Code of Conduct

We expect all of our participants to be a positive presence in our community. Encourage and support your fellow writers regardless of their level of goals for writing, style, ability, genre or approach. By joining our Discord or attending our events, you agree to follow this code of conduct in order to maintain that positive presence.

Diverse and Inclusive Community

We celebrate and welcome diversity of all races, gender identities and presentations, sexualities, religions, abilities, and countries of origin.

Hate speech is not allowed. Hate speech is any speech or image that attacks, threatens or denigrates a particular group of people based on race, ethnicity, gender identity or presentation, sexuality, religion, or ability. Repeated, purposeful and/or violent hate speech is grounds for discipline, up to and including being banned from the Discord or asked not to return to in person events.

Do not platform conspiracy theories. Do not use our Discord or in person events to share theories that are harmful and not based in fact.

Remain open to education. It is natural to feel embarrassed or guilty if you accidentally say something that hurts someone, but we ask that you refrain from becoming defensive. Unintentional harm, while it must be redressed, is also an opportunity for growth and we encourage our members to view it that way.

Use correct pronouns. We encourage all our members to identify their pronouns in the discord and to introduce themselves with pronouns at in person events. While we understand that mistakes happen, it is required that participants use the correct pronouns for all participants. Persistent misgendering (use of the wrong pronouns and gendered words) and/or deadnaming (use of someone’s former name) is grounds for discipline, up to and including being banned from the Discord or asked not to return to in person events.

Interpersonal Conduct

Be kind. We value community. We expect all our participants to approach each other in good faith and assume positive intent.

Be respectful. Discussion of sensitive topics is allowed in our Discord and events. If you have a disagreement with someone, refrain from making personal attacks. Take a break from the discussion if you find yourself feeling hurt or getting angry. If you feel it breaks any of the other codes of conduct, report it to a mod instead of arguing.

Maintain participants’ privacy. Do not share information about participants outside of KanMoWriCo spaces. If a participant has shared any part of their writing, worldbuilding, character creation, etc., do not share that outside of KanMoWriCo spaces. Please note that we cannot wholly prevent information from being screencapped or otherwise leaked so please exercise discretion around sharing sensitive information.

Harassment will not be tolerated.

Harassment includes:

offensive comments related to personal attributes, identities, ability, etc.
unwelcome comments about lifestyle (diet, parenting, religion, health, etc.)
demands that a participant defend their gender, sexuality, faith, lifestyle, etc.
unwanted proselytizing (whether for a religion, political party, health choice, etc.)
unwanted contact outside of the KanMoWriCo Discord server or in person events
sexual harassment
threats and intimidation

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact the mods or co-organizers. They’ll respond as promptly as they can. We will respect confidentiality requests for the purpose of protecting victims of abuse. At our discretion, we may publicly name a person about whom we’ve received harassment complaints, or privately warn third parties about them. We will not name harassment victims without their affirmative consent.

Conflict

Communicate directly and privately. Although we ask that everyone be a positive presence, it is natural to have conflict sometimes. If you have a conflict with another participant, please communicate it clearly, directly and privately as soon as possible. Do not rely on nuance or social cues to let someone know about your issue as not all people can read social cues.

Report problems to the mods and co-organizers. If you do not feel safe addressing it one-on-one or in private, bring your issue to a mod or co-organizer immediately.

Report issues with a mod or co-organizer to another mod or co-organizer. If a mod or co-organizer violates the code of conduct, makes you feel unsafe or unwelcome, or you simply do not feel comfortable addressing an issue with them privately, please bring that issue to a different mod or co-organizer. You are welcome to bring another participant as a witness and to bring evidence against the mod or co-organizer.

Content

Keep it TV-14. We don’t want to spend a lot of time policing the language used, but in order to create an environment that is welcoming to the largest number of people, please limit the use of profanity as well as sexual and violent content. We also expect cleaner language in our in person events – people are welcome to bring their children to events, and children under the age may participate as writers. Discord’s minimum user age is 13, so our language can be watched less closely there.

Use trigger and content warnings. If you want to share a writing excerpt or other form of media that contains potentially triggering content, please share a trigger warning and either block it as a spoiler or share it via link. This allows people to consent to the media being shown. This is mandatory for all sexual and violent content and recommended for content involving abuse, addiction, eating disorders, self harm, sexual violence, etc.

Only post your own work. Do not share anyone else’s writing or art. Do not share anything digital that you do not have permission to share, and make sure what you do share is properly credited.

Moderator Code

Our moderators and co-organizers pledge that we will always abide by the following:

We will be transparent about our plans and goals.
We will be transparent about how we spend donations.
We will always address issues with participants directly. If we institute a new rule or channel in the discord because of something you said, we will let you know privately first.
We will not be passive aggressive with participants.
We will uphold the Code of Conduct.

Code of Conduct was last updated: 03/13/2024