The IIIF Code of Conduct guides our behavior as members of the IIIF Community in any forum, including remote and in-person meetings and events, email lists, Slack, GitHub, social media, and private correspondence related to IIIF. IIIF is an inclusive and safe community, committed to openness and transparency in all interactions and activities. To reflect these commitments, we agree to operate according to the following standards.
Changes to this document are reflected in its internal change log.
Community ideals
Inclusivity
We believe everyone is a valuable contributor to the community regardless of physical or intellectual ability, gender, sexual orientation, physical appearance, race, religion, nationality, language, employment source or status, financial ability, and any other facets of community dynamics not mentioned here. While the community primarily communicates in English at this point, we recognize that it is not the native language for many in the community and strive to express ourselves simply and clearly. We provide opportunities for participation despite challenges of ability, time, geography, finances, etc.
Collaboration
We collaborate to share the community’s workload and to ensure a variety of needs and voices are accounted for. We do our work as transparently as possible, establishing guidelines for contributing and sharing current and historical community information openly, and welcome new collaborators with enthusiasm.
Respect
The IIIF community is respectful of and open to differing opinions, viewpoints, experiences, and backgrounds. When we make a mistake we accept responsibility, apologize, and learn from the experience. We give and gracefully accept constructive feedback.
Greater good
We do work that benefits the community. We notice, call attention to, and help resolve potential problems. Community members should model good behavior and feel empowered to be active bystanders to call out improper behavior and step in to help resolve issues without waiting to escalate to a higher power.
Unacceptable behaviors
Participants asked by anyone to stop any harassing behavior must comply immediately. Participants who violate these guidelines by behaving in the following ways will be notified and asked to change their behavior.
- Physical or verbal harassment or threats directed against another person or group of people
- Offensive verbal comments, insults, or jokes related to physical or intellectual ability, gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, etc.
- Sexual harassment, including inappropriate or unwanted physical contact, use of sexualized language or imagery, and sexual attention or advances of any kind
- Intentional provocation, insulting or derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks
- Publishing or threatening to publish others’ private information without their explicit permission
- Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting
- Advocating for or encouraging any of the above
Reporting harassment
If you believe anyone is in physical danger, please notify appropriate law enforcement first.
If you are subject to or witness harassment, please contact the Code of Conduct committee at iiif-conduct@googlegroups.com, or individually at in-person events where committee members or event-specific contacts will be identified by badges and introductions at the beginning of the event.
Written or verbal Code of Conduct reports should include the following information:
- Your contact information
- Names (real, nicknames, or pseudonyms) of individuals involved and witnesses
- When and where the incident occurred (please be as specific as possible)
- Your account of what occurred. If there is a record available (e.g. a mailing list archive or messages in a Slack channel) please include a link or screenshot.
- If you believe this incident is or may be ongoing
You will receive an email or verbal confirmation that your report has been received. Within one week you will receive a resolution and course of action or explanation of why the situation is unresolved and continues to be evaluated.
Committee members
The IIIF Code of Conduct Team comprises all dedicated IIIF staff plus a set of advisors from the IIIF Coordinating Committee.
For information about how Code of Conduct violations are evaluated, view the Guidelines for Code of Conduct team members.
Process for evaluating Code of Conduct reports
If a member of the Code of Conduct Team is involved in the incident, that member agrees to recuse themselves from the evaluation, and the further communications will not include that member. When a report is received, the Code of Conduct Team will meet to discuss the incident and determine:
- A narrative of what happened
- If this event constitutes a Code of Conduct violation
- Who violated the Code of Conduct
- Whether this is an ongoing situation, or if there is a threat to anyone’s physical safety
- If determined to be an ongoing incident or physical threat, the Code of Conduct Team’s immediate priority will be to protect everyone involved.
Actions and next steps will be determined on a case by case basis. The Code of Conduct Team will evaluate the situation and the following actions may be taken:
- Nothing (if it is determined that no violation occurred)
- A private reprimand
- A public reprimand
- A voluntary vacation (i.e. asking someone to “take a week off” from a mailing list or Slack)
- A temporary or permanent ban from some or all IIIF spaces
- A request for a public or private apology
This evaluation and plan for action are to be completed and communicated to the reporter within one week unless it is necessary for the investigation to continue in order to respond appropriately.
If the Code of Conduct Committee determines a public response is necessary following the incident, it will notify the community and/or event attendees via the most appropriate channel(s). The Committee will also provide an annual, anonymized report describing any reported incidents and actions taken in response. All correspondence and notes related to the incident will be kept in a private folder only accessible by IIIF Consortium staff and the Code of Conduct Committee.
Appeal process
To appeal a decision of the Code of Conduct Committee, contact the IIIF Coordinating Committee at iiif-cocommittee@googlegroups.com with your appeal and the committee members will review the case. If there is a potential conflict of interest, parties will be asked to recuse themselves.
Acknowledgements
The IIIF Code of Conduct is modeled on examples from Contributor Covenant, Django, the Digital Library Federation (DLF), Islandora, Samvera, and DuraSpace.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Change log
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 2022-03-09 | Update to refer to IIIF staff plus advisors from CoCo as comprising code of conduct team |
| 2020-11-16 | Refreshed the code: simplified language, clarified ideals and unacceptable behaviors, and updated committee members. |
| 2020-02-24 | Adding Meg to the list of members. |
| 2019-01-22 | Adding Josh to the list of members. |
| 2017-12-01 | Removing Sheila from the list of members. |
| 2017-09-28 | Added 2017-2018 IIIF Code of Conduct Team member names |
| 2017-08-01 | Added community norms and expectations, reporting guidelines, conduct team selection process, appeal process, and acknowledgements |
| 2015-12-01 | First release |