Code of Conduct

Purpose

This Code of Conduct outlines our expectations for participants within the Albuquerque Game Developers Guild (AGDG) community, as well as steps to report unacceptable behavior. We are committed to providing a welcoming, safe, and inspiring community for all and expect our Code of Conduct to be honored.

Scope & Digital Presence

This Code of Conduct applies to all community participants (contributors, sponsors, speakers, volunteers, and guests) in all community venues - online, virtual, and in-person - as well as in all communications relating to the community. This includes official forums, chat servers, social networks, and email communications.

This code also applies to unacceptable behavior occurring outside the scope of community activities when such behavior has the potential to adversely affect the safety, well-being, or intellectual property of community members.

Diversity Statement

We encourage everyone to participate and are committed to building a community for all. Although we will fail at times, we seek to treat everyone both as fairly and equally as possible. Whenever a participant has made a mistake, we expect them to take responsibility for it. If someone has been harmed or offended, then it is our responsibility to listen carefully and respectfully and do our best to right the wrong.

Although this list cannot be exhaustive, we explicitly honor diversity in age, gender, gender identity or expression, culture, ethnicity, language, national origin, political beliefs, profession, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and technical ability. We will not tolerate discrimination based on any of the protected characteristics above, including participants with disabilities.

Expected Behavior

The following behaviors are expected and requested of all community members:

• Be excellent to each other. Treat others with empathy and respect.
• Participate authentically. Contribute actively to the health and longevity of this community.
• Exercise consideration. Use respect in your speech, actions, and digital feedback.
• Listen actively. Refrain from dominating group discussions and respect psychological safety.
• Collaborate first. Attempt professional collaboration before allowing conflict to escalate.
• Refrain from harassment. Avoid demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behavior and speech.
• Stay mindful. Be aware of your surroundings and your fellow participants.
• Alert leadership. Notify AGDG board members if you notice a dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of this code, even if they seem inconsequential.
• Respect venues. Community event venues may be shared with members of the public; please be respectful to all patrons of these locations.

Unacceptable Behavior

The following behaviors are considered harassment and are strictly unacceptable within our community:

• Violence: Violence, threats of violence, or violent language directed against another person.
• Discrimination: Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, or otherwise discriminatory jokes and language.
• Explicit Material: Posting or displaying sexually explicit or violent material.
• Doxing: Posting or threatening to post other people’s personally identifying information (PII), private contact information, personal images, or residential addresses without explicit consent.
• Digital Disruption: Malicious digital actions, including stalking, cyberbullying, grooming, fake emergency reporting ("swatting"), or initiating false police reports.
• Personal Insults: Personal attacks, particularly those related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or disability.
• Unauthorized Recording: Inappropriate or non-consensual photography, filming, or audio recording of participants.
• Physical Contact: Inappropriate physical contact. You must have a person’s explicit consent before touching them.
• Sexual Attention: Unwelcome sexualized comments, jokes, groping, or advances.
• Intimidation: Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following (online or in person).
• Sustained Disruption: Continuous disruption of talks, presentations, panels, virtual streams, workshops, or social networks.
• Property Damage: Destructive behavior at any event venue, including damaging buildings, furniture, electronics, equipment, or the belongings of others.
• Retaliation: Responding to harassment or unacceptable behavior in a manner that is also unacceptable or violates this code.
• Incitement: Encouraging, advocating for, or defending any of the above behaviors.

Intellectual Property & Technology Rules

• IP Protection: Members must respect intellectual property rights. You may not record, stream, copy, distribute, or publicly share proprietary source code, game assets, or presentations shared within AGDG spaces without the explicit written permission of the owner.
• Generative AI Usage: When sharing work or collaborating within guild spaces, members must clearly disclose any usage of Generative AI tools. AI tools must not be used to scrape member data, generate harmful content, or violate the copyright and intellectual property of other guild members.

Consequences of Unacceptable Behavior

If a community member engages in unacceptable behavior, AGDG leadership may take any action they deem appropriate.

To protect the group legally, the Guild establishes the following enforcement terms:

1. Sole Discretion: All determinations of what constitutes unacceptable behavior, and all subsequent enforcement actions, are at the sole and absolute discretion of the AGDG Board.
2. Immediate Remedies: Actions may include a formal warning, immediate removal from a physical or virtual venue without warning (and without refund in the case of a paid event), temporary suspension, or permanent expulsion from the community.
3. Finality: All decisions made by the AGDG Board regarding code violations are final and binding.
4. Legal Reporting: AGDG reserves the right to report any behavior that threatens physical safety, constitutes severe digital harassment (e.g., swatting, stalking), or violates criminal law directly to law enforcement.

Reporting Guidelines

If you experience or witness unacceptable behavior or have any other concerns please report it by contacting us via abqgames@gmail.com or by speaking directly with an AGDG board member. All reports will be handled with discretion and confidentiality.

In your report, please include:

• Your contact information.
• Names (real names, nicknames, or digital pseudonyms) of any individuals involved.
• Names or contact details of any additional witnesses.
• Your account of what occurred, including dates, times, and whether the incident is ongoing.
• Links to any publicly available or digital records (e.g., chat logs, screenshots, stream archives).
• Any additional context that may be helpful.

After filing a report, an AGDG board member will contact you personally, review the incident, follow up with any additional questions, and execute a decision.

• Recusal Policy: If the person accused of harassment is a member of the AGDG board or response team, they will immediately recuse themselves from handling, viewing, or voting on the incident.
• Confidentiality: We will strictly respect confidentiality requests to protect victims of abuse and ensure safety.

Legal Disclaimers

• Limitation of Liability: The Albuquerque Game Developers Guild is a voluntary community organization. AGDG is not liable for the individual actions, statements, digital conduct, or intellectual property disputes of its members, speakers, or attendees. Participants agree to hold AGDG harmless from any disputes arising between individual members.
• No Contract Created: This Code of Conduct is intended solely to facilitate a safe, professional environment. It does not create a binding legal employment, partnership, or membership contract between AGDG and its participants.
• Right to Amend: AGDG reserves the right to amend, modify, or update this Code of Conduct at any time without prior notice.
• Data Privacy: AGDG processes reporting data and member information in compliance with standard local data privacy practices. Report data is used strictly for safety and enforcement purposes.

Attributions & Acknowledgements

This Code of Conduct is adapted from the Citizen Code of Conduct, the Open Code of Conduct v1.1, and modern digital community protection frameworks.

v2.0 posted May 14, 2026