1 of 16

Designing and enforcing a Code of Conduct

2 of 16

Design and build open projects that empower others to collaborate with a broad range of contributors.

openseeds

mentoring & training program

open seeds

mentoring & training program

openseeds

mentoring & training program

3 of 16

open seeds

mentoring & training program

Image by Wikimedia under CC-BY 4.0 License

Collaboration flourishes in communities with a shared culture.

open seeds

mentoring & training program

4 of 16

open seeds

mentoring & training program

Image by Wikimedia under CC-BY 4.0 License

A Code of Conduct is the compass that guides the community ensuring safety and respect for everyone.

Code of Conduct is commonly abbreviated as CoC

open seeds

mentoring & training program

5 of 16

The Bioconductor project

openseeds

mentoring & training program

Image by Allison Horst under CC-BY 4.0 License

Repository of R packages related to the analysis of current and emerging biological assays
>2230 software packages
>50,000 users world-wide
Global open source community
CoC committee established in 2020

open seeds

mentoring & training program

openseeds

mentoring & training program

6 of 16

Meet the Bioconductor Code of Conduct Committee

Yo Yehudi

Bérénice Batut

Emmy Tsang

Malvika Sharan

Michael Love

🇦🇺

🇩🇪

🇺🇸

🇪🇸

🇮🇹

🇨🇭

🇨🇳

🇬🇧

Gerry Tonkin-Hill

Laurent Gatto

Shixiang Wang

Frederico Marini

Kevin Rue-Albrecht

Sowmya Parthiban

Martín Davila

Frederica Gazeloni

Anna Quaglieri

Lluís Revilla

Saskia Freytag

open seeds

mentoring & training program

openseeds

mentoring & training program

7 of 16

open seeds

mentoring & training program

The purpose of a Code of Conduct and the Committee is to protect members of the community from harm.

open seeds

mentoring & training program

8 of 16

What to include in a Code of Conduct?

openseeds

mentoring & training program

How to Respond to Code of Conduct Reports, Valerie Aurora and Mary Gardiner

The CoC should only include the essentials; everything else will weaken it and result in more violations.

open seeds

mentoring & training program

openseeds

mentoring & training program

9 of 16

Reporting mechanisms

openseeds

mentoring & training program

Reporting mechanisms should allow for anonymous and person-to-person reports.

open seeds

mentoring & training program

openseeds

mentoring & training program

10 of 16

Educate your community on the Code of Conduct

openseeds

mentoring & training program

A Code of Conduct is more effective when members learn about it before they have a chance to violate it.

Image by Allison Horst under CC-BY 4.0 License

open seeds

mentoring & training program

openseeds

mentoring & training program

11 of 16

open seeds

mentoring & training program

A Code of Conduct can only be effective when violations have meaningful consequences.

Image by Allison Horst under CC-BY 4.0 License

open seeds

mentoring & training program

12 of 16

Know your community’s spaces

openseeds

mentoring & training program

Image by Allison Horst under CC-BY 4.0 License

A Code of Conduct can only be enforced within the community’s spaces.

open seeds

mentoring & training program

openseeds

mentoring & training program

13 of 16

Responding to a Code of Conduct Report

openseeds

mentoring & training program

How to Respond to Code of Conduct Reports, Valerie Aurora and Mary Gardiner

Report acknowledgement
Initial incident assessment
Following up with the reportee
CoC committee meeting to determine resolution
Appeals process

open seeds

mentoring & training program

openseeds

mentoring & training program

Once you know which spaces you consider to be part of your community, you will need to craft a plan on how to respond to reports of code of conduct violations. After optimizing for several years, we have now a 5 step plan on how to respond to reports. The first is to acknowledge the report and ensure the safety of the reporter. We aim to do this within 24 hours. We then assess the reported incidents and try to gather any evidence that we can find without revealing the identity of the reporter. After this initial assessment, we then follow up with the party that the report is about, referred to as the reportee. This gives the other side a chance to rely their side of the story. At this point, we call a meeting of the Code of Conduct Committee, where we determine a resolution. These resolutions range from doing nothing, issuing a warning, a temporary ban, or a permanent ban. There is also the option of an appeals process for the reportee.

14 of 16

Crafting resolutions

openseeds

mentoring & training program

A Code of Conduct is most effective when enforced proportionally.

Image by Allison Horst under CC-BY 4.0 License

open seeds

mentoring & training program

openseeds

mentoring & training program

15 of 16

Accountability to the community

openseeds

mentoring & training program

Image by Allison Horst under CC-BY 4.0 License

Consider the oversight of an Ombudsperson from an unconnected project
Consider publishing a transparency report with minimal details on incidents and resolutions

open seeds

mentoring & training program

openseeds

mentoring & training program

16 of 16

open seeds

mentoring & training program

Thank you!

open seeds

mentoring & training program