1. Introduction: The FinOps Weekly Spirit
Our mission is to provide actionable playbooks that help transform your FinOps practice and drive business value. We are a community-focused event dedicated to fostering an environment of learning, collaboration, and professional growth.
To ensure a safe, welcoming, and productive experience for everyone, we have established this Code of Conduct. It applies to every individual involved in the summits and online events. By participating, you agree to uphold these principles throughout the event. We thank you for your commitment to making this a respectful and valuable experience for all.
2. Scope: Who and Where This Applies
This Code of Conduct applies to all participants, including attendees, speakers, sponsors, organizers, and volunteers.
It covers all official event spaces, which for our online format includes:
- The main event platform (sessions, keynotes, virtual booths).
- All public and private chat channels (e.g., event chat, Slack, Discord).
- Q&A sessions and direct messaging features.
- Social media discussions using the official event hashtag.
- Any other event-related online gatherings.
3. Expected Behavior
3.1 For All Participants
We expect everyone to contribute to a positive environment. This includes:
- Being considerate, respectful, and collaborative in all interactions.
- Listening with empathy to diverse viewpoints and experiences.
- Being mindful of your words and actions.
3.2 For Attendees
- Engage constructively in discussions, asking thoughtful questions that add value to the conversation.
- Help create a welcoming atmosphere for fellow community members.
- Respect the learning environment and the time of speakers and other attendees.
3.3 For Speakers (Both Community & Sponsored)
- Deliver the educational content promised in your session description.
- Be respectful of the scheduled time limits for your presentation and Q&A.
- Engage with the audience professionally and foster a positive learning environment.
3.4 For Sponsors
- Interact with attendees in a professional and respectful manner at virtual booths and in all communications.
- Engage attendees without pressure or overly aggressive sales tactics.
- Contribute positively to the overall community spirit of the event.
4. Unacceptable Behavior
4.1 For All Participants
The following behaviors are unacceptable and will not be tolerated:
- Harassment, intimidation, or discrimination in any form.
- Offensive or derogatory comments related to gender, gender identity, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, or religion.
- Sustained disruption of talks or other event activities.
- Displaying sexual imagery or using sexual language.
- Unwelcome sexual attention or advances.
4.2 For Attendees
- Disrupting sessions with off-topic, inflammatory, or promotional comments.
- Spamming chat channels with unsolicited links or self-promotion.
- Harassing other participants via direct messages or other channels.
4.3 For Speakers
- Significantly misrepresenting your talk’s content from what was approved in the Call for Papers (CFP).
- Disparaging other community members, companies, or technologies.
- Violating the content and presentation guidelines outlined in Section 5.
4.4 For Sponsors
- Using aggressive sales tactics that make attendees uncomfortable.
- Spamming attendees who have not explicitly opted-in for communication.
- Sharing or selling attendee contact information obtained from the event.
5. Presentation & Content Guidelines
5.1 The Goal is Education
The primary purpose of all summit sessions is to provide actionable insights to the FinOps community. Content should be educational and vendor-neutral where possible.
5.2 Community Talks
- Definition: These sessions are selected on merit for their high educational value. The speaker is here to share knowledge and represent the community.
- Unacceptable: Any form of sales pitch. This includes product-centric slides, pricing information, feature comparisons designed to favor one product, or direct calls to “contact our sales team for a demo.”
- Acceptable: A single slide at the beginning or end with the speaker’s name, title, company, and contact information (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter).
5.3 Sponsored Talks
- Definition: These are sessions from our valued event partners. They will be clearly marked as “Sponsored”, “In collaboration with”, “Together with”, “In partnership with” and any similar definition of collaboration.
- Expectation: While these sessions can and should feature a product or service, they must be built around an educational theme that provides genuine value to the audience. A pure sales pitch with no learning is not acceptable.
- Acceptable: Demonstrating how a specific company, product or service solves a key FinOps challenge. A clear call to action, such as “Visit our virtual booth for a demo,” is welcome.
- Unacceptable: Making unsubstantiated claims or focusing exclusively on features and pricing without providing educational context or a clear problem-solving narrative.
6. Reporting a Violation
If you witness or experience a violation of this Code of Conduct, or have any other concerns, please report it immediately. Your report will be treated seriously and handled with discretion.
- Email: Contact the organizers at a private, monitored alias:
[email protected]. - Direct Message: Reach out to the event organizers (including Victor García and the SmartClouds team) via the direct messaging feature on the event platform.
Please include a brief description of the incident (what happened, who was involved, where/when it occurred) in your report to help us address the issue promptly.
7. Enforcement and Consequences
The event organizers have the sole discretion to enforce this Code of Conduct. Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately.
If a participant engages in behavior that violates this Code of Conduct, the organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, including but not limited to:
- Issuing a formal warning.
- Immediate removal from the event, without a refund.
- Banning from all future FinOps Weekly and SmartClouds events.