FanWorks Code of Conduct

Effective date: 18th October 2020

FanWorks is committed to the work of making an inclusive and accessible con space. We understand that no con space can be truly inclusive or accessible while tolerating harassment, bullying, or other harmful behaviors. For this reason, we require all attendees to agree to abide by a code of conduct when in con spaces:

1. Attendees must be identifiable to staff and fellow attendees at all times. Your username in virtual con spaces should match your registration. Misrepresenting your identity and/or impersonating fellow attendees or other individuals is strictly prohibited.
2. Attendees are required to behave respectfully toward one another throughout the con. This includes, but is not limited to, addressing people by their provided names and pronouns; respecting any socialization preferences, boundaries, and triggers communicated to you; and at all times remembering that behind every pseudonym or username is a person with feelings, needs, and perspectives that may vary from your own.
3. All con attendees and staff share in the responsibility of making con spaces welcoming and inclusive. Our behavior toward one another is a central piece of what makes a space safe or unsafe, particularly for attendees with marginalized identities. Deliberately harmful behavior - threats, intimidation, stalking, bullying, or any act done with ill intent - is prohibited, but we also expect attendees to work to avoid unintentionally harmful behaviors. Individual remarks or patterns of behavior that are biased against specific attendees or specific identities, sustained unwelcome attention, and microaggressions can be just as harmful as intentionally malicious behavior, and will be treated like any other code of conduct violation, with consequences depending on the severity of the incident.
4. Attendees must be conscientious of others when participating in shared spaces. Be aware of how much space you take up in the room; if yours is the most frequent voice in conversation, it may be time to give the floor to someone who hasn't had a chance to speak yet. When you are in chat rooms and panel discussions, remember that there is a line between disagreement and hostility; differences of opinion are okay, but harmful behaviors are not.
   If a space is not for you - such as a chat room centered on a specific identity you do not share - refrain from entering or interacting in that space.
   Intentionally disrupting or derailing any panel, event, or con space is prohibited.
5. Attendees must refrain from recording, screenshotting, or otherwise reproducing the likeness and remarks of other attendees without their permission, or recording/copying con chats or other con spaces. Paraphrased con reports are fine; posting chat transcripts is not. Always ask before attributing a quote in a con report, on social media, or in any other forum, and never post pictures of other attendees without their permission.

Reporting Harmful Behavior

Code of conduct violations prior to the virtual con can be reported by emailing safety@fanworkscon.com. A form for reporting violations will go up shortly before the con, and will remain available after. During the con weekend, members of the safety team can also be contacted on Discord.

Anyone is allowed to make a report at any time throughout the year, regardless of membership status.

Reports must be made in good faith. Any bad faith reports made with intent to use the code of conduct to harass, silence, or otherwise harm individuals will be treated as code of conduct violations.

How Reports Are Acted Upon

The safety team will look into all reports. The full details of reports and the identities of individuals who have made reports will be kept confidential, viewable only by the head of the safety team and the con chair. Non-identifying details will be shared with other members of the safety team (and other members of con staff, if needed) as necessary so that appropriate measures can be taken to ensure the safety of con attendees.

Depending on the severity of the incident, repeated offenses, and other factors, the safety team may choose to issue a warning to the individual(s) in question, to terminate their membership for the current con and remove them from con spaces, or to issue a permanent ban on con membership and participation.

In situations where immediate action is required as events are unfolding, the con staff member(s) first notified and/or first to respond to the situation are permitted to immediately eject individuals from con spaces for the safety of all involved. In these cases, the safety team will follow up afterward to make determinations as to whether to allow individuals back into con spaces or to institute temporary or permanent bans.

Preemptive Bans on Membership

As a relatively new con with a short history, we are especially aware that membership ban policies relying solely on actions taken in FanWorks spaces or on FanWorks platforms could work to protect and harbor individuals with existing records of behavior at other cons or in other offline and online spaces. We can and will preemptively ban individuals when appropriate. These decisions will be based on behavior in violation of the code of conduct, even when that behavior did not take place in FanWorks spaces. We are committed to taking proactive steps to increase attendee safety.

Refusal of Service

Refusal of service also applies to cancellation of existing memberships. We reserve the right to cancel the con registration and/or terminate the website account of any attendee for violation of the code of conduct or any other con policy. Anyone using any of our services who is in violation of con policies may be banned from con spaces and platforms either temporarily or permanently.