ARK Alliance

Home of the Archival Resource Key (ARK)

ARK Community Code of Conduct

We value the participation of each member of the ARK (Archival Resource Key) community. For the purposes of this document, the community includes the working groups sustaining the ARK infrastructure (eg, arks.org, arksintheopen.org, n2t.net) as well as the people participating in the official English and French ARK discussion lists. Accordingly, all community members are expected to show respect and courtesy within all community spaces.

This Code of Conduct document describes the commitment of contributors and leaders in the ARK Alliance (arks.org) to make the ARK community a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body appearance and size, visible or invisible disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity,and expression, level of experience, education, socio-economic status, nationality, race, caste, color, religion.

Our Standards

Examples of behavior that contributes to a positive environment for our community include:

Examples of unacceptable behavior include:

Enforcement Responsibilities

Community Leaders are responsible for clarifying and enforcing our standards of acceptable behavior and will take appropriate and fair corrective action in response to any behavior that they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful. In this document, the Community Leaders that are responsible for enforcement are the chairs and co-chairs of the ARK Alliance (ARKA) working groups, as listed on this page: https://wiki.lyrasis.org/display/ARKs/ARK+Alliance+Community+Leaders.

Community Leaders may be contacted by email at this address: arka-conduct@googlegroups.com. They have the right and responsibility to remove, edit, or reject comments, commits, code, wiki edits, issues, and other contributions that are not aligned to this Code of Conduct, and will communicate reasons for moderation decisions when appropriate.

Scope

This Code of Conduct applies within all community spaces, and also applies when an individual is officially representing the community in public spaces. Examples of representing our community include using Github, Slack, Discord, an official email forum or address, posting via an official social media account, or acting as an appointed representative at an online or offline event. To make clear what is expected, all staff, attendees, speakers, exhibitors, organizers, participants and volunteers in any ARK community virtual or in-person space are required to conform to this Code of Conduct.

Enforcement

Instances of abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior may be reported to the Community Leaders responsible for enforcement at the private list arka-conduct@googlegroups.com. If you would prefer, you may email one or more individuals listed in the Community Leaders page mentioned earlier. All complaints will be reviewed and investigated promptly and fairly.

All Community Leaders are obligated to respect the privacy and security of the reporter of any incident.

Reports of harassment or discrimination will be promptly and thoroughly investigated by the people responsible for the safety of the space, event or activity. Appropriate measures will be taken to address the situation.

Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately. Violators of these guidelines can expect to be asked to leave an event or online community space, either temporarily or for the duration of the event, or to be banned from participation in spaces, or future events and activities in perpetuity.

Reporting Guidelines

If you believe anyone is in physical danger, please notify appropriate responders first. If you are unsure what types of responders are appropriate, please include this in your report and we will attempt to notify them.

In your report please include:

What happens after you file a report?

You will receive an email within one business day from a Community Leader acknowledging receipt. A review of the incident will take place immediately to determine:

If this is determined to be an ongoing incident or a threat to physical safety, the immediate priority will be to protect everyone involved. This means an “official” response may be delayed until the situation has ended and everyone is physically safe.

The person who filed the report will receive a response within one week containing either a resolution or an explanation of why the situation is not yet resolved. In addition, an account of the report and the final resolution will be made to the ARKA Advisory Group.

Enforcement Guidelines

Community Leaders will consider the following community impact levels in determining the consequences for any action they deem in violation of this Code of Conduct.

1. Correction

Community Impact: Use of inappropriate language or other behavior deemed unprofessional or unwelcome in the community.

Consequence: A private, written warning from Community Leaders, providing clarity around the nature of the violation and an explanation of why the behavior was inappropriate. The Community Leaders may request a public apology.

2. Warning

Community Impact: A violation through a single incident or series of actions.

Consequence: A warning with consequences for continued behavior. No interaction with the people involved, including unsolicited interaction with those enforcing the Code of Conduct, for a specified period of time. This includes avoiding interactions in community spaces as well as external channels like social media. Violating these terms may lead to a temporary or permanent ban.

3. Temporary Ban

Community Impact: A serious violation of community standards, including sustained inappropriate behavior.

Consequence: A temporary ban from any sort of interaction or public communication with the community for a period of time specified by the Community Leaders. No public or private interaction with the people involved, including unsolicited interaction with those enforcing the Code of Conduct, is allowed during this period. Violating these terms may lead to a permanent ban.

4. Permanent Ban

Community Impact: Demonstrating a pattern of violation of community standards, including sustained inappropriate behavior, harassment of an individual, or aggression toward or disparagement of classes of individuals.

Consequence: A permanent ban from any sort of public interaction within the community.

What if your report concerns a possible violation by a Community Leader?

If your report concerns a Community Leader, you may not feel comfortable contacting the arka-conduct@googlegroups.com list, as all Community Leaders will see the report.

In that case, you can make a report directly to any of the individuals on the Community Leaders page. The individuals will follow the usual enforcement process with the other members, but will exclude the member(s) that the report concerns from any discussion or decision making.

Conflicts of Interest

In the event of any conflict of interest a Community Leader must immediately notify the other leaders, and recuse themselves if necessary. If a report concerns a possible violation by a current leader, they should be excluded from the response process.

Reconsideration

Any of the parties directly involved or affected can request reconsideration of the resolution decision. To make such a request, contact the ARKA Advisory Group with your request and motivation and they will review the case.

Acknowledgement and License

This Code of Conduct document is adapted from the Contributor Covenant and the Dryad Code of Conduct. It is licensed CC-BY in accordance with the Codes of Conduct licenses of these two source documents.