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1..
2   This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
3   SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-3.0
4
5===============
6Response Guide
7===============
8
9This is a :doc:`Code of Conduct<CodeOfConduct>` (CoC) incident response guide
10used by the Code of Conduct Committee and LLVM event organizers.
11
12Code of Conduct Committee
13=========================
14
15All responses to Code of Conduct reports will be managed by a Code of Conduct
16Committee.
17
18Additional Code of Conduct Response Teams
19=========================================
20
21In-person events will have an additional response team to immediately respond
22to an incident. For example:
23
24* Each LLVM Developers' Meeting has a Code of Conduct response team.
25* For LLVM meetups, the local organizers will be the first point of contact.
26* Any other event funded by the LLVM Foundation or listed on the LLVM website,
27  will have a code of conduct response team or point of contact for CoC
28  reports.
29
30These teams should determine if an :ref:`immediate response<Immediate Response
31Checklist>` is needed before sending the report to the Code of Conduct
32committee.
33
34.. _Receiving a report:
35
36Receiving a Report
37==================
38
39Reports are typically received by email (conduct@llvm.org) or in person from
40the reporter or event CoC response team.
41
42When receiving a report by email, the CoC Committee should acknowledge receipt
43within 24 hours.  The acknowledgement should be understanding and compassionate
44but no commitment should be made on whether this is a violation or which action
45will be taken. Specific guidance is in the checklist below.
46
47For in-person events that have a violation reported, the report should be sent
48to the Code of Conduct committee within 24 hours by the on-site CoC response
49team.
50
51
52.. _Immediate Response Checklist:
53
54Immediate Response Checklist
55============================
56
57The CoC committee generally works, decides, and communicates together. If the
58report indicates that an immediate response is required and other committee
59members are not available, any committee member may take the immediate action
60they think is necessary. In-person Code of Conduct response teams should use
61this checklist to determine if an immediate response is needed.
62
63* If the incident involves physical danger, contact the appropriate law
64  enforcement or event security immediately. Ensure the reporter feels safe and
65  stay with them if possible until help arrives.
66* If the act is ongoing and involves harassment or threats against someone in
67  any space (online or physical), any appropriate response (e.g., ban, physical
68  removal, or moderation) may be used to immediately stop it.
69* For events that include talks, organizers should end talks early if the
70  violations include harassment or violent threats. There may be talks where
71  other types of code of conduct violations occur and organizers should do
72  their best to determine if a talk should be ended early or not.
73
74When undertaking an immediate response, document the action and notify the
75committee within 24 hours.
76
77
78Response Procedure
79==================
80
81The following is a summary of the steps the committee takes when responding to
82a reported incident.
83
841. Determine if there is a need for an :ref:`immediate response<Immediate
85   Response Checklist>`.
86
872. :ref:`Acknowledge the report<Receiving a report>` within 24 hours.
88
893. :ref:`Discuss the incident report<Incident Response Assessment>`, gather
90   more information, and determine a :ref:`resolution<Resolutions>`.
91
924. During this process, the :ref:`reporter will be informed of the
93   resolution<Following Up With the Reportee>` and feedback is requested. This
94   feedback may or may not be used to re-evaluate the resolution.
95
965. Inform the reportee of the resolution. The reportee is provided options to
97   :ref:`appeal<Appeal Process>`.
98
996. The :ref:`resolution<Resolutions>` is implemented.
100
1017. All reports, data, notes, and resolutions are logged in a private location
102   (e.g., Google Drive or other database).
103
104The committee will never make public statements about a resolution and will
105only publish :ref:`transparency reports<Transparency Reports>`. If a public
106statement is necessary and requested by the committee, it will be given by the
107LLVM Foundation Board of Directors.
108
109Report Acknowledgement
110======================
111
112When a report is received, the committee will reply to the reporter to confirm
113receipt within 24 hours of the incident being reported.
114
115This acknowledgement will contain:
116
117* Acknowledgement of the incident report
118* Next steps of the committee for responding to the incident
119* Reminder of confidentiality policy regarding the report and parties involved
120
121All incident reports should be assessed if they require immediate response and
122acted on accordingly.
123
124.. _Incident Response Assessment:
125
126Incident Response Assessment
127============================
128
129The committee will assess the incident and determine an appropriate response.
130The assessment will be documented and retained in records. Here are some
131guidelines for the process:
132
133* Review report documentation to determine the content and context of the
134  incident.
135
136  * Request additional information if needed from the reporter.
137
138* Determine if it occurred within the scope of the CoC.
139* Determine if it violated the CoC and specifically which part.
140* Consult documentation of past incidents for patterns of behavior (if
141  available and applicable).
142* Follow up with the reportee to get their view or any other additional
143  information.
144* Determine appropriate resolutions to the incident when all information has
145  been gathered.
146* Notify the reporter of the resolution and request feedback. This may or may
147  not be used to reevaluate the resolution.
148
149The committee will aim to have a resolution agreed upon within two weeks of
150receipt of the incident report. In the event that a resolution cannot be
151determined within that time, the CoC committee will respond to the reporter(s)
152with an updated and projected timeline for resolution.
153
154.. _Following Up With the Reportee:
155
156Following Up With the Reportee
157==============================
158
159When following up with the reportee, the committee will:
160
161* Explain that an incident was reported that involves the reportee.
162* In this explanation, the focus will be on the impact of their behavior, not
163  their intent.
164* Reiterate the Code of Conduct and that their behavior may be deemed
165  inappropriate.
166* Give them the opportunity to state their view of the incident.
167* Explain the possible resolutions that may be enforced should the CoC
168  committee determine there is a breach.
169
170The reportee will be given a week to respond with the option to request
171additional time if needed and subject to approval of the CoC Committee.
172
173.. _Resolutions:
174
175Resolutions
176===========
177
178The committee should agree unanimously on a resolution. In the event that the
179committee cannot reach a unanimous resolution, the LLVM Foundation Board of
180Directors will help resolve the situation and determine if the resolution can
181proceed without a unanimous vote.
182
183When deciding on a resolution, the goal is to address the report in an
184appropriate way, while also looking to prevent or reduce the risk of continuing
185harm in the future. Any action deemed necessary by the committee will be
186taken, but below is a list of possible resolutions:
187
188* Taking no further action as the incident was determined not to be a
189  violation.
190* A private verbal warning and/or reprimand from the committee to the
191  individual(s) involved and request to stop this behavior. This conversation
192  may happen in person, email, by phone, video chat, or Discord.
193* Request that the reportee avoid any interaction with, and physical proximity
194  to, another person for the remainder of the event.
195* Refusal of alcoholic beverage purchases by the reportee at LLVM events.
196* Ending a talk/tutorial/etc at an LLVM event early. See immediate response
197  checklist for further clarification.
198* Not publishing the video or slides of a talk.
199* Not allowing a speaker to give (further) talks at LLVM events for a specified
200  amount of time or ever.
201* Requiring that the reportee immediately leave an event and not return.
202* Immediately ending any volunteer responsibilities and privileges the reportee
203  holds.
204* An imposed suspension (e.g., asking someone to "take a week off" from mailing
205  lists, bug tracker, Discord, repositories, or other communication forms).
206* A permanent or temporary ban from some or all LLVM Project spaces (online or
207  in person).
208
209Once a resolution is agreed upon, but before it is enacted, the committee will
210contact the reporter and any other affected parties to explain the proposed
211resolution. They will ask if this resolution is acceptable and must note
212feedback for the record. However, the committee is not required to act on this
213feedback.
214
215.. _Appeal Process:
216
217Appeal Process
218===============
219
220Any individual(s) determined to have violated the CoC have the right to appeal
221a decision. An appeal can be made directly to the committee by sending an email
222to conduct@llvm.org with subject line Code of Conduct Incident Appeal.
223
224The email should include documentation related to the incident to support the
225appeal. The said documentation may include, but does not have to be limited to:
226
227* Information from the reportee justifying reasoning for the appeal.
228* Statements from other individuals involved in the incident to support the
229  appeal.
230
231Appeals can be requested up to 30 days after a resolution has been communicated
232to the individual(s). The committee will aim to evaluate appeals within two weeks of receipt. In the event that appeal can not be evaluated within that time, the CoC committee will respond with an updated and projected timeline.
233
234
235Conflicts of Interest
236=====================
237
238Committee members should declare any conflicts of interest as soon as possible
239and before any official committee meetings. This can mean being friends with
240one of the involved parties, or anything else that may make it harder to remain
241neutral.
242
243A conflict of interest does not inherently mean the committee member can no
244longer participate in the process, as that would make it very hard for the team
245to act on reports involving well-known people in the community. However, if a
246report concerns a team member or someone they work directly with, they probably
247should not take part in the process. The team will decide together on where to
248draw this line in individual cases. Where possible, any conversations with
249offenders should not be done by people who know them, as it can be very
250unpleasant for everyone involved.
251
252If a report is received concerning a committee member, that member must not be
253involved in the response process. The rest of the committee will meet and
254decide on the report without the reported committee member being present, and
255will not share more information than they would have with a non-member. If a
256member of the committee is found to have violated the CoC, they may no longer
257be able to keep serving on the committee.
258
259Confidentiality
260===============
261
262All reports will be kept confidential with details shared only with the Code of
263Conduct committee members. However, the Code of Conduct Committee will always
264comply with law enforcement when directed. In the case that a CoC committee
265member is involved in a report, the member will be asked to recuse themselves
266from ongoing conversations, and they will not have access to reports after the
267enforcement decision has been made.
268
269In the event of a temporary suspension or ban, the appropriate people must be
270notified of the ban in order to restrict access to infrastructure or events.
271These individuals will only be notified of the person's name and the
272restrictions imposed. They will be under a confidentiality clause and not
273allowed to respond to questions regarding the ban and should direct all
274questions to the CoC committee.
275
276.. _Transparency Reports:
277
278Transparency Reports
279====================
280
281Lack of transparency in the outcomes of our Code of Conduct incidents leaves
282our community without an understanding of how or if the organizers worked to
283resolve incidents. The CoC committee should aim to publish transparency
284reports, if reports are received, after major events (such as the LLVM
285Developers' meetings) and on the following dates: Jan 15, April 15, July 15,
286Oct 15.
287
288A transparency report consists of 2 parts:
289
290* An overview of the reports received, and resolutions.
291* A more detailed summary of each reported incident and the resolution while
292  maintaining confidentiality.
293
294These reports will be published on the LLVM website.
295
296Thanks!
297=======
298
299
300This guide was created and inspired by the following: the `Django Project`_,
301`Carpentries Response Guide`_, and the `Write The Docs Response Guide`_.
302
303License
304=======
305
306All content on this page is licensed under a `Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
307Unported License`_.
308
309
310.. _Django Project: https://www.djangoproject.com/conduct/
311.. _Carpentries Response Guide: https://docs.carpentries.org/topic_folders/policies/enforcement-guidelines.html
312.. _Write The Docs Response Guide: https://www.writethedocs.org/code-of-conduct/#guidelines-for-reporting-incidents
313.. _Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
314
315