Code of Conduct

The Neurodivergent Publishing Conference is an inclusive and equitable event where neurodivergent admins, staff, and participants can explore the intersection of the publishing industry and neurodivergent culture. To keep the event safe and comfortable for everyone, please observe the following guidelines:

• The NPC is an event that celebrates people of every neurotype, ability, culture, sexuality, gender, orientation, size, and age. Ableist, racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, sizeist, and ageist attitudes, speech, and actions will not be tolerated.
• One of the primary purposes of the NPC is to support participants to network and collaborate both professionally and personally. Any form of sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment between participants before, during, or after the conference will not be tolerated. This includes direct messages, emails, voice chats, and other forms of communication.
• The conference is a professional environment where admins, staff, and participants are encouraged to unmask and be themselves. As a courtesy, casual clothing suitable for a work environment is required, and the consumption of controlled substances on camera is not permitted during the scheduled programming of the conference unless in specific social settings (those would be clearly marked). Accordingly, please be mindful to keep camera background scene G rated.
• The NPC upholds a high standard of self-aware, compassionate behavior. Participants are expected to exceed civility and respect by being available to amplify voices that are not being heard, and by disengaging from conflict rather than escalating it. (It is appropriate to draw and enforce a boundary. It is not appropriate to retaliate.)
• In addition to the conference being a gathering of neurodivergent minds from all areas of the publishing industry, it is necessarily an exploration of neurodivergent culture and communication. Within reason, we ask that everyone extend grace to others. Many of us are not experts at communication and may come across in unintended ways or word things awkwardly. This does not excuse malicious behavior.
• The associated groups and Discord server have supplementary posted rules for participation. If you have questions about them, please DM the individuals listed as security and/or staff in those locations.

Penalties

The NPC admins and staff reserve the right to remove participants demonstrating inappropriate behavior from their activities and apply consequences proportionately.

• Participants demonstrating egregious behavior may lose permission to use the chat function in any capacity for the remainder the event.
• Individuals harassing others will be removed from the event without refund.
• A participation ban may be instituted after the first offense for severe infractions.
• A participation ban will not be for less than three years. After the designated period, you will be permitted to attend future NPC events, but there will be zero tolerance for further infractions. If you infringe on the code of conduct a second time in a way that displays that you have not learned your lesson, you will be banned from all NPC events and groups for life.
• Lifetime bans will be decided by the administration as a whole to ensure fairness.
• Illegal behavior will be reported to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.

Reporting and Documentation

If someone is behaving in a manner not in accordance with our code of conduct, we ask that you collect the appropriate documentation and submit this information via email to our head administrator HERE. If it happens “on site,” and needs immediate intervention please send a direct message to a member of the team. We will be updating a list of the volunteers closer to the event.

Documentation

• Take note the participant in question’s username, the time, and the venue where the misconduct occurred (DM, text, email, discord server, workshop, etc.)
• If the infraction takes place via direct message or text, take screen shots of the offending messages (be sure time and date stamps are enabled). You may crop or paint out portions of images to avoid revealing personal data or other areas of your screen not related to the conversation if needed, but do not alter the conversation’s content.
• If harassment happens through email, forward emails upon request.

Administrators do their best to be available and moderate situations in real time, but if we don’t know something is happening, we cannot fix it. If you witness behavior that goes against our code of conduct, please help keep the conference welcoming for everyone and report the behavior.

If you have concerns about the behavior of an admin, moderator, staff member, or participant in forums outside of the conference, please contact the conference heads directly. We will do our best to ensure you are heard and the situation is handled appropriately.