Code of Conduct

PixelPop Festival 2018 - Photo by EMi Spicer

All attendees, speakers, exhibitors, sponsors, and volunteers at our events must comply with the following code of conduct. We expect cooperation from all participants to help ensure a safe and inclusive environment for everybody.

PixelPop Festival is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion. We do not tolerate harassment of guests or participants in any form.  Members and event participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the event (without a refund) at the discretion of the PixelPop Festival event organizers.

Sponsors and exhibitors should not use sexualized images, activities, or other material. Booth staff (including volunteers) should not use sexualized clothing/uniforms/costumes, or otherwise create a sexualized environment.

PixelPop Festival reserves the right to bar any person with a history of predatory, criminal, or harassing behavior from the event and official online spaces. This includes individuals who have been expelled from other industry events including but not limited to the St. Louis Game Developer Co-op and Gameborhood.

Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

  • Verbal comments that reinforce social structures of domination related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, or religion.
  • Violent or sexual comments or imagery
  • Intentionally dead-naming or misgendering
  • Deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, persistent spamming, and/or unwelcome messaging
  • Harassing photography or recording
  • Sustained disruption of sessions, talks, discussions, or other activities
  • Inappropriate physical contact
  • Unwelcome sexual attention
  • Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior

Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

If someone makes you or anyone else feel unsafe or unwelcome, please report it as soon as possible.

CURATORIAL NOTE: PixelPop Festival feels that critical academic discussion of sensitive topics including sexuality, violence, mental health, and other delicate subjects are important for the growth of our medium, therefore we may occasionally curate sessions or demos that address these topics. Any discussions, demos, or speaker sessions containing sensitive subject matter or imagery must be prefaced by content warnings and must not reinforce or encourage social structures of domination as defined above. Attendance and/or engagement with these curations is entirely optional, and the PixelPop Festival team welcomes feedback on ways we can encourage these critical discussions while maintaining a safe and inclusive environment. If casual discussions arise about these subjects within PixelPop Festival spaces, be prepared to end the conversation if someone present requests it to be so.

If you need to submit a complaint, concern, or otherwise need help in regards to the code of conduct, contact us or report to the registration booth or any PixelPop staff member or volunteer.

PixelPop staff will be happy to help participants contact venue security or local law enforcement, provide escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the conference and/or year-round in our online community spaces. We value your comfort and personal safety.

We expect participants to follow these rules at all conference venues, all conference-related social events, and all online PixelPop Festival community spaces.

Code of Conduct adapted from http://2012.jsconf.us/#/about & The Ada Initiative.