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Help Shape Our Global Community Code of Conduct

The Internet Society is updating its Code of Conduct - a policy that outlines both expected and unacceptable behaviors as it relates to our successful collaboration in online and physical spaces. This includes discussion forums, video calls, events, meetups, and other collaborative projects.

Our current guidelines were written in 2019 and no longer reflect how much our community has grown. We've drafted an updated version that covers new topics, such as AI use, consent, and clearer ways to report issues.

This is a first draft. We want your honest input before it's finalized.

Read the draft Code of Conduct: Here
1.How familiar are you with the current Code of Conduct?
This helps us understand where people are coming from — no wrong answer.
2.Having read the draft, what works well in the draft?
Consider clarity, fairness, and whether the draft reflects the diversity of our global community — including different cultural contexts, community spaces, and types of engagement.
3.What is missing or unclear?
Consider clarity, fairness, and whether the draft reflects the diversity of our global community — including different cultural contexts, community spaces, and types of engagement.
4.Is there anything specific you'd like us to add, remove, or rethink?
Be as direct as you like, but please also make concrete suggestions for resolving that concern — this is the most valuable input we can receive.
5.Would you like to join a working session?
We are holding two online session on Thursday, 7 May, 13:00 and 18:00 UTC in English to discuss the draft in depth and help shape the final version. Open to community members worldwide.
6.Name and email if you are interested in joining the working session
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Why is the Code of Conduct being updated?
A: The current version was written in 2019 and no longer reflects how our community has grown. The updated draft covers new topics like AI use, consent, and clearer reporting processes.

Q: What does a Code of Conduct Policy cover?
A: Codes of Conduct are governance documents - policy, that outline expected and unacceptable behaviors in the context of our interactions in physical and online spaces. They help us articulate success in building healthy, impactful, and safe communities.

Q: This new, proposed Code of Conduct, builds on the Contributor Covenant 3.0 and and a few other existing openly licensed resources, why is that?
A: This Code of Conduct builds on openly licensed resources from organizations with deep experience in community governance. The foundation is the Contributor Covenant 3.0, maintained by the Organization for Ethical Source and its global volunteer community. The Contributor Covenant has been adopted by over 100,000 projects and countless organizations to date - more in their FAQ. We've also drawn from:

Mozilla’s Community Participation Guidelines (disruptive behaviors)
Fedora Code of Conduct (retaliation protections)
Microsoft's Open Source Code of Conduct (AI-related conduct)

These sources have been adapted to reflect ISOC's specific community needs, global reach, and the range of spaces where our members and staff interact. Our Code of Conduct will also be openly licensed so that others may build also build on our work.

Q: Who does it apply to?
A: Everyone participating in Internet Society community spaces — events, forums, video calls, collaborative projects, and more — regardless of role or location.

Q: How will it be enforced?
A: As part of the Code of Conduct rollout, we will be sharing resources for how to ‘lead by example’ the behaviors that can make our communities a great place to be. We will also include processes and guidelines for enforcing unacceptable behaviors.

Q: Is my survey response anonymous?
A: Yes, unless you choose to share your name and email to join a working session.

Q: What are the working sessions?
A: Small online discussions on Thursday, 7 May at 13:00 and 18:00 UTC, where community members can help shape the final version of the Code of Conduct. Open to all, worldwide.

7.Do you have any questions that were not covered by the FAQ?
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

• All feedback is reviewed. Every response is read and considered.
• A summary report is published. We'll share what we heard and how it shaped the final version.
• The final Code of Conduct is released. After consultation closes, the updated version will be published across all Internet Society community spaces.