Welcome! This is a tool to ensure safety and respect across our intersectional community, a professional group for LGBTQ+ people who work in, or have a passion for, technology.
Our core values are kindness, knowledge, belonging, and joy — you can make these come alive by attending our events and practicing and upholding these five standards IRL and online:
Please note that the aforementioned norms still apply to digital workspaces, too.
Membership in our Slack community is a privilege. We want you to leverage Out in Tech to advance your career and grow your network. Share or promote yourself thoughtfully on the appropriate channels (e.g., #nyc vs. #sf), refrain from spamming and excessive cross-posting.
Please consider this space may be used by individuals of all ages and backgrounds, and keep content to a semi-professional tone. We encourage healthy, constructive discourse; as such, do not use the space for personal attacks. No explicit images or graphic language. Post a trigger warning before discussing matters related to sexual abuse, self-harm, violence, eating disorders, and so on. The way to add a trigger warning is to start your post with the warning type (“TW:” or “CW:,”) and then add keywords (e.g. “sexual abuse,” “self-harm,” “violence”. Then post the message and/or images within the thread of your post. For example, if you are referring to an attack against a member of the community, you might post: ‘CW: Violent Physical Attack’ and then post information in the thread. If you're unsure as to whether or not your post should include a CW, better to err on the side of caution than cause unintentional harm. Still unsure? Reach out to one of our Slack Admins.
We ask that you maintain a respectful and non-threatening demeanor when making inquiries or seeking assistance, whether it is for a job or for personal assistance (e.g. review with resumes, contact at a company, a fundraiser you shared). Out in Tech members are encouraged to ask for what they need in a courteous and considerate manner, whether it is to prospective employers or to the broader community.
You should also understand that not all requests can be accommodated immediately or in the desired manner: moderators will respond to you within 2 business days, while the broader community might take longer. We promote a culture of collaboration and understanding, where dialogue is constructive and focused on finding solutions rather than imposing demands.
Respecting the space(s): Read the description of the channel you are posting in and ask if it’s the best spot for your questions or comments. Do not post the same message or link in more than 3 channels within 48 hours. Although you are welcome to post your message(s) in #everybody, try to find the best place for your post and trust it will reach the desired audience (for example, you can also post fundraising posts in #mutual-aid).
Understand that some channels are meant for specific subsets of the community, and respect those boundaries by not joining those spaces if they are not for you (even if they are public). Use threads to organize discussions to avoid repeat notifications and keep posts to less than 1250 characters (roughly around 200 words) to help keep the space organized.
Always provide context for why you are sharing a link (don't do "link bombing" aka posting a link with no context, it feels suspicious and bot-like). Try to avoid sharing more than 2-3 links in one go (this can be overwhelming). If sharing multiple links, remove the preview (it takes up unnecessary space). Avoid cross-posting the same links more than 3 times within 48 hours, as it can feel spammy. 5. Read up before speaking up: When speaking about an identity you're not familiar with, we encourage you to check an inclusive style guide maintained by people of that identity to confirm the correct language to use (see bottom of this page for resources). For a general one-pager on speaking about age, disability, medical conditions, gender and sexuality, race, heritage, and nationality, we recommend Mailchimp's guide on Writing About People. 6. Shine: We want you to use the OIT community to advance your career. Share or promote yourself in channels like #jobs, #announcements, or our city based channels, and we’ll be here cheering you on. That being said, please don’t flood or spam the channels. We suggest keeping general promotions to 2x per week, and if you’re promoting an event, no more than 2x total in 2-3 channels max. If you are connecting to someone for a referral, please take care to realistically portray your professional experience; do not misrepresent yourself. If you’re hiring, make sure the position is paid. Make sure to include salary range for job postings in states that have passed salary range transparency laws. Economic empowerment is a great way to support the LGBTQ+ community.