Like the technical community as a whole, TC54 is made up of a mixture of professionals and volunteers from all over the world. To ensure a fair and balanced standards process, to avoid communication issues and unhappiness, and to promote inclusiveness, we have a few ground rules that we ask people to adhere to.
This isn’t an exhaustive list of things that you can’t do. Rather, take it in the spirit in which it’s intended a guide to make it easier to enrich all of us and the technical communities in which we participate and empower others to speak.
This Code of Conduct is enforced within all spaces managed by TC54. This includes chat rooms and forums moderated by TC54, issue trackers on projects hosted by TC54, and TC54 events and meetings.
If you believe someone is violating the Code of Conduct, we ask that you report it by emailing tc54-conduct-reports@googlegroups.com. For more details, please see our Reporting Guidelines.
Respect is a fundamental value of the standardization work. Not all of us will agree all the time, but disagreement is no excuse for poor behavior and poor manners. We might all experience some frustration now and then, but we cannot allow that frustration to turn into a personal attack. It’s important to remember that a community where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one. Members of the TC54 community should be respectful when dealing with other members as well as with people outside the TC54 community.
We understand that everyone has different levels of experience or knowledge in many diverse fields, be it technical or nontechnical in nature. We also have areas of knowledge we are eager to expand. We want to be a community where people can not only contribute, but feel comfortable to ask questions as well and learn along the way. When correcting another participant, respond with patience and try to keep it polite and civil. Remember that we all were newbies at one point.
We strive to be a community that welcomes and supports people of all backgrounds and identities. This includes, but is not limited to, members of any race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, color, immigration status, social and economic class, educational level, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, size, family status, political belief, religion, and mental and physical ability.
Your work will be used by other people, and you in turn will depend on the work of others. Any decision you make will affect users and colleagues, and you should take those consequences into account when making decisions. Remember that we’re a world-wide community, so you might not be communicating in someone else’s primary language.
We are a community of professionals, and we conduct ourselves professionally. Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other participants. Harassment and other exclusionary behavior aren’t acceptable. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Violent threats or language directed against another person.
- Discriminatory jokes and language.
- Posting sexually explicit or violent material.
- Posting (or threatening to post) other people’s personally identifying information (“doxing”).
- Personal insults, especially those using racist or sexist terms.
- Unwelcome sexual attention.
- Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior.
- Repeated harassment of others. In general, if someone asks you to stop, then stop.
Disagreements, both social and technical, happen all the time. It is important that we resolve disagreements and differing views constructively. Remember that we’re different. There is strength in having a varied community with people from a wide range of backgrounds. Different people have different perspectives on issues. Being unable to understand why someone holds a viewpoint doesn't mean that they’re wrong. Don’t forget that it is human to err and blaming each other doesn't get us anywhere. Instead, focus on helping to resolve issues and learning from mistakes.
(Original text courtesy of Ecma TC39, OpenJS Foundation, Speak Up! project, and Django Project.)
Questions? If you have questions, please see the FAQ. If that doesn't answer your questions, feel free to email us.
If you believe someone is violating the Code of Conduct, we ask that you report it by emailing tc54-conduct-reports@googlegroups.com. All reports will be kept confidential. Only the Chair and Vice-Chair, and possibly the Ecma ExeCom, will receive the reports. No identity will be made public before the individuals concerned have agreed to it.
If the act is ongoing, the Chair or Vice-Chair should take immediate measures to stop it if possible, and to gather the information described below.
If you do not feel comfortable sending your report to the reporting email address, then you may email the Chair and/or Vice-Chair directly.
If that is not possible, we recommend creating a throwaway email account, and using that to send the report. This way, it is possible for the Chair and/or Vice-Chair to respond to you (to seek more information, for example).
In your report please include:
- Your contact info (so we can get in touch with you if we need to follow up).
- Names (real, nicknames, or pseudonyms) of any individuals involved. If there were other witnesses besides you, please try to include them as well.
- When and where the incident occurred. Please be as specific as possible.
- Your account of what occurred. If there is a publicly available record (e.g. project issue, forum post, or a public chat log) please include a link. Screenshots can be useful in the case something is edited or deleted before action is taken.
- Any extra context you believe existed for the incident.
- If you believe this incident is ongoing.
- Any other information you believe we should have.
Reports will receive urgent and immediate attention. Please refer to the Enforcement Manual for the complete information on how reports will be processed.
To appeal a decision, contact the Ecma Secretariat which will transfer the matter to the Ecma ExeCom.
All responses to reports of conduct violations will be managed the Chair and Vice-Chair.
When a report is sent, they will reply to the report to confirm receipt within 24 hours.
See the Reporting Guidelines for details of what reports should contain. If a report doesn't contain enough information, the Chair and Vice-Chair will strive to obtain all relevant data before acting.
The Chair and Vice-Chair will then review the incident and determine, to the best of their ability:
- What happened.
- Whether this event constitutes a Code of Conduct violation.
- Who, if anyone, was involved in the violation.
- Whether this is an ongoing situation.
This information will be collected in writing, and whenever possible the deliberations will be recorded and retained (e.g. chat transcripts, email discussions, or recorded voice conversations).
The Chair and Vice-Chair should aim to have a resolution agreed very rapidly; if not agreed within a week, it will inform the parties of the planned date.
The Chair and Vice-Chair must agree on a resolution by consensus. If consensus cannot be reached, the matter will be turned over to the Ecma ExeCom for resolution.
Responses will be determined on the basis of the information gathered and of the potential consequences. It may include taking no further action, issuing a reprimand (private or public), asking for an apology (private or public), or contacting the company that the individual belongs to. It could even result in a temporary or permanent exclusion from some of the TC54 working spaces such as repositories, forums, or chat. For any contemplated action other than a reprimand or an apology, the Chair and/or Vice-Chair shall inform the Ecma ExeCom. Any exclusion needs to follow the process described in the Ecma bylaws.
Such actions taken will be reported as part of the TC54 report to the ExeCom.
Ecma Bylaws Article 5.1 (extract):
Membership of a company shall be terminated in the following cases: …
- by expulsion for violation of Bylaws and Rules or for any other conduct prejudicial to the interest and correct functioning of the Association.
Ecma Bylaws, Articles 5.3, 5.4 5.5:
5.3 Any proposal to expel an Ecma member shall be backed by at least one-fifth of all the ordinary members. The proposal to expel shall be on the agenda for the General Assembly at which is it going to be discussed so as to give the member the opportunity to present its case. 5.4 A two-thirds majority of all the ordinary members is necessary to expel an Ecma member. Such expulsion will become effective 15 days after notification by registered mail. 5.5 An Ecma member which had been expelled can only be re-admitted by the General Assembly with a two-thirds majority of all ordinary members.