VCPEIT Code of Conduct

The VCPEIT Community is intended to be a place for further collaboration, support, and brainstorming.

This is a civilized place for connecting with industry peers, sharing feedback and ideas, and discussing technology and associated challenges. By participating in this Community, you are agreeing to this Code of Conduct.

Membership Rules

Membership in this community is limited to individuals employed in a technology focused role (permanent full time or part time employee but NOT a consultant or contractor) at a Venture Capital, Private Equity, Family Office, Hedge Fund, or Fund of Funds organization.  Membership requests by individuals in technology focused roles at other types of financial services firms will be evaluated on a case by case basis by the VCPEIT Board.

Anyone who has been a member and subsequently becomes ineligible to remain a member will be removed from the group(s). If he or she has been a member for at least 12 months, they may become a member of the VCPEIT Alumni group.

Members who have served as VCPEIT Board Members for at least 5 Years who subsequently become ineligible for membership may remain in the group as an emeritus member.  Should the emeritus member be employed as a potential vendor or consultant they are prohibited from soliciting within this group.  They may however be solicited by members as outlined below.

This community is a VENDOR FREE zone

Members should feel free to share their experiences with particular vendors or technologies (positive and negative) without prejudice and without fear of having that feedback get back to the vendor.  This may include feedback about a vendor that is a portfolio company of a member.  If a member seeks input on a vendor or technology to address a particular challenge, other members should feel free to recommend vendors, but are forbidden from blindly referring the vendor to the inquiring member without their consent.  In other words, feel free to share the contact information for a vendor, but DO NOT share the members’ contact information with the vendor or make an introduction unless you have the explicit consent of the member.

Community Rules

We have a few ground rules that we ask people to adhere to, to ensure that the VCPEIT Community continues to be an excellent space in which to communicate, collaborate, and contribute.

This isn’t an exhaustive list of things that you can’t do. Rather, take it in the spirit in which it’s intended — a guide to make it easier to be excellent to each other. We expect it to be followed in spirit as much as in the letter.

Be considerate. Your posts will be viewed by other people, and you in turn will see posts from other members. Any decision you take will affect users and colleagues, and you should take those consequences into account when posting.

Be patient. This mostly applies to forums, mailing lists, and code contributions (i.e. asynchronous forms of communication). Communities are often built on volunteer time both from participants and organizers. It is possible that your question or code contribution or suggestion might not receive an immediate response. Be patient and consider the norms of the community. One reminder ping is welcome, many reminder pings in rapid succession are not a good display of patience.

Be respectful. Not all of us will agree all the time, but disagreement is no excuse for poor behavior and poor manners. We might all experience some frustration now and then, but we cannot allow that frustration to turn into a personal attack. It’s important to remember that a community where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one. We expect members of the VCPEIT Community to be respectful when communicating with other community members.

Be nice. Everyone in the VCPEIT Community should feel welcome, regardless of their background. Please be courteous, respectful and polite to fellow community members.

Communicate effectively. Disagreements, social and technical, are normal, but we expect participants in the community to resolve disagreements constructively — so please avoid flamewars, trolling, personal attacks, and repetitive arguments.

Ask for help when unsure. Nobody is expected to be perfect in this community. Asking questions early avoids many problems later, so questions are encouraged, though they may be directed to the appropriate forum. Those who are asked should be responsive and helpful.

Respect Confidentiality. The VCPEIT Community is unique in that all members are from the same industry vertical and share similar challenges. While members of this community may be more open to sharing, realize that member firms may be competing on deals at the same time.  It is important to respect the confidentiality of ALL content posted to the group.  Any discussions that happen in the confines of the group should stay within the group without exception.

Unacceptable Behavior

Unacceptable behavior includes but is not limited to: harassing, intimidating, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory, or demeaning conduct by any member or event attendee (including local chapter meetings, social get togethers, annual conferences, vendor hosted meetings, etc.) Many event venues are shared with members of the public; please be respectful to all patrons of these locations.

Harassment may also include: offensive verbal or electronic comments related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, disability; inappropriate use of nudity, physical contact and/or sexual images in public spaces (including presentation slides); deliberate intimidation, stalking or following; harassing, photography or recording; sustained disruption of sessions, talks or other events; inappropriate physical contact, and any unwelcome sexual attention.

Any boisterous, lewd or offensive behavior or language, using sexually explicit or offensive language or conduct, profanity, obscene gestures, or racial, religious or ethnic slurs. Wearing clothing that is not suitable for a professional work environment, that is provocative, inappropriate or otherwise potentially offensive. Physical, verbal, or written abuse, intimidation, threats, annoyance, harassment, stalking, pushing, shoving or use of any physical force whatsoever against any person.

Possession of a weapon or any item that can be used as a weapon, which may be used to threaten or cause injury to others if used in a certain manner. Any destruction or vandalizing of personal property or event site or materials.

Possessing any illegal substance, including but not limited to narcotics or other illegal drugs. Smoking is permitted only in specially designated areas.

Any other illegal activity not already covered above.

Failure to obey any of the rules or regulations of the event venues or instructions of the event staff. 

Consequences of Unacceptable Behavior. Unacceptable behavior will not be tolerated by an attendee, guest, sponsor, speaker, organizer, or venue staff. Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately. If a participant engages in unacceptable behavior, the event organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, up to and including expulsion from the event without warning or refund, and if appropriate, involvement of local law enforcement.

What to do if you Witness or are Subjected to Unacceptable Behavior

If you are subjected to unacceptable behavior, notice that someone else is being subjected to unacceptable behavior, or have any other concerns, please notify an event organizer or event venue staff as soon as possible. You may request that your report remain completely confidential. Event organizers will be available to help participants contact venue security or local law enforcement, to provide escorts, or to otherwise assist participants to feel safe for the duration of the event.

Scope

We expect all participants (staff, sponsors, volunteers, speakers, attendees, and other guests) to abide by this Code of Conduct, as outlined above, in all interactions within the community, including but not limited to, communications, forums, conferences and social events.

Reporting Abuse or Inappropriate Conduct:

Instances of abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior should be reported to the VCPEIT Board by contacting board@vcpeit.org.

The VCPEIT Community Code of Conduct is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license. Our Code of Conduct was inspired by and borrows content from Code of Conduct from the Elastic Community Forums