a “diff” doc that updates major changes from version to version. /Editor’s note>

The heart of the Inclusive Design Un-Guide is people. We (the current Un-Guide caretakers Jess Mitchell, Sarah Lohnes Watulak, Charles Logan, Jenni Hayman, Hannah Davidson, Sarah Payne, and Noraya Razzaque) put people first and do our best to recognize, appreciate and respect the diversity of our global contributors. The Inclusive Design Un-Guide welcomes contributions from everyone who wishes to engage in a productive conversation around the many facets of inclusive design; and anyone who wants to contribute in a healthy and constructive manner within the community. As such, we have adopted this code of conduct and require all those who participate to agree and adhere to these Community Participation Guidelines in order to help create a space to respectfully engage with each other to listen, learn and grow..

These guidelines aim to support a community where all people can participate, introduce new ideas and inspire others, regardless of:

Background
Family status
Gender
Gender identity or expression
Marital status
Sex
Sexual orientation
Native language
Accent
Age
Ability
Race and/or ethnicity
Caste
National origin
Socioeconomic status
Religion
Geographic location
Any other dimension of diversity

Openness, collaboration and participation are core aspects of this community. We gain strength from diversity and actively seek participation from those who enhance it. These guidelines exist to enable diverse individuals and groups to interact and collaborate to mutual advantage.

When and How to Use These Guidelines

These guidelines outline our behavior expectations as members of the Inclusive Design Un-Guide community in all Inclusive Design Un-Guide activities, both offline and online. Participation is contingent upon following these guidelines in all Inclusive Design Un-Guide activities, including but not limited to:

Working in Inclusive Design Un-Guide spaces.
Working with other members and other Inclusive Design Un-Guide community participants virtually or co-located.
Representing the Inclusive Design Un-Guide at public events.
Representing the Inclusive Design Un-Guide in social media (official accounts, staff accounts, personal accounts).
Participating in the Inclusive Design Un-Guide offsites and trainings.
Participating in the Inclusive Design Un-Guide-related forums, mailing lists, wikis, websites, chat channels, bugs, group or person-to-person meetings, and the Inclusive Design Un-Guide-related correspondence.

While these guidelines / code of conduct are specifically aimed at the Inclusive Design Un-Guide’s work and community, we recognize that it is possible for actions taken outside of the Inclusive Design Un-Guide’s online or in person spaces to have a deep impact on community health. This is an active topic in the diversity and inclusion realm. We anticipate wide-ranging discussions among our communities about appropriate boundaries.

Expected Behavior

The following behaviors are expected of all Un-Guide Community members :

Be Respectful

“We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.” – James Baldwin

Value each other’s ideas, styles and viewpoints. We may not always agree, but disagreement is no excuse for poor manners. Be open to different possibilities and to being wrong. Be respectful in all interactions and communications. Be aware of your impact and how intense interactions may be affecting people. Take responsibility for your impact and your mistakes – if someone says they have been harmed through your words or actions, listen carefully, apologize sincerely, and correct the behavior going forward.

Be Direct but Professional

We are likely to have some discussions about if and when criticism is respectful and when it’s not. We must be able to speak directly when we disagree and when we think we need to improve. We cannot withhold hard truths. Doing so respectfully is hard, doing so when others don’t seem to be listening is harder, and hearing such comments when one is the recipient can be even harder still. We need to be honest and direct, as well as respectful.

Be Inclusive

Seek diverse perspectives. Diversity of views and of people powers innovation, even if it is not always comfortable. Encourage all voices. Help new perspectives be heard and listen actively. If you find yourself dominating a discussion, it is especially important to step back and encourage other voices to join in. Be aware of how much time is taken up by dominant members of the group. Provide alternative ways to contribute or participate when possible.

Be inclusive of everyone in an interaction, respecting and facilitating people’s participation whether they are:

Remote (on video or phone)
Multi-lingual speakers
Coming from a different culture
Using pronouns other than “he” or “she”
Living in a different time zone
Facing other challenges to participate

Think about how you might facilitate alternative ways to contribute or participate. If you find yourself dominating a discussion, step back. Make way for other voices and listen actively to them.

Understand Different Perspectives

Our goal should not be to “win” every disagreement or argument. A more productive goal is to be open to ideas we hadn’t considered. Strive to be an example for inclusive thinking. “Winning” is when different perspectives make our interactions richer and stronger.

Appreciate and Accommodate Our Similarities and Differences

Community members come from many cultures and backgrounds. Cultural differences can encompass everything from official religious observances to personal habits to clothing. Be respectful of people with different cultural practices, attitudes and beliefs. Work to eliminate your own biases, prejudices and discriminatory practices. Think of others’ needs from their point of view. Use preferred titles (including pronouns) and the appropriate tone of voice. Respect people’s right to privacy and confidentiality. Be open to learning from and educating others as well as educating yourself; it is unrealistic to expect community members to know the cultural practices of every ethnic and cultural group, but everyone needs to recognize one’s familiar culture is only part of positive interactions.

Behavior That Will Not Be Tolerated

The following behaviors are considered to be unacceptable under these guidelines.

Violence and Threats of Violence

Violence and threats of violence are not acceptable – online or offline. This includes incitement of violence toward any individual, including encouraging a person to commit self-harm. This also includes posting or threatening to post other people’s personally identifying information (“doxxing”) online.

Personal Attacks

Conflicts will inevitably arise, but frustration should never turn into a personal attack. It is not okay to insult, demean or belittle others. Attacking someone for their opinions, beliefs and ideas is not acceptable. It is important to speak directly when we disagree and when we think we need to improve, but such discussions must be conducted respectfully and professionally, remaining focused on the issue at hand.

Derogatory Language

Hurtful or harmful language related to:

Background
Family status
Gender
Gender identity or expression
Marital status
Sex
Sexual orientation
Native language
Accent
Age
Ability
Race and/or ethnicity
Caste
National origin
Socioeconomic status
Religion
Geographic location
Other attributes

is not acceptable. This includes deliberately referring to someone by a gender that they do not identify with, and/or questioning the legitimacy of an individual’s gender identity. If you’re unsure if a word is derogatory, don’t use it. This also includes repeated subtle and/or indirect discrimination; when asked to stop, stop the behavior in question.

Unwelcome Sexual Attention or Physical Contact

Unwelcome sexual attention or unwelcome physical contact is not acceptable. This includes sexualized comments, jokes or imagery in interactions, communications or presentation materials, as well as inappropriate touching, groping, or sexual advances. This includes sharing or distribution of sexualized images or text.

Disruptive Behavior

Sustained disruption of events, forums, or meetings, including talks and presentations, will not be tolerated. This includes:

Shutting down others’ ideas.
Otherwise influencing crowd actions that cause hostility in the session.

Influencing Unacceptable Behavior

We will treat influencing or leading such activities the same way we treat the activities themselves, and thus the same consequences apply.

Consequences of Unacceptable Behavior

Bad behavior, including those with decision-making authority, will not be tolerated. Intentional efforts to exclude people (except as part of a consequence of the guidelines or other official action) from Inclusive Design Un-Guide activities are not acceptable and will be dealt with appropriately.

Reports of harassment/discrimination will be promptly and thoroughly investigated by the people responsible for the safety of the space, event or activity. Appropriate measures will be taken to address the situation.

Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately. Violation of these guidelines can result in you being asked to leave an event or online space, either temporarily or for the duration of the event, or being banned from participation in spaces, or future events and activities in perpetuity.

Inclusive Design Un-Guide staff are held accountable, in addition to these guidelines, to Inclusive Design Un-Guide’s staff Anti-Harassment/Discrimination Policies [1]. Inclusive Design Un-Guide’s staff in violation of these guidelines may be subject to further consequences, such as disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. For contractors or vendors, violation of these guidelines may affect continuation or renewal of contract.

In addition, any participants who abuse the reporting process will be considered to be in violation of these guidelines and subject to the same consequences. False reporting, especially to retaliate or exclude, will not be accepted or tolerated.

Reporting

If you believe you’re experiencing unacceptable behavior that will not be tolerated as outlined above, please use this anonymous web form to report. The form responses will be read by one or more the current Un-Guide caretakers, and no one else: Jess Mitchell, Sarah Lohnes Watulak, Charles Logan, Jenni Hayman, Hannah Davidson, and Noraya Razzaque.

License and attribution

<Editor’s note: Let’s remix the Mozilla guide! It’s licensed under CC-SA. (Thanks to Charles for the idea!)” We consider this document to be living, editable, and open. As such, we welcome feedback on it, debate about it, discussion throughout it. “Inclusion” isn’t easy; we want everyone to feel respected and seen in this guide. With great appreciation to our colleagues at Mozilla, we present our remix of their Community Participation Guide.</Editor’s note:>

This set of guidelines is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license.

These guidelines have been adapted with modifications from Mozilla’s original Community Participation Guidelines, the Ubuntu Code of Conduct, Mozilla’s View Source Conference Code of Conduct, and the Rust Language Code of Conduct, which are based on Stumptown Syndicate’s Citizen Code of Conduct. Additional text from the LGBTQ in Technology Code of Conduct and the WisCon code of conduct.