Our Open Scotland community strives to

• Be friendly and patient.
• Be welcoming: Open Scotland makes every effort to be a community that welcomes and supports people of all backgrounds and identities. This includes, but is not limited to members of any race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, colour, immigration status, social and economic class, educational level, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, size, family status, political belief, religion, and mental and physical ability.
• Be considerate: Remember that we are a diverse community.
• Be respectful: Not all of us will agree all the time, but disagreement is no excuse for poor behaviour and poor manners. We might all experience frustration on occasion, but we cannot allow that frustration to turn into a personal attack. It’s important to remember that a community where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one.
• Be careful in the words that you choose: we are a community of professionals, and we conduct ourselves professionally. Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other participants. Harassment and other exclusionary behaviour is not acceptable. This includes, but is not limited to:
  • Violent threats or language directed against another person.
  • Discriminatory jokes and language.
  • Posting sexually explicit or violent material.
  • Posting (or threatening to post) other people’s personally identifying information (“doxing”).
  • Personal insults, especially those using racist or sexist terms.
  • Unwelcome sexual attention.
  • Misgendering and deadnaming.
  • Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behaviour.
  • Repeated harassment of others. In general, if someone asks you to stop, then stop.
• When we disagree, try to understand why: Disagreements, both social, academic and technical, happen all the time. It is important that we resolve disagreements and differing views constructively. Remember that we’re different. The strength of any community comes from its diversity, people from a wide range of backgrounds. Different people have different perspectives on issues. Being unable to understand why someone holds a viewpoint doesn’t mean that they’re wrong. Don’t forget that it is human to err and blaming each other doesn’t get us anywhere. Instead, focus on helping to resolve issues and learning from mistakes.

This code is neither exhaustive nor complete. It serves to distill our common understanding of a collaborative, shared environment, and goals. We expect it to be followed in spirit as much as in the letter. It is particularly important that all Open Scotland curators respect this Code of Conduct.

The Open Scotland Code of Conduct is adapted with thanks from the PressEDConference and FemEdTech Codes of Conduct.