Friendly Space Policy

ARTICLE I - PURPOSE AND SCOPE
1. Purpose. The purpose of this Friendly Space Policy ("Policy") is to ensure that events held by New England Wikimedians are free of harassment and other unwelcome behavior.

2. Scope. This Policy applies to all events which are solely organized or hosted by New England Wikimedians; and to those events jointly organized or hosted by New England Wikimedians, where the New England Wikimedians user group has both authority and reasonable means to implement the provisions of this Policy. It does not apply to events organized or hosted by organizations other than New England Wikimedians, where New England Wikimedians lacks either authority or reasonable means to implement the provisions of this Policy.

ARTICLE II - GENERAL PROVISIONS
1. Responsibility. The President (or Co-Chairs) of New England Wikimedians (hereby referred to as the "President" throughout this document) shall be responsible for implementing the provisions of this Policy, and shall have full authority to carry out such actions as may be necessary for their implementation.

2. Delegation. The President may, at his or her discretion, delegate authority for carrying out actions pursuant to this policy to another person or persons, provided that such delegation shall be in writing, and shall not be inconsistent with the applicable provisions of the Delegation of authority policy.

3. Agency. The President, and any other person to whom the President delegates authority under this Policy, shall act as an agent of New England Wikimedians for the purposes of implementing the provisions of this Policy. Any such agent who attends an event shall be referred to as a "Responsible Agent".

4. Legal Compliance. No provision of this Policy shall be interpreted in a manner that conflicts with any applicable law or regulation. It is the policy of New England Wikimedians to comply with all applicable laws and regulations at all times.

ARTICLE III - PROHIBITED BEHAVIOR
1. Prohibited Behavior. Prohibited behavior shall include, but shall not be limited to, unwelcome or offensive comments related to gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion; the display of content of a graphic nature without adequate prior notice; deliberate intimidation, stalking, unwelcome following, harassing photography or recording; sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact; unwelcome sexual attention; and any other behavior that New England Wikimedians reasonably determines would interfere with its events or the safety and comfort of participants.

2. Corrective Action. Any person who engages in prohibited behavior may be subject to corrective action, as described in this Policy.

3. Reconciliation. New England Wikimedians encourages persons who may have engaged in unwelcome behavior to apologize for any offense they may have caused, such that corrective action is not necessary.

ARTICLE IV - CORRECTIVE ACTION
1. Authority. A decision to take corrective action pursuant to the provisions of this Policy shall only be made by a Responsible Agent. Under no circumstances shall any person who is not a Responsible Agent authorize such action to be taken, and any such authorization shall be null and void.

2. Cause for Action. Corrective action may be taken in any circumstance where prohibited behavior has occurred, is occurring, or can reasonably be expected to occur.

3. No Limitation. Any incidence of prohibited behavior may be subject to corrective action regardless of the severity of such behavior; regardless of whether such behavior is isolated or repeated; and regardless of whether such behavior constitutes an illegal act under any applicable law or regulation.

4. Witnessing Prohibited Behavior. A Responsible Agent who personally witnesses a person engaged in prohibited behavior shall be authorized to immediately take corrective action.

5. Reports of Prohibited Behavior. A Responsible Agent who receives a report of prohibited behavior from another person shall take reasonable steps, including questioning witnesses, to determine whether such behavior actually took place prior to taking any corrective action. A lack of witnesses shall not be deemed to prohibit corrective action with regard to the report.

6. Form of Action. A Responsible Agent may take such corrective action as is reasonably necessary to ensure compliance with the provisions of this policy and to protect the safety and interests of event attendees and New England Wikimedians. Permitted action shall include, but shall not be limited to, facilitating apologies and reconciliation; warning the offending party; expelling the offending party from part or all of an event; prohibiting the offending party from attending future events; and reporting the offending party to venue security or law enforcement.

7. Refunds. If any person is removed from an event for which an admission fee is charged as a result of corrective action taken under this Policy, New England Wikimedians shall refund such admission fee to the person in question.

ARTICLE V - NOTICES
1. Notices at Events. A notice regarding this Policy shall be publicly posted at any event to which it applies, provided that New England Wikimedians has both authority and reasonable means to effect such posting.

2. Form of Notice for Conferences. The following example text may be used as the notice regarding this policy at conferences:
 * New England Wikimedians is dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion. We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants in any form. This kind of behavior is not appropriate for any conference, and especially inappropriate for a community-oriented conference. Conference participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the conference at the discretion of the conference organizers.
 * Harassment includes offensive comments related to gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion. Harassment also includes sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, unwelcome following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention. Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.
 * If a participant engages in harassing behavior, the conference organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender or expulsion from the conference. If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a member of the conference staff immediately. Conference staff can be identified by special badges. Conference staff will be happy to help participants contact venue security or local law enforcement, provide escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the conference. We value your attendance.
 * We expect participants to follow these policies at all conference venues and conference-related social events.

3. Form of Notice for Other Events. The following example text may be used as the notice regarding this policy at other events:
 * New England Wikimedians is dedicated to providing a harassment-free event experience for everyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion. We do not tolerate harassment of event participants in any form. This kind of behavior is not appropriate for any event, and especially inappropriate for a community-oriented event. Event participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the event at the discretion of the event organizers.
 * Harassment includes offensive comments related to gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion. Harassment also includes sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, unwelcome following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other activities, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention. Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.
 * If a participant engages in harassing behavior, the event organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender or expulsion from the event. If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a member of the event staff immediately. Event staff will be happy to help participants contact venue security or local law enforcement, provide escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the event. We value your attendance.

4. Notice Regarding Potentially Offensive Topics. Any person who intends to discuss or present material related to potentially sensitive or offensive topics at an event is encouraged to provide appropriate notice to attendees prior to engaging in such discussion or presentation.