Code of Conduct
The New Zealand Open Source Society (NZOSS) exists to provide an inclusive, friendly, and diverse community of people from all backgrounds, regardless of who they are (including age, body size, race, gender, gender identity and expression, sexuality, disability) or what they think or believe (including religion/non-religion, political affiliation).
Our community is united in wanting to discuss and learn about Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), and the broader implications, opportunities, and obligations that come with the freedom to share.
NZOSS organises and sponsors a diverse range of online and physical community collaboration opportunities including an array of NZOSS mailing lists, various FOSS-related conferences, online chat venues, and local FOSS meetups.
We work on the premise that anyone who values our society and its commons has something worthwhile to contribute. Our only requirement is that their participation is inspired by a shared good will and respect for others, and the sincere desire to achieve mutual understanding.
We encourage deep, challenging, constructive discussion about issues and ideas. We do not tolerate intolerance.
The NZOSS community does not tolerate intimidation, harassment, or any abusive, discriminatory behaviour. The use of inappropriate, derogatory, or intimidating content/behavior in any of these spaces is unacceptable. We encourage community members to exert positive peer pressure whenever confronted by distrubing behaviour, but the NZOSS Council is the final arbiter of what constitutes acceptable behaviour.
Reporting concern
If you experience or witness disturbing behaviour within the community that contravenes our stated goals and intentions and do not feel comfortable contronting the party or parties yourself, we encourage you to contact any member of the NZOSS Council with whom you feel comfortable discussing the matter.
If you are concerned for your safety, please contact the NZ Police (dial 111 on any phone) before contacting us!
Once made aware of your concern, the NZOSS Council will proceed based on the following priorities:
- We will endeavour to minimise the adverse impact of the event or behaviour on you. This includes respecting and maintaining your wishes and your anonymity. We will deliberate quickly.
- We will endeavour to address the behaviour with alleged offender fairly and quickly, including legal action if warranted, and
- We will inform the community as to the situation and outcome (anonymised unless all parties request otherwise) in the interest of transparency and Council accountability.
Potential Remedies
The NZOSS Council may take any or all of the following measures as we deem appropriate:
- The alleged offender may be told to stop/modify their behaviour appropriately and a warning will be issued.
- The alleged offender may be asked to immediately leave the event, venue, or space.
- The alleged offender may be prohibited from attending any NZOSS-affiliated events for a defined period or indefinitely.
- If appropriate, the incident will be reported to the New Zealand Police.
NZOSS Council is aware of the responsibility required to ensure a successful and productive community now and in years to come, and will take appropriate measures after an incident occurs to prevent it from happening again.
About this Code of Conduct
The initial draft of this code of conduct was composed by Dave Lane inspired by/incorporating elements of the New Zealand Python User Group (NZPUG) Code of Conduct (which they generously made available under a CC-By license - their current version is available online) as well as draft codes composed by NZOSS community member Alex King and NZOSS treasurer Daniel Reurich.
If you feel this Code of Conduct can be improved, we encourage you to contact us with suggestions!
This Code of Conduct may be reused or adapted under the terms of 