AstroAI Workshop 2025

Code of Conduct

Policy

It is the policy of the Center for Astrophysics that its members and all participants in CfA activities are able to enjoy a safe environment that is free from discrimination and harassment. The CfA is committed to making its meetings, workshops and events productive and enjoyable for everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, cultural background or tradition, religious affiliation, biological sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, or physical or mental ability.

Expected Behavior

All CfA event participants must follow these guidelines for expected behavior:

Be considerate and respectful of others - We gather to be present and exchange our ideas. Please be the audience that you would like to have as a speaker. Do not insult or put down other attendees. Critique ideas rather than individuals. Critiques of ideas must be phrased respectfully. Please be attentive and participate in a respectful manner, and avoid being disruptive when people are speaking. Give other people the opportunity to speak and ask questions.
Communication should be appropriate for a diverse audience - All communication should be appropriate for a professional audience, including people of many different backgrounds. Be mindful of your wording and your tone. Members of the audience may process information differently. For some members of the audience, English may not be their first language.

Unacceptable Behavior

Unacceptable behavior includes, but is not limited to:

Sexist, racist, or exclusionary comments or jokes related to race, ethnicity, cultural background, religious affiliation, biological sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, physical disability or mental disability.
Sexual or sexist comments, language, and imagery.
Bullying, harassment, intimidation, and personal attacks.

The definitions of bullying, harassment, intimidation, and personal attacks are provided below in italics, as defined in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Bullying: To behave in an overbearing, intimidating, or aggressive manner towards someone; usually to seek to harm, intimidate, or coerce, especially persistently or repeatedly. In the workplace, bullying includes repeated behavior that offends, degrades, insults, or humiliates another person or group.
Harassment: Unwarranted speech or behavior causing annoyance, alarm, distress, or intimidation, usually occurring persistently over a period of time. Harassment creates a work environment that can be intimidating, hostile, or offensive. Offensive conduct may include, but is not limited to, offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or name calling, physical assaults or threats, intimidation, ridicule or mockery, insults or put-downs, offensive objects or pictures, and interference with work performance.
Intimidation: To render timid, inspire with fear; in modern use especially to force to or deter from some action by threats or violence. Intimidation may cause a loss of courage or self-confidence. Intimidation can include threats or physical violence, yelling or screaming, ridiculing or insulting a member in front of coworkers or clients, sabotaging a member's work, interference in or prevention of the member's ability to work, insulting or demeaning others in the presence of colleagues or clients, repeated and/or sustained disruption of talks or other events run or presented by a member. Persistent or repeated intimidation can be a form of bullying or harassment.
Personal attacks: An instance of vehemently expressed antagonism or hostility, or of action intended to undermine or disrupt; especially an instance of fierce public criticism. Personal attacks can include individual derogatory statements made about a person including, but not limited to, damaging remarks relating to a member's lifestyle or choices. These types of attack can include derogatory comments that question a person's intelligence, values, integrity, motivations or decisions. Ongoing, repeated personal attacks may be classified as intimidation, harassment or bullying, depending on the intent and effect on the victim.

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