PhilaCon Valley is committed to providing a welcoming, inclusive, and harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of:
- Age
- Body size
- Disability (visible or invisible)
- Ethnicity
- Sex characteristics
- Gender identity and expression
- Level of experience or education
- Nationality
- Personal appearance
- Race
- Religion
- Sexual identity and orientation
- Socioeconomic status
- Technology choices
We pledge to act and interact in ways that contribute to an open, welcoming, diverse, inclusive, and healthy community.
PhilaCon Valley exists to make Philadelphia the tech hub it's meant to be by us, for us. We deliberately center Black, Brown, LGBTQIA+, and underrepresented folks in tech. This is not just inclusion – it's about making sure our voices lead and our experiences shape the community we're building.
- Using welcoming and inclusive language
- Being respectful of differing viewpoints and experiences
- Gracefully accepting constructive criticism
- Focusing on what is best for the community
- Showing empathy towards other community members
- Actively listening and seeking to understand
- Recognizing and respecting boundaries
- Being patient with beginners and those learning new skills
- Giving credit where credit is due
- Supporting and amplifying marginalized voices
- Creating space for others to contribute and lead
- The use of sexualized language or imagery, and sexual attention or advances of any kind
- Trolling, insulting or derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks
- Public or private harassment
- Publishing others' private information without explicit permission
- Dismissing or attacking requests for safety or diversity
- Microaggressions (subtle, often unintentional, discriminatory comments or actions)
- Gatekeeping (telling people they're "not real" developers, "don't belong," etc.)
- Unwelcome comments regarding a person's lifestyle choices and practices
- Deliberate misgendering or use of dead names
- Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting
Community leaders and maintainers are responsible for clarifying and enforcing our standards of acceptable behavior. They will take appropriate and fair corrective action in response to any behavior that they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful.
Community leaders have the right and responsibility to:
- Remove, edit, or reject comments, commits, code, wiki edits, issues, and other contributions that are not aligned with this Code of Conduct
- Ban temporarily or permanently any contributor for behaviors that they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful
This Code of Conduct applies:
- In all PhilaCon Valley community spaces (online and in-person)
- At official PhilaCon Valley events (workshops, Collab Labs, meetups)
- In official communication channels (Slack, GitHub, social media)
- When an individual is officially representing the community
- When an individual's actions outside the community affect community safety
If you experience or witness unacceptable behavior, or have any other concerns, please report it as soon as possible:
Email: waskar@philaconvalley.com
All reports will be handled with discretion. In your report, please include:
- Your contact information
- Names (real, nicknames, or pseudonyms) of those involved
- Description of what happened, including context
- When and where it happened
- Whether it's ongoing
- Any additional context or information
You may also report anonymously, though this may limit our ability to take action.
- Acknowledgment: We will acknowledge receipt of your report within 24 hours
- Review: Community leaders will review the incident and gather additional information if needed
- Decision: We will determine what action, if any, is appropriate
- Follow-up: We will communicate our decision to the reporter and, when appropriate, the person(s) reported
All reports will be kept confidential. Details will only be shared with those who need to know in order to address the situation.
Community leaders will follow these guidelines in determining consequences:
Community Impact: Use of inappropriate language or other behavior deemed unprofessional or unwelcome.
Consequence: A private, written warning, providing clarity around the nature of the violation and an explanation of why the behavior was inappropriate. A public apology may be requested.
Community Impact: A violation through a single incident or series of actions.
Consequence: A warning with consequences for continued behavior. No interaction with the people involved, including unsolicited interaction with those enforcing the Code of Conduct, for a specified period of time. This includes avoiding interactions in community spaces as well as external channels like social media. Violating these terms may lead to a temporary or permanent ban.
Community Impact: A serious violation of community standards, including sustained inappropriate behavior.
Consequence: A temporary ban from any sort of interaction or public communication with the community for a specified period of time. No public or private interaction with the people involved, including unsolicited interaction with those enforcing the Code of Conduct, is allowed during this period. Violating these terms may lead to a permanent ban.
Community Impact: Demonstrating a pattern of violation of community standards, including sustained inappropriate behavior, harassment of an individual, or aggression toward or disparagement of classes of individuals.
Consequence: A permanent ban from any sort of public interaction within the community.
We understand that people make mistakes and say things they don't mean, especially in the heat of discussion. If you've done something that violates this Code of Conduct:
- Acknowledge the impact of your words or actions
- Apologize sincerely
- Learn from the experience
- Do better going forward
The community welcomes people who want to learn and grow. Mistakes are opportunities to improve ourselves and our community.
- Use people's preferred pronouns
- Don't make assumptions about gender, sexuality, or identity
- Avoid unnecessarily gendered language ("you guys" → "everyone," "y'all")
- Be thoughtful about idioms that might not translate across cultures
- Ask if you're unsure – "How do you pronounce your name?" is better than mispronouncing
- Give space for others to speak (don't dominate conversations)
- Amplify what others say rather than repeating their ideas as your own
- Recognize that people from marginalized groups may have expertise you don't
- Don't expect people to educate you – do your own research
- Trust people's lived experiences, even if they're different from yours
- Remember that everyone started somewhere
- Don't use jargon without explanation
- Celebrate questions and learning
- Never use "just," "simply," or "obviously" – what's obvious to you might not be to others
- Encourage and support people learning new skills
This Code of Conduct is adapted from:
- Contributor Covenant, version 2.1
- Mozilla Community Participation Guidelines
- Django Code of Conduct
- Geek Feminism Anti-Harassment Policy
If you have questions about this Code of Conduct, please reach out to:
Email: waskar@philaconvalley.com
PhilaCon Valley is committed to providing a space where everyone can learn, grow, and build. We take this Code of Conduct seriously and will enforce it fairly and consistently.
Together, we're building the Philadelphia tech community we want to see.
Last Updated: October 6, 2025