TDWG Code of Conduct

This page is also available in French.

Last revised 12 April 2022

Biodiversity Information Standards (hereafter referred to as TDWG) sponsors a variety of written exchanges (e.g., on GitHub, Slack, and social media platforms), as well as in-person and virtual meetings and conferences for sharing, discussing, and promoting ideas related to the construction, use, implementation, and evaluation of standards for sharing biodiversity-related data. By participating in any activity associated with TDWG, you agree voluntarily to abide by this Code of Conduct.

Expectations

Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) is dedicated to providing a safe, hospitable, and productive environment for everyone participating in its activities, regardless of ethnicity, religion, professional status, physical or mental ability, physical appearance, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation. It is important to remember that a community where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is neither healthy nor productive. We ask that everyone make every effort to maintain constructive and civil discourse with other participants at all times. This includes but is not limited to, speakers honoring designated time limits, attendees being aware of balancing speaking and listening time, and especially welcoming attendees that are new to our community or early in their careers.

To file a complaint or report an issue

If you are being harassed or witnessed something inappropriate, would like to file a complaint, or have other concerns about the safety of participants, please do not hesitate to contact us at ccc@tdwg.org or ask questions at secretary@tdwg.org.

Additional considerations

Authors and Presenters should conform to the highest standards of scientific attribution and citation in their abstracts and presentations (see TDWG’s Terms of Use. All authors connected to a presentation and its associated abstract must be aware of and agree with the information presented. Obtaining consent from all authors associated with the presentation is the responsibility of the lead author. The presenter of a submitted abstract must have the intention of attending and participating in the conference and must be fully registered before the final acceptance of their abstract for publication and scheduling in the program.

Authors are solely responsible for using original images/graphics that they own or otherwise have permission to use. If your slides or poster require either a license (e.g., from Creative Commons) or are unable to be shared, these warnings must be displayed on affected media.

Attendees: Please respect the presenter’s “no sharing” or attribution license posted on slides, posters, or other media. Conference attendees may not share links to conference sessions with non-registrants outside of the conference platform (e.g. to social media).

Because it is inherent in TDWG’s mission to reach as broad an audience as possible, abstracts are published in an open-access journal and presentations (audio/video, slides, and posters) may be streamed, recorded, and/or made publicly available after the event.