paleorXiv Code of Conduct

In the interest of fostering an open and welcoming environment, we as contributors and maintainers of paleorXiv pledge to making participation in our project and our community a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, disability, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, level of experience, nationality, personal appearance, race, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.

Our Standards

Examples of behavior that contributes to creating a positive environment include:

• Using welcoming and inclusive language
• Being respectful of differing viewpoints and experiences
• Gracefully accepting constructive criticism
• Focusing on what is best for the community
• Showing empathy towards other community members

Examples of unacceptable behavior by participants include:

• The use of sexualized language or imagery and unwelcome sexual attention or advances
• Trolling, insulting/derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks
• Public or private harassment
• Publishing others’ private information, such as a physical or electronic address, without explicit permission
• Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting

Our Responsibilities

Project maintainers are responsible for clarifying the standards of acceptable behavior and are expected to take appropriate and fair corrective action in response to any instances of unacceptable behavior.

Project maintainers have the right and responsibility to remove, edit, or reject comments, commits, code, wiki edits, issues, and other contributions that are not aligned to this Code of Conduct, or to ban temporarily or permanently any contributor for other behaviors that they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful.

Scope

This Code of Conduct applies both within project spaces and in public spaces when an individual is representing the project or its community. Examples of representing a project or community include using an official project e-mail address, posting via an official social media account, or acting as an appointed representative at an online or offline event. Representation of a project may be further defined and clarified by project maintainers.

Enforcement

Instances of abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior may be reported by contacting the project team here. All complaints will be reviewed and investigated and will result in a response that is deemed necessary and appropriate to the circumstances. The paleorXiv team is obligated to maintain confidentiality, to the extent permissible by law, with regard to the reporter of an incident. Further details of specific enforcement policies may be posted separately.

Project maintainers who do not follow or enforce the Code of Conduct in good faith may face temporary or permanent repercussions as determined by other members of the project’s leadership.

Attribution

This Code of Conduct is adapted from the Contributor Covenant, version 1.4, available at https://www.contributor-covenant.org/version/1/4/code-of-conduct.html

paleorXiv Diversity Statement

Capturing a broad spectrum of interest and experiences will help paleorXiv consider and include the full Paleontology community. An essential step to achieving this objective is to ensure broad and intersectional diversity in staffing its Steering Committee.

Paleontology research is conducted by people of a diverse range of demographics and psychographics, including gender identities, sexual orientations, racial and cultural backgrounds, abilities, religions, ages, career stages and fields, and socioeconomic and immigration statuses. These intersectional identities impact on how research is conducted, data analyzed, and results shared. We recognize that a diverse and inclusive scientific community asks a broader range of questions yet also faces different barriers to participating in Paleontology. By listening to diverse voices, we will be rewarded by a greater understanding of our world.

In an effort to represent and include the broadest possible spectrum of geoscientists, paleoarXiv is committed to the following objectives in forming its Steering Committee:

• FIELD: We will aim to include representatives from a broad spectrum of Paleontology fields such as invertebrate and vertebrate paleontology and paleobiology, paleoecology, paleobotany, paleohistology, paleogeography, paleoclimatology, paleobiogeography, and biostratigraphy.
• GENDER IDENTITY: We will strive for gender parity in our Steering Committee, with awareness of the need for flexibility to include transgender and gender-fluid people.
• ETHNIC AND CULTURAL BACKGROUND: We will strive to include a broad range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds in our Advisory Council, with particular focus on traditionally excluded populations including Asian, black, indigenous, Pacific island, and Latin scientists.
• GEOGRAPHY: We will respect the global nature of the geoscience community by aiming for an equal split of representatives from or working in Europe, North America, Asia, and the rest of the world.
• CAREER: We will aim to have at least one representative each from key stages within academia including students; early-, mid-, and late-career professors; researchers at teaching-centric and research-centric universities; and independent scholars.
• ABILITY: We will aim to include representatives with a broad range of physical and mental abilities.
• NEURODIVERSITY: We will aim to include viewpoints from neurodiverse individuals recognising their advantages and skills.
• SEXUAL ORIENTATION: We will aim to include representatives with a broad range of sexual orientations.

It is our hope that meeting all these objectives within the current Steering Committee will subsequently include a range of intersectional identities to further enhance our understanding. We recognize that we may not always achieve all of these objectives, and will be as transparent as possible about our effectiveness within the confines of respecting the privacy of our Steering Committee members.

We also recognize we may not yet be considering all aspects of how identity shapes the science that we do. We further commit to continuing to learn and adapt how we define and include diverse populations in response to the needs of our greater community.

If you are interested in joining the Steering Committee, please contact us here.