The organizers of Nib & Ink Fest are committed to making our online event as safe a space as it possibly can be. By using the term “safer space,” we are acknowledging that, as a space where different ideas and experiences are being shared, including some sensitive ones, the space cannot be fully “safe,” but can be made safer by requiring all attendees (exhibitors, presenters, and organizers) to adhere to our Code of Conduct. Anyone who violates this code of conduct may be removed from Nib & Ink Fest (hereinafter referred to as NIF) spaces, and potentially barred from attending future events at the discretion of NIF organizers.

For questions about any of these policies, anything you feel we might be missing, or if you feel anyone is in violation of what is written here, please reach out to fest@cartoonist.coop.

All attendees, speakers, sponsors and volunteers are required to agree with the following code of conduct. Organisers will enforce this code throughout the event. We expect cooperation from all NIF participants to help ensure a safe environment for everybody.

Policies

NIF events are open to all ages except for NSFW/18+ events which are exclusively for attendees 18 years and older. Materials in the marketplace labeled 18+ may also only be purchased by those 18 years and older. 

Community Guidelines

The organizers of NIF want all of our spaces to be as inclusive, welcoming and friendly as possible. In that spirit, we would ask everyone participating in NIF to:

• Be aware of the language you use and the ideas you express. Value the involvement and contributions of all community members, even if you have a different experience compared to them.
• Avoid making assumptions about others. This includes but is not limited to pronouns, gender identities, physical ability, sexuality, race, and life experience.
• Be respectful of each other, even if you’re in disagreement. Don’t assume someone’s comfort level. If ever in doubt, check in!
• Acknowledge if you have done harm, as we all engage in conversations with the intention to learn and improve our behavior.
• Speak for yourself; don’t generalize/speak for a hypothetical audience.
• Approach discussion with a collaborative mindset. Engage others and don’t dominate the conversation.
• We do not tolerate harassment. Organizers reserve the right to take whatever action(s) necessary to address any action (behavior) that disrupts and/or creates a hostile environment for any festival participants, including removal from NIF or any associated sites.

Harassment and other prohibited behaviors including, but not limited to:

• Offensive comments related to gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, romantic/affectional orientation, sex worker status, disability status, mental illness, neuro(a)typicality, physical appearance, body size/shape, age, race, religion, culture/ethnicity, class, educational attainment, employment status, marital status, national origin, or immigration status. 
• Real or implied threats of harm and/or violence.
• Incitement of violence towards any individual, including encouraging a person to commit suicide or to engage in self-harm.
• Deliberate intimidation, stalking or following.
• Continued one-on-one communication after requests to cease.
• Unwelcome sexual and/or romantic attention.
• Abusive verbal comments.
• Behaviors that would fall under the umbrella of “doxxing” individuals including, but not limited to:
  • Harassing photography or recording, including logging online activity for harassment purposes.
  • Deliberate “outing” of any aspect of a person’s identity without their consent except as necessary to protect vulnerable people from intentional abuse.
  • Publication of non-harassing private communication.
  • Sharing of any person’s or organization’s private information that hasn’t been publically shared.
• Sustained disruption of talks or other events.
• Screenshotting or recording video, audio, or text in any NIF spaces without the consent of everyone depicted. Even if you have permission to record from all depicted, you must also get permission to share any such recordings, publicly or otherwise.
• Sexual images or behaviour in any spaces that may include minors.
  • Unwelcome sexual images or behaviour outside of spaces that have specifically warned about such content (where all participants have opted in).
• Other unlisted harmful behaviors not mentioned, at the discretion of NIF organizers and moderators.

NIF prioritizes marginalized people’s safety over privileged people’s comfort. The organizers reserves the right not to act on complaints regarding:

• “Reverse’” -isms, including “reverse racism,” “reverse sexism,” and “cisphobia”
• Reasonable communication of boundaries, such as “leave me alone,” “go away,” or “I’m not discussing this with you.”
• Communicating in a “tone” you don’t find congenial.
• Criticism of racist, sexist, cissexist, xenophobic, classist, or otherwise oppressive behavior or assumptions.

Reporting

Reach out! If you ever have an issue, please feel free to reach out to the NIF organizers at fest+reporting@cartoonist.coop and include the subject line “Code of Conduct Report”. Hashing out problems, big or small, as soon as they crop up is important in maintaining a supportive community. Just like we take risks with our art, we can take risks with communicating honestly with each other.

If you are taking part in a NIF live event and require immediate attention, please reach out to one of our designated moderators (listed as “Moderator – Name” in the Zoom Participants list), and we will make sure to address the issue as soon as possible. 

This code of conduct applies to NIF spaces, but if you are being harassed by an attendee, presenter, or organizer outside our spaces, we still want to know about it. We will take all good-faith reports of harassment, especially regarding organizers, seriously. All reports are considered confidential. We will not name harassment victims without their affirmative consent.

In order to protect volunteers from abuse and burnout, we reserve the right to reject any report we believe to have been made in bad faith. Reports intended to silence legitimate criticism may be deleted without response.

Accessibility Policy

To help make NIF accessible as possible, we request that all NIF participants abide by the following guidelines:

• All NIF events will have live captions and transcripts available during each event, with post-event transcripts available upon request.
• Event graphics will NOT use flashing gifs or videos with rapid flashing, as these can be harmful to those with photosensitive epilepsy.
• In a video or audio chat, SAY YOUR NAME when you start to speak. I.E. “Amy speaking. Greg, I really love your zine.”
• When possible in a video chat, please run your video with your face visible so that folks who lip read can do so. If possible, make sure your face is well lit and can be seen clearly.
  • If possible, select a static and simple background to avoid distractions.
  • In audio and video chat, mute your microphone whenever you are not actively talking, when other people are talking in the room with you, or if you are eating or drinking.
  • If possible, select a quiet space to call in from, without a lot of background noise.
• If possible, use a headset with a microphone to improve sound quality.
• Warn other people in a video or audio chat with you if you are going to make a loud noise or play a video with sound.
• Please make sure to include any relevant content warnings before showing any potentially sensitive materials.
  • Examples might include: sex, rape and/or sexual assault, abuse, descriptions of injuries, pregnancy, medication, religion, fascism, self harm, blood, specific weights of people or discussion of weight loss, queerphobia, transphobia, racism, ableism, sexism, and gatekeeping
• Give people an extra second after they stop talking before you jump in and start to speak yourself. Whether there’s audio/video lag from speakers, accidental interruptions, and for the purpose of transcription, please give space to allow others to speak.
• If someone requests accommodations like for you to repeat yourself, typing something out, or verbally describing the content of an image or video, please comply without interrogating the person requesting it as to why.

(Parts of this code of conduct have been adapted with permission from the Queer Zest Zine Fest guidelines, as well as the exemplar Conference Code of Conduct and SCBWI.)