Tŵt Cymru / Toot Wales Community Code of Conduct

Preamble

Tŵt Cymru | Toot Wales (“Tŵt”) is a collection of Web services whose mission is to connect Cymru and its diverse community, at home and abroad, encouraging and enabling the use of the Welsh language online. We strive to provide a welcoming, bilingual platform that is free from hate, discrimination, and harm.

In all cases, when using the Tŵt services we ask you be respectful, be mindful, and be nice. The Community Code of Conduct includes by reference the Tŵt Cymru / Toot Wales Community Participation Guidelines which are attached below.

Disallowed Content and Activity

The following are disallowed, are subject to deletion, and may result in revocation of access to the service:

These provisions notwithstanding, the administrative staff of the service reserves the right to revoke any user's access, at any time, for any reason, except as limited by law.

Moderator Actions

For other Code of Conduct reports, in most instances a Moderator will contact the Member and offer a means to correct the content or activity. Members who do not wish to abide by our Code of Conduct may be Silenced during further Moderator conversation. Silenced members can still be seen by their followers, but will not appear in the public feeds.

Members who repeatedly fail to follow the Code of Conduct may be suspended from the service.

Language Policy

Please note that we cannot moderate all languages. At this time we are accepting Welsh, English, and all European Union language accounts as well as accounts that make use of Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil and Turkish, but cannot accept registrations in any other language. Unsupported language accounts will be suspended with the Unsupported Language Notice and given guidance on finding an appropriate service provider; members will have 30 days to move their account to an alternative service provider. See http://mastodon-near.me/ to find a server in your country or language. If you would like to volunteer to moderate in a particular language, please email hello@toot.wales

To participate as a council member or a moderator please email hello@toot.wales

Included by reference:

Tŵt Cymru / Toot Wales Community Participation Guidelines

Version 1.1 – February 1, 2025

The heart of Tŵt Cymru / Toot Wales (“Tŵt”) is people. We put people first and do our best to recognise, appreciate and respect the diversity of our contributors. Tŵt welcomes contributions from everyone who shares our goals and wants to contribute in a healthy and constructive manner within our community. As such, we have adopted this code of conduct and require all those who participate to agree and adhere to these Community Participation Guidelines in order to help us create a safe and positive community experience for all.

These guidelines aim to support a community where all people should feel safe to participate, introduce new ideas and inspire others, regardless of:

Openness, collaboration and participation are core aspects of our work. We gain strength from diversity and actively seek participation from those who enhance it. These guidelines exist to enable diverse individuals and groups to interact and collaborate to mutual advantage. This document outlines both expected and prohibited behavior.

When and How to Use These Guidelines

These guidelines outline our behavior expectations as members of the Tŵt community in all Tŵt activities, both offline and online. Your participation is contingent upon following these guidelines in all Tŵt activities, including but not limited to:

While these guidelines / code of conduct are specifically aimed at Tŵt’s work and community, we recognise that it is possible for actions taken outside of Tŵt online or in-person spaces to have a deep impact on community health. This is an active topic in the diversity and inclusion realm. We anticipate wide-ranging discussions among our communities about appropriate boundaries.

Expected Behavior

The following behaviors are expected of all Tŵt staff and community participants:

Be Respectful

Value each other’s ideas, styles and viewpoints. We may not always agree, but disagreement is no excuse for poor manners. Be open to different possibilities and to being wrong. Be respectful in all interactions and communications, especially when debating the merits of different options. Be aware of your impact and how intense interactions may be affecting people. Be direct, constructive and positive. Take responsibility for your impact and your mistakes – if someone says they have been harmed through your words or actions, listen carefully, apologise sincerely, and correct the behavior going forward.

Be Direct

We are likely to have some discussions about if and when criticism is respectful and when it’s not. We must be able to speak directly when we disagree and when we think we need to improve. We cannot withhold hard truths. Doing so respectfully is hard, doing so when others don’t seem to be listening is harder, and hearing such comments when one is the recipient can be even harder still. We need to be honest and direct, as well as respectful.

Be Inclusive

Seek diverse perspectives. Diversity of views and of people on teams powers innovation, even if it is not always comfortable. Encourage all voices. Help new perspectives be heard and listen actively. If you find yourself dominating a discussion, it is especially important to step back and encourage other voices to join in. Be aware of how much time is taken up by dominant members of the group. Provide alternative ways to contribute or participate when possible.

Be inclusive of everyone in an interaction, respecting and facilitating people’s participation whether they are:

Think about how you might facilitate alternative ways to contribute or participate. If you find yourself dominating a discussion, step back. Make way for other voices and listen actively to them.

Understand Different Perspectives

Our goal should not be to “win” every disagreement or argument. A more productive goal is to be open to ideas that make our own ideas better. Strive to be an example for inclusive thinking. “Winning” is what happens when different perspectives make our work richer and stronger.

Appreciate and Accommodate Our Similarities and Differences

Tŵt participants come from many cultures and backgrounds. Cultural differences can encompass everything from official religious observances to personal habits to clothing. Be respectful of people with different cultural practices, attitudes and beliefs. Work to eliminate your own biases, prejudices and discriminatory practices. Think of others’ needs from their point of view. Use preferred titles (including pronouns) and the appropriate tone of voice. Respect people’s right to privacy and confidentiality. Be open to learning from and educating others as well as educating yourself; it is unrealistic to expect everyone to know the cultural practices of every ethnic and cultural group, but everyone needs to recognise one’s native culture is only part of positive interactions.

Lead by Example

By matching your actions with your words, you become a person others want to follow. Your actions influence others to behave and respond in ways that are valuable and appropriate for our organisational outcomes. Design your community and your work for inclusion. Hold yourself and others accountable for inclusive behaviors. Make decisions based on the highest good for Tŵt’s mission.

Behavior That Will Not Be Tolerated

The following behaviors are considered to be unacceptable under these guidelines:

Violence and Threats of Violence

Violence and threats of violence are not acceptable – online or offline. This includes incitement of violence toward any individual, including encouraging a person to commit self-harm. This also includes posting or threatening to post other people’s personally identifying information online.

Personal Attacks

Conflicts will inevitably arise, but frustration should never turn into a personal attack. It is not okay to insult, demean or belittle others. Attacking someone for their opinions, beliefs and ideas is not acceptable. It is important to speak directly when we disagree and when we think we need to improve, but such discussions must be conducted respectfully and professionally, remaining focused on the issue at hand.

Derogatory Language

Hurtful or harmful language related to Background, Family status, Gender, Gender identity or expression, Marital status, Sex, Sexual orientation, Native language, Age, Ability, Race and/or ethnicity, Caste, National origin, Socioeconomic status, Religion, Geographic location, Other attributes, is not acceptable. This includes deliberately referring to someone by a gender that they do not identify with, and/or questioning the legitimacy of an individual’s gender identity. If you’re unsure if a word is derogatory, don’t use it. This also includes repeated subtle and/or indirect discrimination; when asked to stop, stop the behavior in question.

Unwelcome Sexual Attention or Physical Contact

Unwelcome sexual attention or unwelcome physical contact is not acceptable. This includes sexualised comments, jokes or imagery in interactions, communications or presentation materials, as well as inappropriate touching, groping, or sexual advances. Additionally, touching a person without permission, including sensitive areas such as their hair, pregnant stomach, mobility device (wheelchair, scooter, etc) or tattoos is unacceptable. This includes physically blocking or intimidating another person. Physical contact or simulated physical contact (such as emojis like “kiss”) without affirmative consent is not acceptable. The sharing or distribution of sexualised images or text is unacceptable.

Disruptive Behavior

Sustained disruption of events, forums, or meetings, including talks and presentations, will not be tolerated. This includes:

Influencing Unacceptable Behavior

We will treat influencing or leading such activities the same way we treat the activities themselves, and thus the same consequences apply.

Consequences of Unacceptable Behavior

Bad behavior from any person associated with Tŵt, including those with decision-making authority, will not be tolerated. Intentional efforts to exclude people (except as part of a consequence of these guidelines or other official action) from Tŵt activities are not acceptable and will be dealt with appropriately.

Reports of harassment/discrimination will be promptly and thoroughly investigated by the people responsible for the safety of the space, event or activity. Appropriate measures will be taken to address the situation.

Anyone being asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately. Violation of these guidelines can result in anyone being asked to leave an event or online space, either temporarily or for the duration of the event, or being banned from participation in spaces, or future events and activities in perpetuity.

Tŵt volunteers or participants in violation of these guidelines may be subject to further consequences, such as disciplinary action, up to and including termination of engagement. For contractors or vendors, violation of these guidelines may affect continuation or renewal of contract.

In addition, any participants who abuse the reporting process will be considered to be in violation of these guidelines and subject to the same consequences. False reporting, especially to retaliate or exclude, will not be accepted or tolerated.

Reporting

If you believe you’re experiencing unacceptable behavior that will not be tolerated as outlined above, please email safety@toot.wales to report the behavior. You can also contact either Jaz-Michael King or Jayne Samuel-Walker directly.

Please also report to us if you observe a potentially dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of these guidelines, even if the situation is not happening to you.

If you feel you have been unfairly accused of violating these guidelines, please follow the same reporting process.

License and Attribution

This set of guidelines is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license.

These guidelines have been adapted with modifications from Mozilla’s Community Participation Guidelines, in turn derived from the Ubuntu Code of Conduct, Mozilla’s View Source Conference Code of Conduct, and the Rust Language Code of Conduct, which are based on Stumptown Syndicate’s Citizen Code of Conduct. Additional text from the LGBTQ in Technology Code of Conduct and the WisCon code of conduct.

Modifications to these Guidelines

Tŵt may amend the guidelines from time to time and may also vary the procedures it sets out where appropriate in a particular case. Your agreement to comply with the guidelines will be deemed agreement to any changes to it.

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