Code of Conduct

The open exchange of ideas, the freedom of thought and expression, and respectful scientific debate are central to the goals of this conference on reinforcement learning; this requires a community and an environment that recognizes and respects the inherent worth of every person. Reinforcement Learning Conference (RLC) organizers will enforce the code below.

Who

All participants (attendees, organizers, speakers, sponsors, and volunteers) are required to agree to this code of conduct during the event (including the main conference, the workshops, and any conference-sponsored social events), as well as on any official communication channels (including social media).

Scope

RLC commits itself to providing an experience for all participants that is free from harassment, bullying, discrimination, and retaliation for all participants. This includes, but is not limited to, offensive comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), politics, technology choices, or any other personal characteristics. Bullying, intimidation, personal attacks, harassment, sustained disruption of talks or other events, and behavior that interferes with another's full participation will not be tolerated. This includes sexual harassment, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, inappropriate physical contact, unwelcome sexual attention, public vulgar exchanges, and diminutive characterizations, which are all unwelcome in this community.

This Code of Conduct applies to the actual meeting sites and conference venues where RLC business is being conducted, including both physical and official virtual engagement platforms, including video, virtual streaming, and chat-based interaction. RLC is not responsible for non-sponsored activity or behavior that may occur at non-sponsored locations such as hotels, restaurants, or locations not otherwise a sanctioned space for RLC sponsored events (including virtual spaces). RLC will not actively monitor social media platforms, but will follow up on issues of harassment and violations of the code of conduct that occur on those platforms that are specifically related to the RLC program, during the course of RLC, if and when they are brought to our attention.

Sponsors are equally subject to this Code of Conduct. In particular, sponsors should not use images, activities, or other materials that are of a sexual, racial, or otherwise offensive nature. Booth staff (including volunteers) should not use sexualized clothing/uniforms/costumes, or otherwise create a sexualized environment. This code applies both to official sponsors as well as any organization that uses the conference name as branding as part of its activities at or around the conference.

Outcomes

Participants asked by any member of the community to stop any such behavior are expected to comply immediately. If a participant engages in such behavior, the conference organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, including: a formal or informal warning to the offender, expulsion from the conference with no refund, barring from participation in future conferences or their organization, reporting the incident to the offender’s local institution or funding agencies, or reporting the incident to local law enforcement. A response of "just joking" will not be accepted; behavior can be harassing without an intent to offend. If action is taken, an appeals process will be made available.

There will be no retaliation against any Participant who brings a complaint or submits an incident report in good faith or who honestly assists in investigating such a complaint. All issues brought forth during the course of a Conference will be immediately investigated.

Reporting

The Conference encourages all Participants to immediately report any incidents of discrimination, harassment, unprofessional conduct, and/or retaliation so that complaints can be quickly and fairly resolved. All complaints will be handled as confidentially as possible and information will be disclosed only as it is necessary to complete the investigation and bring to resolution.

If you have concerns related to your inclusion at that conference, or observe someone else's difficulties, or have any other concerns related to inclusion, please contact us. For online events and tools, there are options to directly report specific chat/text comments, in addition to the above reporting. Complaints and violations will be handled with discretion. We are prepared and eager to help participants contact relevant help services, to escort them to a safe location, or to otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the conference. We gratefully accept feedback from the community on policy and actions; please contact us.