Tech Conference Anti-Harassment Boilerplate Policy

[matt_arnold]

I like my interest groups full of women, and I can't imagine chasing them out of the group which is supposed to be about the common interests, not a dating site. I want an environment in which they can be confident that they are meeting friends, not getting a lot of pressure or big expectations

Comments

[matt_arnold]

My recommendations didn't remove all restrictions on speaking. The policy bans "unwelcome sexual attention". Do you agree this would include complementing a stranger on her breasts?

In both cases, the wrong policy implies "the customer is always right". We know from years of experience that only most of them are right.

We had a guy who wanted quiet, but reserved a room on the official party floor despite repeated warnings and offers to help get a room on the official quiet floor. He complained, and even called the cops on the room parties and attempted to get them all shut down. It went to the point that the hotel, with the help of the police, had to kick him out. He was not in an unsafe or uncomfortable environment, but he told us he felt unsafe and uncomfortable. He was a raving lunatic with a massive sense of personal entitlement. I don't want an unstable fruitcake like him to be able to wave in our face a policy guaranteeing his feelings.

I want to protect the ability of participants in a panel discussion, not just to have this or that panel topic, but to take controversial and upsetting opinions on the topic at hand. For instance, I think the world's religious heritages are misanthropic and abusive. That sure as hell "offends" me. In return, religious people get upset about my objection to their teachings, by framing the discussion as being about their identity group instead! That's why I omitted the part with the brackets, where specific concerns are listed, including religion. There's no way I want a convention to have an official policy picking a winner-- neither would I want the organizers saying it's off limits in a panel discussion about religion or mythology in science fiction.

Rude and unsafe are not the same thing. Women at Penguicon are not rare, they are not isolated, and they are not alone. We must respond proportionally to the severity of the offense-- following, and touching, currently carry an official consequence of getting kicked out. But hurting someone's feelings will carry a social consequence. This is a pretty tight-knit community, and we know who complemented their friend on her breasts when it was unwelcome. Or, I should say, ex-friend.

[nicegeek]

I agree with Matt here. To be effective, any policy about kicking people out of a con needs to have clear, objective boundary lines about what is acceptable, and "It would offend a reasonable woman" is a very fuzzy test, especially given the diversity of opinions and views at a con. The Civil Rights Act was written to apply to employment situations, not private social functions, so it's not the right standard to apply.

[matt_arnold]

It would be a waste of breath for our policies to say to a future offender "don't do what would offend a reasonable woman". Think about who that is and whether they will come to the right conclusion about what we want. Plus it doesn't tell our staff a policy they can all agree on, as far as enforcement. If we write out a list of behaviors, rather than outcomes in your feelings, that will get results. We don't want to declare our attendees the guardians of each other's feelings, since if they have to be told and forced, they're not going to understand.