Code Of Conduct

 

Diversity and inclusion make the community of the Boston Product Management Association (BPMA) strong. We encourage participation from people of varied and diverse backgrounds and want to be very clear about where we stand. This code of conduct outlines our expectations for all those who participate in our community, as well as the consequences for unacceptable behavior.

If you are the subject of, or witness to, violations of this Code of Conduct, please contact us as soon as possible by email at conduct@bostonproducts.org.

Our goal is to maintain a safe, helpful, and friendly community for everyone, regardless of disability, personal appearance, race, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, or other defining characteristic.

This code and related procedures apply to unacceptable behavior occurring in all community venues — online and in-person — as well as in one-on-one communications, and anywhere such behavior has the potential to adversely affect the safety and well-being of community members.

Expected Behavior

We are a community of professionals, and we conduct ourselves professionally.

  • Be welcoming.

  • Be kind.

  • Be honest.

  • Be careful in the words that you choose.

  • Look out for each other.

We invite all those who participate in the activities of the BPMA to help us create safe and positive experiences for everyone. If you see someone who is making an extra effort to ensure our community is welcoming, friendly, and encourages all participants to contribute to the fullest extent, we want to know.

Unacceptable Behavior

The following behaviors are considered unacceptable within our community:

  • Conduct, speech, jokes, nicknames, or attitudes which are sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, or otherwise discriminatory in nature.

  • Intimidation, harassment, or stalking, online or in-person.

  • Disrespect towards differences of opinion.

  • Inappropriate attention or contact. You should have someone’s consent before touching them.

  • Sustained disruption of community events, including talks and presentations.

  • Using offensive backgrounds, sharing offensive content online, or “Zoom-bombing.”

  • Violence, threats of violence or violent language.

  • Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior.

Be aware of how your actions affect others. If it makes someone uncomfortable, stop.

Enforcement

If you believe anyone is in physical danger, please notify appropriate law enforcement first.

  • Unacceptable behavior will not be tolerated from any community member, including event attendees, sponsors, volunteers, BPMA board members, partners, and presenters.

  • Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately.

  • If violations occur, BPMA leaders or volunteers will take action they deem appropriate for the infraction, up to and including expulsion (without refund in the case of a paid event). This notice serves as your warning.

And if someone takes issue with something you said or did, resist the urge to be defensive. Just stop doing what it was they complained about and apologize. Even if you feel you were misinterpreted or unfairly accused, chances are good there was something you could have communicated better — remember that it’s your responsibility to make your fellow BPMA members comfortable. Everyone wants to get along and we are all here first and foremost because we want to learn and connect with other members of the Product community. You will find that people will be eager to assume good intent and forgive as long as you earn their trust.

License and attribution

Portions derived from the ProductCamp San Diego Code of Conduct, Slack Code of Conduct, Django Code of Conduct, The Citizen Code of Conduct, The Rust Code of Conduct and The Ada Initiative under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license.