A primary goal of Bay Area Game Devs is to be inclusive to the largest number of contributors, with the most varied and diverse backgrounds possible. As such, we, the admins, are committed to providing a friendly, safe and welcoming environment for all, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ability, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and religion (or lack thereof). This code of conduct outlines our expectations for all members who participate in our community, as well as the consequences for unacceptable behavior. We invite all those who participate in Bay Area Game Devs to help us create safe and positive experiences for everyone.
A supplemental goal of this Code of Conduct is to support positive culture by encouraging participants to recognize and strengthen the relationships between our actions and their effects on our community. Communities mirror the societies in which they exist and positive action is essential to counteract the many forms of inequality and abuses of power that exist in society. If you see someone who is making an extra effort to ensure our community is welcoming, friendly, and encourages all participants to contribute to the fullest extent, we want to know.
The following behaviors are expected and requested of all members:
- Admission to BAGD is reviewed on a case by case basis and is not guaranteed.
- We expect that all members are currently, have been, or are actively aspiring to become a game worker within the larger Bay Area, California.
- Remote work for companies or projects in the Bay Area satisfies this criteria.
- In order to foster a safe space for the workers and creatives that join BAGD, we are solidifying our mission statement that BAGD is for game developers and those working in the video game industry.
- As such, we will not be accepting applications from any individuals that champion generative AI, AI tools, AI scraping, or other methods that start from an AI-first development perspective.
- Recruiters who work at recruiting agencies are not eligible. Recruiters who are embedded at existing game companies will be considered on a case by case basis.
- Display your full name for your profile. This is primarily to avoid confusion and abuse of anonymity.
The following behaviors are expected and requested of all members:
Threats
- Threats to harm others will result in immediate removal from this community, and your comments will be screenshot, deleted, and reported to local health and safety resources to help you get the support you need. Threats to harm yourself may result in similar actions. Our goal is to ensure that you are cared for by safe services in the area, but also that we protect our community from repercussions that can come with community association to serious threats or actions made upon those threats.
AI
- BAGD is an opt-in community regarding generative AI, LLMs, and related topics (henceforth referred to as "AI"). This means that pro AI topics are not welcome in BAGD unless consent has been obtained.
- What constitutes AI?
- ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and/or any of their derivatives.
- AI summaries from search engines like Google and DuckDuckGo.
- AI chatbots built into apps and services like Meta, GitHub, etc.
- AI tools that generate content like images, text, audio, code, etc.
- What constitutes pro AI behavior?
- Championing, evangelizing, and otherwise posting AI generated content will not be tolerated.
- It is considered evangelizing if the overwhelming volume of a member's posts are about AI tools or features.
- AI generated images and other content will be taken down and the poster will be notified. Repeat offenses will result in disciplinary action.
- What constitutes acceptable AI discourse?
- Fruitful discussion about AI as it changes and continues to impact our industry is permitted.
- Members who are forced to use AI in their workplace discussing AI as a means to survive is permitted.
- BAGD has made channels where discussion of AI topics is allowed, however all previous guidelines above MUST be followed, even in these spaces.
- BAGD Leadership will enforce these rules as with any other rules in these guidelines.
General Conduct
- Thread your conversations in any auto-add channels. This keeps channels clean, and messages easy to parse.
- Participate in an authentic and active way. In doing so, you contribute to the health and longevity of this community.
- Exercise consideration and respect in your speech and actions.
- Attempt collaboration before conflict.
- Refrain from demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behavior and speech.
- Any posts that contain sensitive material must be threaded behind a Content Warning (CW). This is to protect members who do not want to see such material, or who may suffer psychological distress if exposed to it.
- The format should be "CW: [Generalized Topic]"
- Exercise discretion and respect when using @ for individuals. @ing someone will send a notification to them. This should only occur when the message to that person is urgent, or you are attempting to bring their attention to something they might not see otherwise (for instance, if they are not active in a channel you are posting in).
- e.g. Do not @ people who you are engaged in direct conversation with. They will see your message without the @.
- Exercise discretion and respect when Direct Messaging. Similar to @'s, DMs send a notification to whoever is in the DM (it can be multiple people), and it suggests the nature of the DM is urgent.
- This extends to DMing Admins/Mods in regards to concerns. Please utilize the #create-support-ticket channel unless you are uncomfortable sending your message to the entire leadership group.
- Be mindful of your surroundings and of your fellow participants. Alert admins if you notice a dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of this Code of Conduct, even if they seem inconsequential.
- Remember that community event venues may be shared with members of the public; please be respectful to all patrons of these locations.
- Be nice! The admins reserve the authority to discipline or ban members for any behavior we deem unacceptable.
The following behaviors are considered harassment and are unacceptable within our community. This list is inclusive but not exhaustive:
- Violence, threats of violence or violent language directed against another person.
- Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist or otherwise discriminatory jokes and language.
- Posting or displaying sexually explicit or violent material.
- Posting or threatening to post other people's personally identifying information ("doxing").
- Personal insults, particularly those related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or disability.
- Inappropriate photography or recording.
- Inappropriate physical contact. You should have someone's consent before touching them.
- Unwelcomed sexual attention. This includes: sexualized comments or jokes; inappropriate touching, or groping; sending sexual photos or links; and unwelcomed sexual advances of any kind.
- Deliberate intimidation, stalking or following (online or in person).
- Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior.
- Sustained disruption of community events, including talks and presentations.
No weapons will be allowed at Bay Area Game Devs events, community spaces, or in other spaces covered by the scope of this Code of Conduct. Weapons include but are not limited to guns, explosives (including fireworks), and large knives such as those used for hunting or display, as well as any other item used for the purpose of causing injury or harm to others. Anyone seen in possession of one of these items will be asked to leave immediately, and will only be allowed to return without the weapon. Members are further expected to comply with all state and local laws on this matter.
Unacceptable behavior from any member, including sponsors and those with decision-making authority, will not be tolerated. Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately. If a member engages in unacceptable behavior, BAGD leadership may take any action they deem appropriate, up to and including a temporary ban or permanent expulsion from the community without warning (and without refund in the case of a paid event).
If you are subject to or witness unacceptable behavior in any of our online communities, or have any other concerns, please submit a ticket through the discord #create-support-ticket channel.
- A new channel will be created with yourself and the admins/mods.
- If you have screenshots or other recordings it is recommended that you include them for record keeping.
If you are subject to or witness unacceptable behavior in any of our in-person events or gatherings, or have any other concerns, please find and notify a present admin or mod.
- If none are present, please use the above ticketing tool to contact us.
Additionally, admins and mods are available to help members engage with local law enforcement or to otherwise help those experiencing unacceptable behavior feel safe. In the context of in-person events, admins will also provide escorts as desired by the person experiencing distress. Once admins have been made aware of an incident, we will review all information and conduct an appropriate investigation and discussion relative to the incident. Any incidents that result in accusations of violations and actions to correct such violations will be expressly communicated to all applicable parties.
Finally, any of the above information may be sent to bagd_support@proton.me. In all reporting cases, response time may be limited.
BAGD leadership will provide you with details regarding any moderation actions against your membership. After complying with any conditions outlined, such as a timeframe before BAGD leadership will hear your appeals, you may send any appeals to bagd_support@proton.me. Please include a concise description of moderation actions taken against your membership as well as your appeal. All appeals will be reviewed on a case by case basis, and in accordance with our existing governing policies. We ultimately reserve the authority to discipline or ban members for any behavior we deem unacceptable.
We expect all members (contributors, paid or otherwise; sponsors; and other guests) to abide by this Code of Conduct in all community venues--online and in-person--as well as in all one-on-one communications pertaining to community business. This code of conduct and its related procedures also applies to unacceptable behavior occurring outside the scope of community activities when such behavior has the potential to adversely affect the safety and well-being of members.
Email: bagd_support@proton.me
Admins:
- @tessercat
- @bentle_giant
- @inkarray
Moderators:
- @thememedalorian
- @tea7465
The Citizen Code of Conduct is distributed by Stumptown Syndicate under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license. Portions of text derived from the Django Code of Conduct and the Geek Feminism Anti-Harassment Policy.
Revision 3.0.1 Posted 18 February 2025. Rework of AI policy with extra detail, updates to Reporting Guidelines, removal of full names from contact info. Revision 3.0.0 Posted 17 February 2025. Rework of entire CoC. Including new policy for AI, moderation actions, and contact info. Overall condensing of CoC. Revision 2.6.6 Posted 14 October 2025. Added line 26, which outlines threats of harm to self or others. Revision 2.6.5 Posted 22 September 2025. Updated Admins and Moderators sections. Added line 26, which outlines our admission policy regarding artificial intelligence. Revision 2.6.4 Posted 29 January 2025. Updated email address. Revision 2.6.3 Posted 26 March 2020. Am I numbering these revisions correctly? Added a line for Content Warnings in Section #3. Revision 2.6.2 Posted 26 March 2020. Added the other admins to Section #7 and #8. Revised section #8 to include a reservation for admins to discipline or ban any member based on admin discretion. Revised overall language; "mods" and "community organizers/leaders" are now "admins", "users" and "community members" are now "members". Added a criteria for being a game working in the Bay Area in Section #3. Revision 2.6.1 Posted 26 March 2020. Fixed a typo in line 29. Revision 2.6. Posted 26 March 2020. Added items on @'s and DMs to section #3 Expected Behavior; Added a "be nice" clause to section #3 Expected Behavior; Added more robust language to support section #4 Unacceptable Behavior. -Joshua H. Revision 2.5. Posted 24 January 2020. Added an item on threading conversations in auto add channels to section #3 Expected Behavior. Revision 2.4. Posted 9 July 2019. Revision 2.3. Posted 6 March 2017. Revision 2.2. Posted 4 February 2016. Revision 2.1. Posted 23 June 2014. Revision 2.0, adopted by the Stumptown Syndicate board on 10 January 2013. Posted 17 March 2013.