At Code for America and Code for Houston, we believe that everybody should feel comfortable, accepted, and safe. For this reason, our Code of Conduct is very important and guides all interactions in our event and properties. Please read it in full — we reserve the right to remove and/or disqualify any persons or teams that breach this code. Thank you!

Code of Conduct

The Code for Houston Brigade (https://codeforhouston.org) asks all participants and stakeholders to abide by the following Code of Conduct:

  1. Create a safe and respectful environment for all participants, where people are free from discrimination or harassment.
  2. Create a place where people are free to fully express their identities.
  3. Respect the value of others: Everyone’s ideas, skills, and contributions have value.
  4. Encourage questions and don’t assume everyone has the same context.
  5. Encourage members and participants to listen as much as — or even more than — they speak.
  6. Create ways for people to contribute productively with their skills and energy. Use additive language such as “yes/and” as opposed to destructive language like “no/but.”
  7. Strive to build tools that are open and solutions that anyone can use. Activities that aim to foster public benefit over private profit are prioritized.
  8. Design and develop solutions with input from and access for those who are often excluded from the civic process.
  9. Ensure that the community's diversity is well-represented in the planning, design, and implementation of civic tech. This includes encouraging participation from women, people of color, ethnic minorities, the lgbtq+ community, people from different generations and abilities, and other marginalized groups.
  10. Actively involve mission-aligned stakeholders and those with subject matter expertise; and ensure that relationships and conversations among community members, local government, and community partners remain respectful, participatory, and productive.

The Code for Houston Brigade reserves the right to ask anyone in violation of this Code of Conduct to leave and/or not participate in any Code for Houston activities, events, and digital forums. To report anyone in violation locally, please contact the Impact Hub Houston team at houston at impacthub.net

This Code of Conduct is based on several other guides, including the Code for America Code of Conduct; the Ohio LinuxFest anti-harassment policy, written by Esther Filderman and Beth Lynn Eicher; and the Con Anti-Harassment Project. Mary Gardiner, Valerie Aurora, Sarah Smith, and Donna Benjamin generalized the policies and added supporting material. Many members of LinuxChix, Geek Feminism and other groups contributed to this work.