Code of Conduct

Below is my Code of Conduct which governs your participation in any of my offerings that involve group Zoom calls, live events, or chat (i.e. Slack) activities. Currently, this includes my Data Product Leadership Community and my Seminars. Participating in these offerings constitutes your agreement to abide by these terms:

The Basics & Our Privacy Policy

1. Treat others with respect. See the code of conduct below for details.
2. Please resist the temptation to get into lengthy discussions about non-business topics - take them offline, or consider asking for a separate channel to be created. (Signal:Noise!)
3. Nobody in the room is an attorney. Please be extremely cautious about giving or receiving anything resembling legal advice.
4. General Privacy and Sharing Rules. There is no NDA between you and all the other members in the group, and you should not presume anything you say here will remain private, so act accordingly. Protect IP, data and legally-protected information. However, because we want to facilitate sharing, learning, and close relationships, we will operate on a "trust first, legal second" model.  This means I will only add additional "legal language" to these policies when the group deems it in the group's best interest to formalize something. Unless a member has specifically requested that information not be shared at all outside the group or some other level of privacy, by default, we will operate under Chatham House Rules as our guideline for what can be shared outside the community. (TLDR: “participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed”). "Affiliation" here includes citing members' employers or clients (current or past).
5. Privacy and Sharing for Members' Slides, Presentations, Videos, or Other Similar Artifacts: we will abide by a higher level of privacy for these assets than the rules governing our verbal and written discussions. No sharing of these assets is allowed outside the group without the explicit written permission of the author and presenter.  It is your responsibility, if you wish to share something you didn't create outside the group, to get that permission directly from the author. (Brian will not be involved in the granting of permissions between third parties).
6. Advice: If you want to share particularly sensitive information, tell the community up front you are doing so such that they can take extra care with that information.
7. Membership in these groups, Slacks, or Zooms is a privilege, not a right. I do reserve the right to expel anyone that is not abiding by these rules without notice and without any refund.
8. This is a no-cold-sales environment: You know what it is when you see it, particulary the unwanted kind, so don't do it. This includes fishing for contacts at a member's employers. Build your relationship first. However, it is ok to mention a paid service, including your own product or service, when the context merits mentioning it. Ex: if a thread is talking about "data labeling" for ML, and you work for a company that does that, it's ok to mention that.
9. Our "Zoom" culture": video on, muted by default, speak when you want.  When we meet as a group, we default to video on to form closer relationships and show that we are engaged. However, each member can determine whether they wish to be on screen. Please remain muted to minimize noise when not speaking. Until we get to a larger size, you are welcome to speak at any time.

Code of Conduct

The Short Version

Be respectful of other people, respectfully ask people to stop if you are bothered, and if you can’t resolve an issue contact Brian. If you’re being a problem, you may be kicked out.

The Long Version

RESPECT

My Slack rooms are intended to be positive communities that recognize and celebrate the creativity and collaboration of independent members and the diversity of skills, talents, experiences, cultures, and opinions that they bring to our community. These rooms are an inclusive environment, based on treating all individuals respectfully, regardless of gender or gender identity (including transgender status), sexual orientation, age, disability, nationality, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), or career path.

I value respectful behavior above individual opinions.

Respectful behavior includes:

• Be considerate, kind, constructive, and helpful.
• Avoid demeaning, discriminatory, harassing, hateful, or physically threatening behavior, speech, and imagery.
• If you’re not sure, ask Brian.
• Don’t be a bystander. Role model respectful behavior, but also help to address disrespect when you see it.

RESOLVE PEACEFULLY

I believe peer to peer discussions, feedback, and corrections can help build a stronger, safer, and more welcoming community.

If you see someone behaving disrespectfully, I urge you to respectfully dissuade them from such behavior. Expect that others in the community wish to help keep the community respectful, and welcome your input in doing so.

If you experience disrespectful behavior toward yourself or anyone else and feel in any way unable or unwilling to respond or resolve it respectfully (for any reason), please immediately bring it to the attention of Brian. I want to hear from you about anything that you feel is disrespectful, threatening, or just something that could make someone feel distressed in any way.

I will listen and work to resolve the matter.

APOLOGIZE FOR MISTAKES

Should you catch yourself behaving disrespectfully, or be confronted as such, listen intently, own up to your words and actions, and apologize accordingly.

No one is perfect, and even well-intentioned people make mistakes. What matters is how you handle them and that you avoid repeating them in the future.

CONSEQUENCES

If I determine that someone is behaving disrespectfully, I may take any action I deem appropriate, up to and including expulsion and exclusion from the room. That said, I will seek to resolve conflicts peacefully and in a manner that is positive for the community.

THANKS

Many thanks to Jonathan Stark, Michael Lopp, Chris Ferdinandi, and Kai Davis for influencing these guidelines.