Everyone here should be able to show up.

If you're being harassed, see someone else being harassed, or have any other concern, tell us. You can report something that happened to you or that you saw, and you don't need to be sure it breaks the rules.

At an event

Tell any DEVSA team member or volunteer. Venue staff can also put you in touch with us.

Any time, in writing

jesse@devsanantonio.com

Directly, if it's urgent or you'd rather talk to a person

• Jesse Hernandez, Founder & Executive Director
• Zaquariah Holland, Community Director

If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911 first. Our team will help you contact venue security or the police, find a safe place, or arrange an escort.

Reports are confidential. If the report involves someone on the list above, contact anyone else on it, and that person won't be part of handling it.

• Events DEVSA runs or co-runs: its conferences, Confluencia, workshops, and DEVSA activations inside other events, such as a DEVSA-run track at San Antonio Startup + Tech Week.
• DEVSA's online spaces: the Discord, Meetup discussions, livestream chats and event Q&A, social channels, and the admin portal.
• Anywhere someone is officially representing DEVSA, including on its behalf by email or social media.
• Related social events and gatherings around DEVSA events, official or not.

The community groups on the calendar run their own events and may have their own codes. When DEVSA hosts or co-hosts, this one applies too.

We pledge to make participation in the DEVSA community a harassment-free experience for everyone, and to act in ways that contribute to an open, welcoming, diverse, inclusive and healthy community.

What we expect

• Empathy and kindness toward other people
• Helping newcomers feel welcome, whether it's their first meetup or their first line of code
• Following the guidance of organizers, volunteers and moderators
• Respect for differing opinions, viewpoints and experiences
• Giving, and gracefully accepting, constructive feedback
• Taking responsibility, apologizing to those affected by our mistakes, and learning from them
• Focusing on what is best for the whole community, not only ourselves

What isn't acceptable

• Sexualized language or imagery, and sexual attention or advances of any kind
• Trolling, insulting or derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks
• Public or private harassment
• Dismissing a concern as a joke after someone has been made uncomfortable
• Publishing someone's private information, such as a home or email address, without their explicit permission
• Any other conduct that could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting

Harassment includes, but isn't limited to:

• Offensive comments related to gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, veteran status or religion
• Displaying sexually explicit or violent images
• Deliberate or implied intimidation
• Stalking or persistent following
• Intrusive or unwanted photography or recording
• Sustained disruption of talks, demos or other activities
• Inappropriate physical contact or unwelcome sexual attention
• Posting, or threatening to post, someone's personally identifying information (“doxing”)
• Advocating for or encouraging any of the above

Sponsors, partners and exhibitors are covered too. Booths, demos and materials shouldn't use sexualized images or activities, and booth staff, including volunteers, shouldn't create an unprofessional environment.

Weapons, substances and safety

No weapons at DEVSA events. That includes guns, explosives (including fireworks) and large knives, and anything else carried to cause harm. Anyone with one will be asked to leave and may return only without it. No illegal substances, and no behavior that puts others at risk. Venue rules and venue staff apply too.

Where alcohol is served

Some DEVSA and partner events, like an evening showcase, serve alcohol. Drink responsibly, never pressure anyone to drink, and plan a safe way home. If you need help getting home safely, ask a DEVSA team member.

1. 1Safety first

   If anyone is at risk, we deal with that before anything else. We’ll involve security or police when someone’s safety is in doubt, or at the request of the person affected.

2. 2We listen and write it down

   Who was involved, what happened, when and where, and who else was there. If it’s easier, we’ll write it for you. Please don’t interview witnesses yourself.

3. 3Fair review

   We review it promptly and fairly, and the person reported gets a chance to give their side.

4. 4We decide and act

   We tell the person reported what will happen, and let you know the outcome as far as privacy allows.

Everything stays confidential. We won't share your identity without your permission, and we won't tolerate retaliation against anyone who reports in good faith. We never ask the person affected to withdraw a report or to decide the consequences; that's our job.

At events DEVSA runs with a partner, such as PySanAntonio with the PyTexas Foundation, we may share a report with that co-organizer or with the venue so it can act under its own policies too. We'll tell you before we do.

If an incident at an event needs to be addressed publicly, only the event lead, or someone they delegate, will make an announcement, and it won't include anyone's personal details.

Every report is handled case by case. Depending on what happened, we may take one or more of these steps:

1. 1Correction

   A private, written explanation of what was inappropriate and why. A public apology may be requested.

2. 2Warning

   A warning with consequences for continued behavior, and no contact with the people involved for a set time.

3. 3Removal or temporary ban

   Being asked to leave an event without a refund, ending a talk early or not publishing its recording, removing volunteer or speaker roles, or a ban from DEVSA spaces for a set time.

4. 4Permanent ban

   For a pattern of violations, harassment of an individual, or aggression toward a group of people.

In online spaces, moderators may also remove messages or content and limit or remove someone's access, right away if needed, while a report is reviewed.

Anyone sanctioned can ask the DEVSA board to review the decision. The decision stands while it's reviewed.

This code is adapted from the PyTexas Code of Conduct (MIT License, © 2023 PyTexas), so PySanAntonio, which DEVSA co-runs with the PyTexas Foundation, holds everyone to one standard. Its community standards and consequences come from the Contributor Covenant 2.1 (CC BY 4.0) and Mozilla's enforcement ladder. Its in-person code draws on the PyCon and Django codes and the Ada Initiative's guide to responding to reports. A few clauses, including the one about dismissing concerns as jokes, follow ACM San Antonio's code, so groups on our calendar share the same expectations.