Code of Conduct

It is of paramount importance to us that ClaytonCon is a place where all attendees can feel safe and respected, in accordance with the values that we strive to live every day.

We will not tolerate harassment in any form. It is every attendee’s, guest’s and participant’s right to an experience free from harassment and the fear of harassment, regardless of race or ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, physical appearance, body size, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or age. Anyone who violates this Code of Conduct will be warned and/or expelled from the con. We reserve the right to take any action we deem necessary to ensure our event has a welcoming, harassment–free environment. We take every report seriously.

Harassment can include:

  • Verbal, written or social media comments that offend, intimidate, embarrass or demean, including those that reinforce social structures of prejudice or domination regarding race or ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, physical appearance, body size, sexual orientation, mental illness, language, disability, religion, or age.

  • Pattern of inappropriate social contact, such as requesting/assuming inappropriate levels of intimacy with others.

  • Gratuitous or off-topic sexual images or behaviour in any ClaytonCon forum.

  • Unwelcome physical contact, sexual attention or simulated physical contact (e.g, textual descriptions like “hug” or “backrub”) without consent or after a request to stop.

  • Publication of any private communication without obtaining consent from the involved parties.

  • Deliberate misgendering or use of “dead“ or rejected names.

  • Deliberate “outing” of any aspect of a person’s identity without their consent except as necessary to protect other con members or other vulnerable people from intentional abuse.

  • Threats of violence.

  • Incitement of violence toward any individual, including encouraging a person to commit suicide or to engage in self-harm.

  • Any behaviour designed to disrupt events or attendee’s enjoyment of events.

We prioritize marginalized people’s safety over privileged people’s comfort. We reserve the right not to act on complaints regarding:

  • “Reverse-isms”, including ‘reverse racism,’ ‘reverse sexism’.

  • Reasonable communication of boundaries, such as “leave me alone,” “go away,” or “I’m not discussing this with you.”

  • Communicating in a tone you don’t find congenial.

  • Criticizing racist, sexist or otherwise oppressive behavior or assumptions.

Reporting and enforcement:

If anyone, regardless of who they are, makes you or anyone else feel unsafe or unwelcome, please report it to Fay or Shawn as soon as you are able. We will take every report seriously, in confidence and with the utmost respect. We will not ask that you confront anyone.

Consequences:

Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

If a participant continues to act in a harassing behavior, we may expel them from the con.

Be Nice: Guidelines for good conduct

We expect the conduct and treatment at our events to resemble the very best conduct seen anywhere else and we do not think it will get in anyone’s way of participating and enjoying themselves. Nevertheless, for clarity and for everyone’s comfort, you should always:

  • Ask permission before you photograph or record someone.

  • Respect other people’s personal space and physical comfort. This includes ensuring you have their consent to embrace them.

  • Be respectful in all forums and discussions, but particularly those that may relate to issues of discrimination or representation. It is your responsibility to participate in respectful manner and be considerate of all attendees.

  • Be conscientious. Be aware of how your behaviour may affect those around you and those you are interacting with. Stop and think.

Thanks. Merci. Takk. תודה .شكرا. धन्यवाद. Toda. Gracias. Grazie.

This document is inspired by and draws upon conduct codes from SHUX, Shut Up & Sit Down’s larger Canadian board game convention.

This policy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. We encourage other events to adopt (and enforce) similar policies by using and remixing ours.