Code of Ethics and Conduct

§1. Introduction

The Microservices Community is an international community interested in the software paradigm of Microservices where participants choose to work together to share knowledge about Microservices and to promote their development, in particular by bridging research, teaching, and innovation at businesses, universities, and individuals. The Microservices Community is committed to maintaining a positive environment, where each participant feels appreciated and respected and where everyone adheres to the same high level of standards of personal behaviour. The Community has a broad composition and in such diverse environment, misunderstandings and disagreements happen, which in most cases can be resolved informally.

This Code is udeful to define accepted and acceptable behaviours and to promote high standards of professional practice. The goald of this Code is to ensure that the Microservices Community is an environment where everyone can participate without fear of harassment or discrimination of any kind. It also provides a benchmark for self evaluation and acts as a vehicle for better identity of the organization.

§2. Statement of Intent

The Microservices Community is committed to maintaining a positive environment. This commitment calls for a place where participants at all levels behave according to the rules of the following code. A foundational concept of this code is that we all share responsibility for our environment.

§3. Code

§3.1 Expected Behaviour

Treat each other with respect, professionalism, fairness, and sensitivity to our many differences and strengths, including in situations of high pressure and urgency.

• Appreciate and accommodate our similarities and differences. We come from many cultures and backgrounds, ways of life, and standards of behaviour. Cultural differences can encompass everything from official religious observances to personal habits to clothing. Be respectful of people with different practices, attitudes, and beliefs. To help us achieve and maintain these high standards, each individual participant is expected to share responsibility for our environment by adhering to the behavioural guidelines herein.
• Have empathy when discussing sensitive issues. Some participants may have experienced (or been subjected to) various forms of violence in their lives, which may cause distress when they are reminded of it. Avoid making jokes or callously mentioning sexual violence such as stalking or sexual assault; in cases when the need arises to discuss these issues and how they affect people - do so with tact and empathy taking into account the gravity of the situation, and make sure that participants are appropriately warned in advance so they can choose to step out of these discussions.
• Treat everyone with respect. We are a community of people who are passionate about our work, sometimes holding strong opinions and beliefs. We are committed to dealing with each other with courtesy, respect, and dignity at all times. Misunderstandings and disagreements do happen. When conflicts arise, we are expected to resolve them maintaining that courtesy, respect, and dignity, even when emotions are heightened.
• Do not accept or engage in abusive behaviour in any form, whether it is verbal, physical, sexual, or implied.
• Be honest. Be truthful, sincere, forthright and, unless professional duties require confidentiality or special discretion, candid, straightforward, and frank.
• Be inclusive and promote diversity. Seek diverse perspectives. Diversity of views and of people 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. Provide alternative ways to contribute.
• Be aware of how much time is taken up by dominant members of the group.
• Be aware that displays of affection may complicate professional relationships. For some cultures, overtly friendly disposition towards another participant involving body contact (e.g.: hugging, touching on the arm or shoulder, or kissing) is uncommon and may be perceived as an invasion of personal space, or as unwelcome advances.
• Work to eliminate your own biases, prejudices, and discriminatory practices.
• Think of others’ needs from their point of view. Use preferred names, titles (including pronouns), and the appropriate tone of voice. Therefore, be formal and conservative in what you do and liberal in what you accept from others and acknowledge the contributions of your peers.
• Accommodate participants’ needs for physical distancing and other accommodations or precautions due to health concerns such as immune deficiency, allergies, or chemical sensitivity.
• Be sensitive to language differences. English is the default language of the Microservices Community. However, only some of us are native English speakers. Many participants speak English as a second (or third) language. People who communicate in non-native language often struggle to understand fast and/or quiet speech and may speak louder than they usually would when communicating in their native tongue. If someone struggles to express their thoughts, help ensure their ideas are adequately expressed, heard, and granted thorough consideration.
• Respect confidentiality and privacy. Sometimes, matters we discuss may fall under various confidentiality agreements and strict adherence to these agreements is expected. In addition, certain pieces of information disclosed in a group setting may be private in nature, or we may inadvertently learn confidential information accidentally disclosed by other participants. Please exercise good judgment, and make reasonable efforts to protect privacy and confidentiality of all participants.

§3.2 Unacceptable Behaviour

Unacceptable behaviours run counter to the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. This list of unacceptable behaviours does not cover every case. Each person you interact with is unique, and behaviour must be assessed on an individual level. Ensuring that your behaviour does not have a negative impact is your responsibility. The Microservices Community strictly prohibits discrimination, intimidation, harassment, and bullying of any kind and on any basis.

Unacceptable behaviours include, but are not limited to:

• Offensive comments related to gender, gender identity and gender expression, sexual orientation, disability (both visible and invisible), mental health, neurotype, physical appearance, body, age, race, socio-economic status, ethnicity, caste, nationality, language, or religion
• Unwelcome comments regarding a person’s lifestyle choices and practices, including those related to food, health, parenting, drugs, and employment
• Misgendering someone by deliberately referring to a person using the wrong pronouns or by using someone’s proper names or other terms that person has asked not to be used, also known as deadnaming.
• Gratuitous or off-topic sexual images or behaviour in spaces where they are not appropriate.
• Physical contact and simulated physical contact (e.g., textual descriptions like “hug” or “backrub”) without consent or after a request to stop.
• Threats of violence.
• Incitement of violence towards any individual, including encouraging a person to commit suicide or to engage in self-harm.
• Deliberate intimidation.
• Stalking or physically following or invading someone’s personal space after a request to stop.
• Exposing others to contagious disease.
• Harassing photography or recording, including logging online activity for harassment purposes.
• Sustained disruption of discussion.
• Unwelcome sexual attention.
• Patterns of inappropriate social contact, such as requesting/assuming inappropriate levels of intimacy with others.
• Continued one-on-one communication after requests to cease.
• Deliberate outing of any aspect of a person’s gender identity without their consent.
• Publication of non-harassing private communication without consent by the involved parties.
• Use of coded language (also known as “dog whistles”) used to rally support for hate groups or to intimidate vulnerable groups.
• Microaggressions, which are small comments or questions, either intentional or unintentional, that marginalize people by communicating hostile, derogatory, or negative beliefs. Examples include:
  • Patronizing language or behaviour:
    • Be aware that, regardless of the speaker’s intentions, some phrases or constructions lead people to expect a patronizing statement to follow, and avoid such phrases. For example, beginning an interjection with “Well, actually…” can set this expectation and be taken as a sign of disrespect.
    • Assuming without asking that particular people or groups need concepts defined or explained to them. It’s great to be sensitive to the fact that people may not be familiar with technical terms you use every day, but assuming that people are uninformed can come across as patronizing.
    • Assuming that particular groups of people are technically unskilled (e.g., “So easy your grandmother could do it”).
  • Repeatedly interrupting or talking over someone else.
  • Feigning surprise at someone’s lack of knowledge or awareness about a topic.
  • The use of racially charged language to describe an individual or thing (such as “thug” or “ghetto”).
  • Referring to an individual in a way that demeans or challenges the validity of their racial identity.
  • Mocking someone’s real or perceived accent or first language.
• Retaliating, or taking adverse action, against anyone who files a complaint that someone has violated this code of conduct.

§3.3 Safety versus Comfort

This Code prioritizes the safety of individuals, particularly those in marginalized communities, over the comfort of others, for example in situations involving:

• “Reverse” -isms, including “reverse racism,” “reverse sexism,” and “cisphobia”.
• Reasonable communication of boundaries, such as “leave me alone,” “go away,” or “I’m not discussing this with you”.
• Communication in a tone you don’t find congenial.
• Criticisms of racist, sexist, cissexist, or otherwise oppressive behaviour or assumptions.

§4. Reporting Violations and Supporting the Code

If you are concerned about your immediate safety, contact local emergency services. For a face to face event you may need to contact venue staff for assistance contacting emergency services. All events organised or endorsed by the Microservices Community must follow the this Code and the Code for Endorsed Events or implement equivalent guarantees.

In most instances if you have an issue with someone’s behaviour along the lines of this Code then please raise it; there are a few potential people you could raise it to depending on your situation and your safety.

In most cases, issues are best resolved at the source. Accordingly, raising the issue with the group chair or team contact of the relevant group is usually the best first place to raise an issue. Group chairs and team contacts also have more of the context which helps them address the issue.

You are welcome to raise issues directly by filling an incident report as described below. All complaints will be taken seriously, kept confidential, and will receive a response.

If you are responsible for a group within the Microservices Community such as in the role of a chair of a community group and you witness harassment or any other behaviour which goes against this Code it is your duty to address this issue immediately and take action to stop. You are encouraged to address this issue directly or, seek assistance from the Microservices Community by filling an incident report as described above. either directly or filling an incident report as described below.

§4.1 Reporting

To report an incident to the Council (or its delegates), please fill an incident report with the Ethics Group. You can contact the Ethics Group at its main email address or its members directly. All complaints will be taken seriously, kept confidential, and will receive a response.

§5. If You’ve Done Something Improper

As we engage in diverse communities we may accidentally cause offence, whether through using unknowingly offensive terminology or through missing social cues.

If you realize (or are told) that you have offended someone then take the appropriate steps:

• Acknowledge that you’ve done something improper
• Briefly apologize. Don’t try to explain yourself or minimize the issue
• If possible, edit your message, restate your communication in a better way or withdraw your statement. Publicly revising your statement helps define the culture for others

Alice: “Yeah I used X and it was really crazy!” Eve: “Hey, could you not use that word? What about ‘ridiculous’ instead?” Alice: “oh sorry, sure.” -> edits old message to say “Yeah I used X and it was really confusing!”

This will allow conversation to quickly continue without any need of further action or escalating the situation.

If you don’t understand what you did wrong, assume that the hurt party has good cause and accept it. We cannot know everyone’s background and should do our best to avoid harm. You are welcome to discuss it with a Microservices Community mediating person later.

§6. Attribution

Large portions of the text for this policy were taken from the following resources:

• W3C Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct 2020
• Geek Feminism Community anti-harassment/Policy