The biohack.me forums were originally run on Vanilla and ran from January 2011 to July 2024. They are preserved here as a read-only archive. If you had an account on the forums and are in the archive and wish to have either your posts anonymized or removed entirely, email us and let us know.
While we are no longer running Vanilla, Patreon badges are still being awarded, and shoutout forum posts are being created, because this is done directly in the database via an automated task.
Community code of conduct
Part of the community has worked together to draft a code of conduct for the biohack.me community. This applies to the forums, slack, Grindfest, and other community endeavors and events.
This code is a written version of the behavior and support we already try to promote in the community. Everyone will be expected to abide by the code, to ensure the community remains and becomes the sort of place that underrepresented people feel welcome to participate in.
This code is a living document which we will update as the need arises and after receiving feedback from the community. You can submit feedback in this thread, or via github pull request.
Feedback is welcome, except feedback along the lines of "codes of conducts are pointless" or "group X doesn't need protection!"
Comments
-
I find it unfortunate that we need a code of conduct to detail what is, essentially basic decency.
I would request that that as part of the code of conduct we recognize that as part of a scientific discussion, things may be phrased in a way that makes individuals uncomfortable, and it is not necessarily an attack upon them.
For a simple example, if someone is considering taking a supplement or experimental drug, they will need to consider any potential interactions between it and any drugs or therapies they may already be on. -
I hope people see this code of conduct and go on to comment in a thread they might otherwise just lurk. If this is what helps people open up and contribute, or just mingle with their community, then it is pure awesome. This code isn't hampering any innovation, and any innovation which contradicts this code would not be welcome in the first place.
@countseven, you are probably not someone who has to worry about violating these codes. Nearly everyone I have met on this forum has met these requirements, then they go the extra mile and they're nice folks. This gives us a board where we can point and say, "You are acting like a jerk to someone who doesn't deserve it. Stop your behavior or get out." I doubt you will ever need that.
-
I been lurking for more than 3 years, never really had anything to say, just enjoyed reading the topics dreaming of how to "improve" myself. From what I've seen as well, everyones a nice guy around here.
-
the best time to implement a code of conduct is before you have a problem. a lot of new people have joined recently, and the world is a scary place right now.
most people around here are super nice, and it might be surprising to learn how many aren't guys.
-
I find that some of the code of conduct is a little to easy to take advantage of for example say x person did not want person y to comment on z post. Person x can simply make some thing up like saying her or she is something else and also for a safety and scientific reason saying u r a female instead of a male can be dangerous in the case of nitropics ( I probably spell is bad ) but if this happens this can kill someone.
Ps I don’t care if u say u r whatever but I’m saying this can be abused and can be very dangerous/fatal for others
-
@JakePunk said:
also for a safety and scientific reason saying u r a female instead of a male can be dangerous in the case of nitropics ( I probably spell is bad ) but if this happens this can kill someone.citation needed
-
While Jake there phrased it wrong and used a bad example, he's echoing my worry. If someone is, for example, discussing taking human growth hormone, it may be necessary to discuss how it would interact with any other hormone treatments they are taking, such as transition therapy.
I can see how that discussion could potentially make someone uncomfortable and yet it would be necessary, so I feel that the code of conduct should be worded to acknowledge that.
I don't think any of our current members would have an issue with it, as we all seem capable of understanding the difference between an uncomfortable but necessary discussion and harassment, but if this is being established as a just in case, that should be included as well. -
@countseven said:
If someone is, for example, discussing taking human growth hormone, it may be necessary to discuss how it would interact with any other hormone treatments they are taking, such as transition therapy.I'm still not sure this is as big a deal as you claim- a trans person taking hormones probably won't have more of that hormone than a person who produces it in their own body. Many chemicals can interact, of course, but you don't seem to be worried about someone's use of aspirin or antibiotics interacting with other chemicals we talk about.
That's actually a real thing, by the way- did you know antibiotics make many forms of birth control ineffective? I have a friend who got a kid this way. Chemistry and biology are weird.
@countseven said:
I can see how that discussion could potentially make someone uncomfortable and yet it would be necessary, so I feel that the code of conduct should be worded to acknowledge that.
I don't think any of our current members would have an issue with it, as we all seem capable of understanding the difference between an uncomfortable but necessary discussion and harassment, but if this is being established as a just in case, that should be included as well.If you are being respectful, talking about drug interactions and dangerous practices won't be misconstrued as harassing behavior.
Just because someone is uncomfortable doesn't mean they were being harassed, but if someone tells you they are uncomfortable and you persist, then it becomes harassment.
Remember, the code of conduct has a clause for this:
...We reserve the right not to act on complaints regarding:
...
Criticizing dangerous, racist, sexist, cissexist, or otherwise oppressive behavior or assumptions -
Well we r on a form and not talking in person so the point of some of these discussion may be miss understood, there for he or she will not have any way to tell if it is met as a attack. To summarize there can be a major miss understanding
-
Are you guys familiar with anti-loitering laws? They're bullshit, seldom enforced. The point is that if you see a bunch of mother fuckers up to something but don't know what, cops can send them on their way. The point is that they're used discretionarily. Look, there are a lot of personalities here. Unfortunately, sometimes when people are being lame it's a "I know it when I see it." It's not that easy to define. I mean, we've done the whole, be cool to each other, thing successfully for a long time. I see this as a step towards formalizing it a bit more. Yes, problems will arise. But let's fix them as we go?
The stuff I think should be valued in our community..
Don't bullshit.. don't pretend to know more or be more of an expert then you are. Don't bullshit your results. If you know something that someone else doesn't, share it in an educational way; not as an attack. Don't do things half ass. There is no excuse for doing a half ass job. The problem with these is that they're discretionary as well.. who gets to judge intent? This is all roughly shaping in values and always up for discussion.. but it seems like theoretical discussion misses the point. We won't have a perfect system. Maybe we should just run with it and fix issues as they arise. -
Maybe we need to have a more formalized way that complaints are dealt with. I mean, if I was being seriously offensive and someone sent me a pm be saying that person a felt harassed.. I'd probably say woah. Didn't mean it that way. I'll stop. Solves the majority of problems.
-
@Cassox said:
Maybe we need to have a more formalized way that complaints are dealt with. I mean, if I was being seriously offensive and someone sent me a pm be saying that person a felt harassed.. I'd probably say woah. Didn't mean it that way. I'll stop. Solves the majority of problems.Yeah, right now we just ask people to email [email protected] (which goes to four people, currently), which would trigger some mod co-ordination via slack, but we don't have any set rules past that point. And it's not really clear for a new person what to do at, say Grindfest- people who have been around for a while will probably know who to flag down, but we don't have a clear way to signal that to new people.
Defcon just posted their policy for dealing with violations of their own code of conduct. I like that more groups are being pro-active and open about this stuff!
-
Yeah. Thank you tons for so much with ours Tek!
-
Would the code of conduct be an appropriate place to add something about advertising and selling crap? I mean, I think it's appropriate to discuss group buys..compare products and even give shout outs to products. I would have no issue with amal or Alex pitching things here.. but that's not the same as some rando joining just to try to sell some crap.
-
We have to be careful about how we word it, because if, like, Amal from Dangerous Things or Alex from Cyberise.me, or even a new person talking about something worthwhile wants to let us know about something they've developed they should be able to.
I think that just straight up spamming and spammers can be blocked without being codified? Maybe I'm wrong.
-
Yeah. I hear you. I don't see an issue with keeping it as is.
-
Hi all. I live in a small tow where most people still think homosexuality is “deviant sexual behavior.”, and transhumanism is something related to occult sciences... Believe me: The existence of a code of conduct in this community is a balm for my soul.
-
@glims, I think you're talking more about the code of ethics than the code of conduct?
the code of conduct lets us ban people from the forums etc for being assholes in more conventional racist/homophobic/etc trolling than it has anything to do with people doing bad science or any sort of hierarchy.
-
Yep. Saw them both in the same space, clicked on the wrong one. My bad. Carry on.
EDIT: removed comments as they are not on topic.
