Code of Conduct

Please read carefully Neurodesk’s code of conduct. We expect our entire community to adhere to it closely.

Neurodesk’s Code of Conduct

Neurodesk is an open, collaborative, and globally distributed initiative dedicated to building accessible tools for neuroimaging and neuroscience research. We value the contributions of individuals from all backgrounds and are committed to cultivating a diverse, inclusive, and respectful environment for everyone.

We expect all members of the Neurodesk community to engage respectfully and constructively in all interactions, both public and private. This Code of Conduct outlines our shared values, sets expectations for behavior, and describes pathways for addressing concerns.

1. Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

We believe that scientific progress depends on diverse perspectives, lived experiences, and equitable participation. We welcome contributors and users of all identities, including—but not limited to—those of different:

Ethnicities, races, national origins, and cultures
Genders and gender identities
Sexual orientations
Ages and life experiences
Religions and belief systems
Socioeconomic backgrounds
Abilities and disabilities
Career stages and domains of expertise

We acknowledge that structural inequities exist in science and technology, and we commit to proactively addressing these barriers within our community. This entails recognizing preferred titles and pronouns and maintaining a respectful tone. Although we don’t expect Neurodesk community members to be familiar with the cultural customs of all ethnic and cultural groups, we do expect them to acknowledge and respect the diversity within our community. This involves being willing to learn from others, share knowledge, and educate oneself.

2. Our Shared Values

We ask all members of the Neurodesk community to uphold the following values:

Respect: Treat everyone with dignity and professionalism. Avoid demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behavior or speech.
Inclusion: Actively seek to make the community accessible and inclusive. Be mindful of power dynamics, language barriers, and cultural differences.
Collaboration: Foster a spirit of openness and cooperation. Value diverse perspectives, acknowledge contributions, and aim for shared success.
Integrity: Be transparent, honest, and accountable. Uphold scientific and professional standards in your work and communication.
Responsibility: Speak up if you witness behaviour that violates this Code. Offer support when others raise concerns, and be willing to learn and grow.

3. Our Standards

Examples of expected behaviours that contributes to a positive environment for our community include:

Use welcoming and inclusive language
Demonstrating empathy and kindness toward other people
Being respectful of differing opinions, viewpoints, and experiences
Giving and gracefully accepting constructive feedback
Accepting responsibility and apologizing to those affected by our mistakes, and learning from the experience
Focusing on what is best not just for us as individuals, but for the overall community

Examples of unacceptable behaviour include:

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 and microagressions*
Publishing others’ private information, such as a physical or email address, without their explicit permission
Abuse of position, power, or influence
Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting, including scientific misconduct, such as plagiarism or data falsification

These behaviors are not tolerated under any circumstances and may result in removal from community spaces or other consequences.

Microaggressions

Incidents can take the form of “microaggressions,” which is a damaging form of harassment. Microaggressions are the everyday slights or insults which communicate negative messages to target individuals, often based upon their marginalized group membership. The micropedia of microaggression is an excellent resource to learn more on the may forms microaggression can take (see some examples in the note below). Over time, microagressions can take a great toll on mental and emotional health, and the target’s feeling of belonging in science and academia.

The following examples can all be labelled micro-aggressions:

commenting on a woman’s appearance rather than her work;
only directing questions at male colleagues when there are female experts in the room;
telling someone of colour that they “speak such good English”;
forcefully praising meat to an individual with a vegetarian diet;
praising alcoholic drinks to an individual who do not consume them.
exclusion from a group can be a common nonverbal form of microaggression.
microaggressions can be couched in the form of a “compliment,” (e.g. “you’re too attractive to be a scientist”).

4. Reporting and Enforcement

Enforcement Responsibilities

Community leaders are responsible for clarifying and enforcing our standards of acceptable behaviour and will take appropriate and fair corrective action in response to any behaviour that they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful.

Community leaders also have the right and responsibility to remove, edit, or reject comments, commits, code, wiki edits, issues, and other contributions that are not aligned to this Code of Conduct, and will communicate reasons for moderation decisions when appropriate.

Enforcement

Instances of abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior may be reported to the community leaders responsible for enforcement at mail.neurodesk@gmail.com. All complaints will be reviewed and investigated promptly and fairly. All community leaders are obligated to respect the privacy and security of the reporter of any incident. We do not tolerate retaliation against individuals who raise concerns in good faith.

Violations of this Code of Conduct may also be reported in confidence to one of the designated contact persons below:

Steffen Bollmann – s.bollmann@uq.edu.au
Michèle Masson-Trottier – m.massontrottier@uq.edu.au

Alternatively, individuals affiliated with the University of Queensland may choose to report concerns via the official UQ complaints and appeals process.

Enforcement Guidelines

Violations may result in a range of actions, including warnings, temporary or permanent removal from Neurodesk platforms or events, or notification of institutional authorities where appropriate.

Community leaders will follow these Community Impact Guidelines in determining the consequences for any action they deem in violation of this Code of Conduct:

Guidelines

1. Correction

Community Impact:
Use of inappropriate language or other behavior deemed unprofessional or unwelcome in the community.

Consequence:
A private, written warning from community leaders, providing clarity around the nature of the violation and an explanation of why the behavior was inappropriate. A public apology may be requested.

2. Warning

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 such as social media. Violating these terms may lead to a temporary or permanent ban.

3. Temporary 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 contact with those enforcing the Code of Conduct—is permitted during this period. Violating these terms may lead to a permanent ban.

4. 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.

Alignment with Institutional Policies

This Code of Conduct is informed by and consistent with:

All members affiliated with UQ are expected to follow these institutional policies in addition to this community code.

Continuous Improvement

We recognize that fostering an inclusive and respectful community is a continual effort. This Code of Conduct will be reviewed periodically and updated as needed. Suggestions for improvement can be submitted to Michèle Masson-Trottier or Steffen Bollman.

Attribution

This Code of Conduct is adapted from the Contributor Covenant, version 2.0, available at https://www.contributor-covenant.org/version/2/0/code_of_conduct.html.

Community Impact Guidelines were inspired by Mozilla’s code of conduct enforcement ladder, the Organisation of Human Brain Mapping’s Code of Conduct and the laboratory for brain simulation and exploration - SIMEXP’s Code of Conduct.

For answers to common questions about this code of conduct, see the FAQ at https://www.contributor-covenant.org/faq. Translations are available at https://www.contributor-covenant.org/translations.