Policies & Privacy
Convention Policies
We want our convention to be a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable experience for all of us. Since the convention committee and the sponsoring corporation have neither legal police powers nor employee police officers, we have set the following standards of expected behavior which apply to everyone.
We expect everyone to behave as responsible people. Any action or behavior that is illegal, causes significant interference with event operations, causes excessive discomfort to other attendees, or adversely affects the convention's relationship with its guests, its members, its venue, or the public, is strictly forbidden and may result in revocation of membership privileges. We offer the following guidance for anyone unclear on the concept, but remember that this code is not exclusive.
Badges
Wear your badge where it can be seen. This convention is a membership-only event, and your badge is your admissions pass to convention activities. Badges may not be shared under any circumstances; a badge is valid only for the person to whom it was issued.
Signs
Please post signs only in designated areas. Use removable painters tape ONLY. Do not affix anything to the walls of the hotel, to the elevators, or to ANY item that is hotel property, or to convention signs. Any signs found posted inappropriately will be removed and destroyed.
Weapons
Please leave your weapon at home, even if you have a license to carry it.
Harassment
We do not tolerate harassment of the people at our convention in any form. Everyone is entitled to a harassment-free convention experience, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, national origin, or religion.
Harassment includes inappropriate physical contact, unwelcome sexual attention, offensive verbal comments, deliberate intimidation, stalking or following someone, making harassing photography or recordings, and disrupting talks or other events. Anyone asked to stop any harassing behavior is expected to comply immediately. A request to "stop" or "go away" means exactly that. If anyone engages in harassing behavior, the convention committee may warn the offender, remove the offender from the room, or expel the offender from the convention with no refund.
If you feel that you are being discriminated against or harassed, or if you notice someone violating hotel or convention policies, we respectfully suggest the following:
- If you feel comfortable doing so, point out the inappropriate behavior to the persons involved. Often this will solve the problem immediately.
- If you do not feel comfortable talking with the persons involved or if talking to them does not resolve the issue, please report the situation immediately to a BWAWA, Inc. Board member, a Convention Committee member, or Operations Staff. Try to provide a name, badge name, badge number, and/or physical description of the persons involved.
- In order to take action, we need to know about any incidents during the event.
Privacy
We collect your information to allow the convention committee and staff to provide you better services. Your personal information will be kept strictly confidential. We will ask your consent before sharing your information with anyone outside this convention committee.
- We must retain records relating to member registration and financial transactions. Other than this obligation, at a user's request, we will remove any information about the user from all online systems after the convention.
- Member financial payment information, e.g. credit card numbers, does not come to us through online payment systems (PayPal and Square); such information is handled exclusively by the online payment service. Credit card information submitted physically (through a signed credit card slip) is kept secure and is not shared with anyone or used for any purpose other than the membership or other transaction requested by the member.
- The Baltimore-Washington Area Worldcon Association, Inc., [BWAWA] is the sponsoring organization for this convention. BWAWA observes the laws of the United States, and the States of Maryland and Virginia, the rules of the World Fantasy Board, and the by-laws of BWAWA. Within the practical limits and resources of a non-profit volunteer organization, we will observe international best practices for privacy as well as transparency in relation to information-storage and privacy policies.
Sources
The Code of Conduct concept is a work in progress. We have taken suggestions from people who have complained of problems, and adopted language from several organizations, including AnthroCon, Capclave, Chicon7, and the Geek Feminism wiki. We thank them for their help, and offer our language to anyone who wants to adapt it to their needs. No attribution is necessary.
