Chicago Area Origami Society (CHAOS) holds regular origami workshops, open to the public, as well as origami exhibitions. We are grateful to welcome a wide range of people of all ages to share all aspects of origami. It is our desire to ensure that anyone who attends our events will have a memorable and enjoyable time. As a part of this experience, we expect that all attendees show respect and courtesy to the people around them. This includes showing respect and courtesy to the attendees and organizers along with people through online interactions.

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In order for everyone to have an enjoyable time at our events and through our virtual and in-person interactions, it is important to clearly explain what is required of all members and attendees, namely the conformity to the following Code of Conduct (CoC). Organizers will support this code of conduct during events.

 

Through joining or registering for a CHAOS event, you are agreeing to follow our stated Code of Conduct.

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Summary

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CHAOS is dedicated to providing a positive event experience for everyone. We expect respectful treatment of everyone at every CHAOS event. All communication and behavior should be appropriate for people of all ages and of all backgrounds.

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Our principles:

• Be kind; be respectful; be civil.

• Act and interact with others only in ways that improve the event and make it a more interesting place for everyone.

• Safety and security are a top priority.

• All participants are responsible for their own behavior.

• Harassment, bullying, and insulting/exclusionary jokes are never acceptable at CHAOS events.

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Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

If a participant engages in behavior that violates this code of conduct, CHAOS organizers reserve the ability to take action to control the situation, up to and including expulsion from the event with no refund.

 

Harassment

 

Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

• offensive communication related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, and age.

• use of sexist, racist, ableist, or any other discriminatory or exclusionary language.

• sexual images in public spaces

• deliberate intimidation, stalking or following

• harassing photography or recording

• sustained disruption of talks or other events

• inappropriate physical conduct

• unwelcome sexual attention

• advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior

 

Online Events

 

All of the above also applies to online events.

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In addition, the following behavior is not acceptable for online events:

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• In the chat, Q&A, or other written forms of communication:

  • Repeating a comment or question many times in a row.

  • Making inappropriate or disparaging comments about the presenters, moderators, or attendees.

• Turning on your camera and/or microphone when not asked to do so.

 

If you do not comply with the code of conduct and behaviors acceptable in online venues, you will be given a warning from the Moderator. If your behavior does not change, you will be removed from the event without a refund. The recording of the event will still be made available to you.

 

 

Responding to and Reporting Harassment

 

At Online Events

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• If you feel uncomfortable because of someone else at the event, send a private message to the Moderator.

• If you feel uncomfortable because of the Moderator, send a private message to another CHAOS official at the event.

• If there is no moderator or CHAOS official available, Code of Conduct violations can be reported via email to origami.chaos@gmail.com (Just add CoC to the subject line) and someone will get back to you within 24 hours. If you would like to speak with someone about your issue, please include your phone number in the email and the best time to contact you.

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At In-Person Events

 

If you experience or see a Code of Conduct violation, follow these steps:

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• Let the person know that what was done was not appropriate and ask the individual to stop the behavior if you feel comfortable doing so. That person should immediately stop the behavior and correct the issue.

• If this does not happen, or if you are uncomfortable speaking up, or if you want to talk to someone about the incident, contact a CHAOS representative as soon as possible.

• When reporting the event, try to gather as much information as available, but do not interview people about the incident. The staff member will assist you in writing the report/collecting information. When reporting an incident it will be helpful to have the following information:

  • Identifying information of the participant doing the harassing. Even if you do not want to identify the violator, we invite you to talk with us.

  • A description of the harassing behavior.

  • The approximate time of the behavior.

  • The circumstances surrounding the incident.

  • Other people involved in the incident.

• At any event, we hope you will feel welcome to talk with any CHAOS official, including those in charge of the event you are attending.

• Whenever there are designated representatives for an event, we will make every attempt to add the names and contact information for those representatives in advance on the event webpage(s). Each person will be prepared to listen to you with care and concern, and to help you decide how to proceed. Each one will be well informed about our code of conduct policy and guide for handling harassment at CHAOS events. Any of these representatives will be happy to help participants contact hotel/venue security or local police or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the event. We value your attendance at all of our events.

• All reports are confidential.

• If you feel your safety is in jeopardy, calling 911 is your right. If you do not have a mobile phone, please ask a helper.

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Attributions/Resources

This Code of Conduct was based on JSConf EU(link is external), CSSConf/JSConf AU(link is external), The Geek Feminism wiki(link is external), the work of Valerie Aurora(link is external), WeAllJS(link is external), 7OSME (7th Origami, Science, Mathematics, and Education conference), and Conference Code of Conduct(link is external).