NumFOCUS welcomes and encourages participation in our community by people of all backgrounds and identities. We are committed to promoting and sustaining a culture that values mutual respect, tolerance, and learning, and we work together as a community to help each other live out these values.

We have created this diversity statement because we believe that a diverse community is stronger, more vibrant, and produces better software and better science. A diverse community where people treat each other with respect has more potential contributors, more sources for ideas, and fewer shared assumptions that might hinder development or research.

Although we have phrased the formal diversity statement generically to make it all-inclusive, we recognize that there are specific identities that are impacted by systemic discrimination and marginalization. We welcome all people to participate in the NumFOCUS community regardless of their identity or background.

NumFOCUS is a worldwide community. All communication should be appropriate for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds.

Please always be kind and courteous. There’s never a need to be mean or rude or disrespectful. Thank you for helping make this a welcoming, friendly community for all.

We strive to:

Be empathetic, welcoming, friendly, and patient. We remember that every NumFOCUS project and program is crafted by human beings who deserve to be treated with kindness and empathy. We work together to resolve conflict and assume good intentions. We may all experience some frustration from time to time, but we do not allow frustration to turn into a personal attack. A community where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one.

Be collaborative. Our work depends on the participation of many people, and in turn others depend on our work. Open source communities depend on effective and friendly collaboration to achieve their goals.

Be inquisitive. Nobody knows everything! Asking questions early avoids many problems later, so we encourage questions, although we may direct them to the appropriate forum. We will try hard to be responsive and helpful.

Be careful in the words that we choose. We are careful and respectful in our communication and we take responsibility for our own speech. Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other members of the community.

We are committed to making participation in this community a harassment-free experience.

We will not accept harassment or other exclusionary behaviors, such as:

• The use of sexualized language or imagery
• Excessive profanity (please avoid curse words; people differ greatly in their sensitivity to swearing)
• Posting sexually explicit or violent material
• Violent or intimidating threats or language directed against another person
• Inappropriate physical contact and/or unwelcome sexual attention or sexual comments
• Sexist, racist, or otherwise discriminatory jokes and language
• Trolling or insulting and derogatory comments

If you believe someone is violating the code of conduct, please report this in a timely manner. Code of conduct violations reduce the value of the community for everyone. The team at NumFOCUS takes reports of misconduct very seriously and is committed to preserving and maintaining the welcoming nature of our community.

All reports will be kept confidential.

In some cases we may determine that a public statement will need to be made. If that’s the case, the identities of all involved parties and reporters will remain confidential unless those individuals instruct us otherwise.

All complaints will be reviewed and investigated and will result in a response that is deemed necessary and appropriate to the circumstances. The NumFOCUS team commits to maintaining confidentiality with regard to the reporter of an incident.

For possibly unintentional breaches of the code of conduct, you may want to respond to the person and point out this code of conduct (either in public or in private, whatever is most appropriate). If you would prefer not to do that, please submit a report to NumFOCUS.

Take care of each other. Alert NumFOCUS if you notice a dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of this code of conduct, even if they seem inconsequential.

In some cases we may determine that a public statement will need to be made. If that’s the case, the identities of all involved parties and reporters will remain confidential unless those individuals instruct us otherwise.

All complaints will be reviewed and investigated and will result in a response that is deemed necessary and appropriate to the circumstances. The NumFOCUS team commits to maintaining confidentiality with regard to the reporter of an incident.