

Harassment Free Conference: Is this for just marketing? - arunoda
http://steelcityrubyconf.org/policies#antiharassment

======
carols10cents
I'm on the organizing committee for Steel City Ruby Conf, and I can assure
you, this is not just for marketing.

Our mission for this conference is to bring more people in to the Ruby
conference scene _because we think it's awesome_. We are doing many things to
help achieve this goal, such as working to keep attendee costs down, having a
30m on/30m off schedule to have lots of time for discussion, and yes, being
inclusive and making that clear by having an anti-harassment policy.

Why would anyone who hasn't been to a conference before want to attend a
conference after seeing the list of incidents compiled by Geek Feminism
(<http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Timeline_of_incidents>)? It certainly
gives a different impression of what conferences are like than the tone we are
trying to set.

We used Geek Feminism's policy
([http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Conference_anti-
harassmen...](http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Conference_anti-
harassment/Policy)) pretty much verbatim, and we're also following many of
their other awesome recommendations
([http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Conference_anti-
harassmen...](http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Conference_anti-harassment)).
We encourage all tech conferences to do the same to promote inclusion in our
communities.

I'd be happy to answer any questions either here or via email.

~~~
arunoda
Thanks. This seems pretty perfect and seems like everybody is happy about
this. Which is great.

I wish I could attend to this conf. But I couldn't be able to arrange air
tickets for the conf :( Good Job. And looking forward for the videos or live
stream.

~~~
carols10cents
You're very welcome!

Travel costs are definitely one of the biggest hurdles keeping people from
attending conferences. Since this is our first year, we don't have any funds
for this, but I'm hoping that we manage to run a small surplus so that we can
offer travel grants next year.

~~~
arunoda
Yes. Good luck with the conf.

------
muzz
It does look like they are taking a particularly strong stance. Kudos,
especially for this:

"In particular, exhibitors should not use sexualized images, activities, or
other material. Booth staff (including volunteers) should not use sexualized
clothing/uniforms/costumes, or otherwise create a sexualized environment."

~~~
arunoda
This is cool. They should even mentioned attendees to this also.

------
ryanbigg
Railsconf had a similar policy: <http://railsconf2012.com/antiharassment>

I think this is an excellent idea.

------
jamesladd
It is a good idea, just can't believe some poeple need to be reminded to be
decent. Maybe it's just Ruby people. I haven't see this required at other
language conferences.

~~~
petercooper
This one applies to every O'Reilly conference:
<http://conferences.oreillynet.com/code-of-conduct.csp>

There's also a project to make one others can use:
[http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/index.php?title=Conference_ant...](http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/index.php?title=Conference_anti-
harassment_policy)

Also, it's not "just Ruby people" who need to be reminded to act properly -
that's just a group random cynics on Hacker News like to take pot shots on for
some reason. The biggest stories of harassment at conferences that have done
the rounds here have not tended to be about Ruby events:
<http://lwn.net/Articles/417952/>
[http://blog.valerieaurora.org/2010/11/08/its-not-just-
noirin...](http://blog.valerieaurora.org/2010/11/08/its-not-just-noirin/)
<http://blog.nerdchic.net/archives/418/>

(Update: I've been notified of an intriguing page which lists "incidents" -
though more generally and not just about conferences - from as far back as
1982: <http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Timeline_of_incidents> )

~~~
lukekarrys
Also seems very similar to the Code of Conduct for JSConf 2012.
<http://2012.jsconf.us/#/about>

