In November 2015, Google introduced the Go Code of Conduct (CoC) and as the leading Go language conference, it was important for us to set an example by publishing and enforcing this Code of Conduct to safeguard the dignity and well-being of all who work in the Go Community. However, as our community grows, things change, and our Code of Conduct should evolve as our community does.

It was announced today that Google has updated their CoC and we believe our mission is best served in an environment that is friendly, safe, and accepting, free from intimidation or harassment. In the spirit of this, GopherCon has published and will be enforcing this new Code of Conduct effective immediately.

We expect all GopherCon administrators, attendees, facilitators, and vendors to abide by this new Code of Conduct at all times in all GopherCon community venues, online and in-person, and in one-on-one communications pertaining to GopherCon affairs. This revised code of conduct retains much of the intent, structure and language of the original Go Code of Conduct while making some critical changes that address some of the shortcomings identified by Go community members.

First, the new code of conduct makes clear that people who participate in any kind of harassment or inappropriate behavior, even outside our project spaces, are not welcome in our project spaces. This means that the Code of Conduct applies outside the project spaces when there is a reasonable belief that an individual’s behavior may have a negative impact on the project or its community.

Second, the new Code of Conduct introduces a single Project Steward who will have explicit training and support for this role. The Project Steward will receive reported violations and then work with a committee, consisting of representatives from the Open Source Programs Office and the Google Open Source Strategy team, to find a resolution.

The first Project Steward will be Cassandra Salisbury. She is well known to the Go community as a member of Go Bridge, an organizer of many Go meetups and conferences, and as a leader of the Go community outreach working group. Cassandra now works on the Go team at Google with a focus on advocating for and supporting the Go community.

We at GopherCon are proud to set an example by adopting and enforcing this new Code of Conduct and we hope that our affiliates will do the same because it’s just the right thing to do.

Please take some time to read the new CoC posted to our website. We are excited to see you all in just a few short months!