Constant Collaboration GuidelinesConstant orientations pour collaborationConstant richtlijnen voor samenwerking

Collaboration Guidelines - Short Version

Collaborators with and within Constant take the following into account:

• Refusing and deconstructing sexism, racism, queer antagonism, ableism, ageism and other kinds of oppression.
• Leaving physical, emotional and conceptual room for other people.
• Respecting other beings, present or not, human or not.
• Caring for physical and digital environments.
• Making an effort not to speak for others or interrupt.
• Try to not be solely guided by your preconceptions.
• Taking time to actually listen.
• Asking before assuming.
• Welcoming multiple processes of (un)learning. The exchange of information, experience and knowledge comes in many forms.
• Accepting differences. Appreciating divergence in pace, points of view, backgrounds, references, needs and limits.
• Recognizing that words and ways of speaking impact people in various ways.
• Caring for language gaps. This is a multi-lingual environment.
• Using Free, Libre and Open Source software whenever possible.
• Asking for explicit consent before sharing photographs or recordings on proprietary social networks.
• The default license for all material and documentation generated during the worksession is the Collective Conditions for re-Use,CC4r.
• Knowing that taking all of the above into account is sometimes easier said than done.

Collaboration Guidelines - Long version

Constant activities are moments of exchange, in which different generous practices develop. Giving, receiving, taking and caring are understood as reciprocal actions. Each time we will make time and space for these guidelines. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Refusing and deconstructing sexism, racism, queer antagonism, ableism, ageism and other kinds of oppression.
• Leaving physical, emotional and conceptual room for other people. We respect the emotional and physical limits of people around us. This means we change our behaviour if someone signals to not be at ease with our behaviour, whatever our intentions.
• Respecting other beings, present or not, human or not. We try to respect the dignity, experiences, and perspectives of those that are implicated by the work we do. It is very possible that those affected are not in the room with us.
• Caring for your physical and digital environment. We pay attention to the people, facilities, infrastructures and objects brought together and treat them with the necessary care.
• Avoiding to speak for others. Make space, instead of intruding or imposing yourself. We are solidary with others, but we take care that they can speak for themselves. Finishing other peoples’ sentences is almost always meant as a sign of support, but it is actually not helpful, unless it is asked for.
• Try to not be solely guided by your preconceptions. Collective work is exciting, challenging, de-centering, alienating and triggering. We each do what we need to do to navigate our mental, emotional, and physical well-being. If we are feeling a bit too dis-oriented or judgmental, we might leave the room for a while, but we will try to come back.
• Taking time to actually listen.
• Asking before assuming. For example what someone’s preferred pronoun is, if they want to be touched, whether they know anything about a subject. If we are unsure, we ask for clarity. We also understand that not all questions are OK, or need answering.
• Welcoming multiple processes of (un)learning. The exchange of information, experiences and knowledge comes in many forms. We pay attention to the way different types of expertise are valued, specifically when it comes to technology. We know that often, the arrangement of expertise re-enforces existing power relations (e.g., teacher-student hierarchy; privileges carried by whiteness, socio-economic/class, gender, heterosexuality …; communication or language skills; mental or physical ability; seniority as a participant, etc.). We try to avoid *splaining, techno-solutionism … and other forms of normative behaviour.
• Accepting differences. Appreciating divergence in pace, points of view, backgrounds, references, needs and limits. We are here because we value occasions to engage with other perspectives. This might mean to try out different content, and also different methods of sharing. It sometimes means requesting dignity/respect/consideration for those who are not here.
• Recognizing that words and ways of speaking impact people in various ways. What you are saying is differently understood by each person. Our listening is conditioned differently, socially, linguistically, emotionally. That why it is good to assume that what you intended to say might not be understood exactly as such.
• Caring for language gaps. This is a multi-lingual environment. We try to remember that we are in Brussels, a multi-lingual city that is officially operating with two languages (French and Dutch), but in practice communicates in many more tongues. Even if we make use of English as a lingua franca, we all bring different languages and vocabularies so we understand that everyone experiences very different levels of comfort while speaking and writing. Native English speakers must understand that their own ease in expressing themselves (particularly in terms of specialized vocabulary and speed) might provoke unease for non-native speakers.
• Using Free, Libre and Open Source software whenever possible. We understand that Constant is committed to Free / Libre and Open Source Software, and we make an effort to use F/LOSS tools as much as possible. If we notice a companion struggle with yet un-known tools and procedures, we make an effort to help out.
• Asking for explicit consent before sharing photographs or recordings on proprietary social networks. As part of a shared documentation effort, pictures, audio and video will be recorded during worksessions and other collective situations. Until we have found a better solution, we will practice delayed publishing, and allow participants time to decide before sharing materials on-line.
• The default license for all material and documentation is the Collective Conditions for (Re)use (CC4r). For collaborative work such as worksessions, auto-documentation and a generous exchange of ideas and knowledge is key. For this reason, we acknowledge that the default license for shared work, notes, prototypes, sketches generated in the context of the worksession is the CC4r. If we need an exception to this rule, we take responsibility to inform other participants about it.
• Knowing that taking all of the above into account is sometimes easier said than done. When anyone breaks these guidelines, we work to not take it personally. We all have been conditioned into systems of oppression and we are unlearning; this makes us uncomfortable and we try not to expect neat, tidy solutions.

Harassment is unacceptable and will not be tolerated during any Constant event, meeting or gathering. This goes for all online, collective or one-on-one communications. Harassment is what people experience it to be. It doesn’t matter how the person harassing intended their action, important is how it was experienced. We understand that it is important to make explicit what counts as harrassment, but we are not used to this language. We have for now used quotes from guidelines and codes of conduct that we have been informed by.

Harassment includes:

• trolling, i.e. sustained disruption of conversations, talks or other events. [1]
• nonconsensual photography or recording including logging online activity for harassment purposes. [2]
• gratuitous or off-topic use of nudity and/or sexual images in public spaces (including presentation slides). [1]
• deliberate intimidation, stalking or following. [1]
• nonconsensual physical contact and simulated physical contact (e.g., textual descriptions like “hug” or “backrub”) without consent or after a request to stop. [2]
• patterns of inappropriate social contact, such as requesting/assuming inappropriate levels of intimacy with others. [2]
• unwelcome sexual attention. [3]
• microaggressions, i.e. small, subtle actions that marginalize people. [1]
• comments that reinforce systemic oppression related to gender, gender identity and expression, trans status, sexual orientation, dis-ability, mental illness, neurodiversity, physical appearance, body size, age, race, or religion (or lack thereof), technical choices, lack of technical knowledge, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. [2]
• unwelcome comments regarding a person’s lifestyle choices and practices, including those related to food, health, parenting, drugs, and employment. [2]
• deliberate misgendering. [2]
• deliberate use of “dead” or rejected names. [2]
• incitement and threats of violence towards any individual, including encouraging a person to commit suicide or to engage in self-harm. [2]
• continued one-on-one communication after requests to cease. [3]
• deliberate “outing” of any private aspect of a person’s identity without their consent except as necessary to protect vulnerable people from intentional abuse. [3]
• publication of private communication without consent. [2]
• knowingly making false claims about a person. [2]

[1] https://queer-code.org/coc
[2] https://www.freebsd.org/internal/code-of-conduct.html
[3] https://radix.one/en/code-of-conduct