Safety and Well-Being Policy

Purpose

A primary goal of Retro-Freedom Chat is to be inclusive to the largest number of participants, with the most varied and diverse backgrounds possible. As such, we are committed to providing a friendly, safe and welcoming environment for all, regardless of gender, sexual and romantic orientation, ability, ethnicity, socio-economic status, or religion (or lack thereof).

This Safety and Well-Being Policy outlines our expectations for all those who participate in our community, as well as the consequences for unacceptable behaviour.

We invite all those who participate in Retro-Freedom Chat to help us create safe and positive experiences for everyone.

Expected behaviour

The following behaviours are expected and requested of all community members.

• Participate in an authentic and active way. In doing so, you contribute to the health and longevity of this community.
• Exercise consideration and respect in your speech and actions.
• Attempt collaboration before conflict.
• Refrain from demeaning, discriminatory and harassing behaviour and speech.
• Be mindful of your surroundings and your fellow participants. Alert community leaders if you notice a dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of this Safety and Well-Being Policy, even if they seem inconsequential.

Unacceptable behaviour

The following behaviours are considered harassment and are unacceptable within our community.

• Violence, threats of violence or violent language directed against another person. Misgendering, especially when deliberate, is a form of violent language and will not be tolerated.
• Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist or otherwise discriminatory jokes and language.
• Posting or displaying sexually explicit or violent material.
• Posting or threatening to post other people's personally identifying information ("doxing").
• Personal insults, particularly those related to gender, sexual or romantic orientation, ethnicity, religion or disability.
• Inappropriate photography or recording. Note that photography or recording without prior consent is always inappropriate.
• Inappropriate physical contact. You must have someone's consent before touching them.
• Unwelcome sexual attention. This includes, but is not limited to: sexualized comments or jokes, inappropriate touching, groping and unwelcome sexual advances. If you do not have someone's prior consent, then any kind of sexual attention is unwelcome.
• Deliberate intimidation or stalking (online or in person).
• Advocating for, or encouraging, or assisting in any of the above behaviour.
• Sustained disruption of community spaces or events.

Consequences of unacceptable behaviour

Unacceptable behaviour from any community member, including anyone with decision-making authority, will not be tolerated. Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behaviour is expected to comply immediately.

If a community member engages in unacceptable behaviour, the administrators may take any action they deem appropriate. These include, but are not limited to:

• A verbal warning (either in private or in public).
• A temporary ban of any length with right of appeal.
• A temporary ban of any length without right of appeal, by unanimous consent of the administrators.
• A permanent ban with right of appeal.
• A permanent ban without right of appeal, by unanimous consent of the administrators.
• Temporary revocation of administrator status for any length of time, with right of appeal.
• Temporary revocation of administrator status for any length of time, without right of appeal, by unanimous consent of the remaining administrators.
• Permanent revocation of administrator status with right of appeal.
• Permanent revocation of administrator status without right of appeal, by unanimous consent of the remaining administrators.
• Notification of law enforcement, or other appropriate authorities, along with any evidence of wrongdoing provided to the administrators.

Reporting guidelines

If you are subject to, or witness, unacceptable behaviour, or have any other concerns, please notify an administrator as soon as possible. The current list of administrators is:

• Koz Ross koz.ross@retro-freedom.nz (pronouns: he/him)
• Daniel Alexander xandernaut@gmail.com (pronouns: they/them)

When reporting, please include the following information, to the best of your knowledge and ability:

• When and where the unacceptable behaviour occurred.
• Who engaged in unacceptable behaviour.
• Which unacceptable behaviour(s) happened.
• Any evidence for your report (such as screencaps, logs, etc)
• Who (besides yourself) was affected by this behaviour.
• Whether you want any additional actions taken by the administrators to ensure that your safety and well-being remain intact.

Additionally, administrators are available to help community members engage with local law enforcement or otherwise help those experiencing unacceptable behaviour feel safe.

Addressing grievances

If you feel you have been falsely or unfairly accused of violating this Safety and Well-Being Policy, you should notify the administrators with a concise description of your grievance. You should include the following information:

• What report of unacceptable behaviour you are responding to.
• Why you believe specifically that you did not engage in this behaviour, or why you believe the enforcement actions taken against you are disproportionate.
• Any evidence you can provide for your grievance.
• What actions you wish to be taken to address your grievance if found genuine.

If you have been temporarily, or permanently, banned without right of appeal, any grievances filed with administrators regarding the incident which caused the ban will be ignored.

Scope

We expect all community participants to abide by this Safety and Well-Being Policy in all community venues, as well as in one-to-one communications pertaining to community business. This Safety and Well-Being Policy also applies to unacceptable behaviour occuring outside the scope of community activities when such behaviour has the potential to adversely affect the safety and well-being of community members.

Contact information

This is the current list of administrators, with appropriate contact information:

• Koz Ross koz.ross@retro-freedom.nz (pronouns: he/him)
• Daniel Alexander xandernaut@gmail.com (pronouns: they/them)

Modifications

This Safety and Well-Being Policy is a living document, designed to serve the needs of our community at the present time, but also in the future. To ensure that it remains relevant, to address future situations that could not be foreseen at the time of its writing, and to update the administrator list, this document will occasionally receive updates.

We will notify the community when any changes are made, along with a description of the content of these changes. These, along with previous versions, will be available in a publically accessible repository for the purpose of comparison. The most current version of the Safety and Well-Being Policy is considered to be canonical with regard to content and policy.

Acknowledgements

Our Safety and Well-Being Policy is based on the Citizen Code of Conduct. Our modified version is released under GPL-3.0-or-later, which is permissible due to one-way compatibility. We made this choice to keep everything consistently licensed.