Code of Conduct

Blue Penguin riding a blue rocket inside of an octagon

The Permanent Minimum Rules

  • You must be 21 or over and legal to drink in the state of Michigan to be served alcohol.  We will be checking ID.
  • To use the hospitality areas you must comply with Michigan state drinking laws.
  • Any weapons or potentially dangerous items should be handled with care.
  • Smoking is only permitted in designated areas.
  • The convention might include discussions or demonstrations of an adult nature; these may be inappropriate for children. Parents are responsible for their children; the convention is not.
  • Be respectful of others. If someone asks you to leave them alone, do so.  Seriously.
  • The Convention retains the right to remove anybody from the Convention at any time, with or without refund.
  • Have fun, but comply with hotel rules and the law.

Contact information:

Penguicon Board of Directors:
board-members-only@penguicon.org 

The Current Code of Conduct 

This Code of Conduct Segment changes annually, as needed by that year’s event ConCom.

Penguicon retains the right, at any time and with or without refund, to remove anyone determined to be disrupting the event or in violation of this Code of Conduct. This could also result in a ban of the person from future events.

Penguicon is committed to fostering an environment of comfort and safety for everyone. To achieve this, attendees should refrain from actions that a reasonable person would feel would limit, or threaten to limit, the safe enjoyment of the convention by another person.

We will not tolerate any form of misconduct toward convention participants. This includes, but is not limited to, targeting based on gender, sexuality, relationship status, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, national origin, or religion.

WHAT IS MISCONDUCT?

Misconduct includes (but is not limited to):

  • Making disrespectful and unwelcome verbal comments
  • Facilitating an unwelcoming environment
  • Preventing any attendee from entering or participating in con events (except in accordance with con policies)
  • Showing sexual images or conducting discussion about sexual topics in public spaces when the images or discussions do not allow attendees the opportunity to leave beforehand or are not presented in a respectful manner.
  • Intimidating, stalking, or following
  • Sustained disruption of talks or other events
  • Uninvited physical contact
  • Uninvited sexual attention
  • Making an individual the focal subject of a photograph or recording, against their consent. (Penguicon considers recording and photography of group activities to be part of the purpose for which we have come together to enjoy activities in public. If you do not wish to be photographed as part of an audience or group, please show consideration to others by wearing a costume, or make a special request that the activity not be photographed or recorded until you leave the frame.)

WHAT IS VIRTUAL MISCONDUCT?

Virtual Misconduct includes (but is not limited to):

  • Making disrespectful and unwelcome verbal or text comments
  • Creating an unwelcoming environment in any Penguicon online space
  • Preventing any attendee from entering or participating in con virtual events (except in accordance with con policies)
  • Showing sexual images, playing sexual audio, or conducting discussion about sexual topics when the images or discussions do not allow attendees the opportunity to leave beforehand or are not presented in a respectful manner.
  • “Zoom bombing” aka entering and disrupting a virtual event, regardless of platform
  • Intimidating, stalking, or virtually following
  • Sustained disruption of talks or other virtual events
  • Uninvited sexual attention
  • Taking screenshots or recordings of participants or their written comments on Discord, YouTube, Zoom, or any other platform, without their consent.
  • The sharing or public posting of any Virtual Platform Link found within our private Sched is not permitted. Please do not share the Jitsi/Zoom/Discord/Twitch or other links to our virtual programming.
  • Silence does not equal consent. Enthusiastic agreement does.

WHAT IS HARASSMENT?

Harassment is a category of misconduct, defined as “a pattern of misconduct toward a target over time.”

Penguicon’s Board tracks reports of misconduct over multiple years, and takes patterns of misconduct into consideration for multi-year disciplinary action, regardless of whether incidents occurred at Penguicon. We need your help to identify whether the incident you experienced was part of a pattern you do not know about. Isolated single incidents of misconduct have sometimes received a multi-year disciplinary action, based on the best judgment of the Board of Directors.

Harassment applies to electronic communication as well as physical. Participants must not engage in misconduct at any convention venues or convention-related social events, including virtual/online events, not just the Penguicon weekend. Participants asked by the Board, Conchair, Convention Committee, or Staff to stop misconduct are expected to stop immediately, or it rises to the level of harassment.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IN CASE OF MISCONDUCT?

If you feel comfortable attempting to resolve the situation yourself, try asking the person to stop, saying “no” or “please leave me alone,” or walking away. If you feel threatened or unsafe, or if your attempts to resolve the situation yourself are unsuccessful, please seek help immediately. In our virtual spaces outside of the actual convention dates, please contact the board of directors by email at: board-members-only@penguicon.org

Retaliating against a person who reports or complains about misconduct will not be tolerated. Penguicon reserves the right to remove attendees from the con and/or ban future attendance as decided on by the Board of Directors, if conduct and safety guidelines are not followed. The Penguicon Board will maintain a record of misconduct reports.

CONSENT

ASK FIRST is the policy of this convention.

If your actions will alter the experience of another person, you are obligated to request their permission, and then respect their decision. This might be regarding someone else’s property, their personal space, touching their costume, taking their photo, or spending all of your time in the same locations as them.

  • CONSENT is an informed,  freely given, sober, ongoing, and enthusiastic “YES!!!”
  • Anything less is NOT consent.
  • Consent may be retracted at any point, even after being given, and you are obligated to respect that decision.

FINAL WORDS

Each year, Penguicon’s Convention Chair and Convention Committee have complete discretion to expand on the rules in detail to become the full Code Of Conduct which they are willing to commit to uphold. Every member of the Board of Directors and Convention Staff, commit to uphold this code of conduct.