Children

 

Children under sixteen must be accompanied by an adult who will be responsible for their behaviour at the event.

 

Given the relatively recent media fuss about breast feeding, we would just like to say that we are fine with you breastfeeding a baby at the mini-convention.

​
Photography and screenshotting

If you wish to take a photo or screenshot of an individual, please ask for consent before doing so. Not asking may be considered harassment (see below).

 

If you wish to take a photo of a child (16 and under), then the consent for photos must come from the parent / guardian as well as the child itself. While taking photos of children with consent is fine, please do not post these on the internet without consent from the parent / guardian of the child. You should not post names or contact details of a child on the internet without written consent from a parent / guardian.

 

Taking photos or screenshots of panels and talks is fine, but if you post these to the internet and someone in the photo asks for it to be removed, please do so.

​

If you do not wish for your photograph to be used for publicity purposes please let us know or if you see an photo online that you are in and do not want displayed, please contact us to get it removed.

​

Recordings

There are various activities planned where we may be recording content. The Zoom call will ask your consent via a pop-up when you join the session. Some panels may be hosted on YouTube. 

Disabilities / Including Everyone (or trying to)

We aim to do everything we can to be as inclusive and make sure that everyone who wants to attend and take part in our event can and has a really good time. If we can help in any way, please do not be worried about asking any of our crew, either before the event or on the day.  If it is something that you would like to talk about privately or are not sure who to ask, please ask for Ali Baker.

 

If there are any other things we can do to make your event more accessible please do let us know.  Accessibility is not a simple issue and if we can help then we want to.

If you want to contact us to let us know about any of these or have any questions, please email us ​
 

Harassment

​

We have implemented an anti-harassment policy in response to widespread reports of harassment in geek communities and at conventions around the world. There are a multitude of reports and references that are easily searchable on the Internet. The anti-harassment policy applies to all members and guests.​

 

What is Harassment?

 

We define harassment as including (but not limited to) the following:

• uninvited physical contact

• uninvited attention

• deliberate intimidation, stalking, following

• offensive verbal comments. These may be related to (but not exclusively related to) gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religion; and include rape “jokes”.

• wearing t-shirts or badges that are well known to be offensive, or the wearer has been asked to remove in the past; refusing to remove items that are pointed out to the wearer as offensive by the committee or a representative of the committee.

• taking a photograph or recording someone without their express permission

• sustained disruption of talks or other events

• deliberate dead-naming or misgendering

• tone-policing of marginalised people

• targeting with abusive comments through social media or other electronic means

 

We ask you to be sensitive to the fact that what you do not see as harassing behaviour, others may view as such and you could be asked to stop what you are doing. You must do so immediately. However harmless your initial intent, such as believing it was a mutually enjoyable joke, if you persist, then your intention is to harass.

 

ConSpire reserves the right to refuse entry to anyone for any reason.  In this case we do intend to let you know the reason for refusing entry. 

 

If you have been refused entry to any previous BSFA or SFF events (formally or informally) then you are likely to be refused entry to ConSpire.

 

If you are unsure for any reason, please do contact us to confirm.  

​

Nothing in these terms and condition is intended to be used to contravene the Equality Act or other UK law.  ​​

Harassment against the organisers of the event or volunteers at the event will not be tolerated.  

Participants asked to stop harassing behaviour must comply immediately.

​

Participants must not engage in harassment during any convention activities, convention-related social events, online, in person, via text or via phone.

​

People who are accused of harassing behaviour may be asked to leave the event and not return. This becomes a more likely scenario if the person does not cooperate with (or are rude to) the team who are dealing with this issue.

​

Procedures for following up a harassment situation.

• Warning one or more parties involved that specified behaviour is inappropriate

• Requiring a formal apology on behalf of the complainant(s)

• Ejecting the offending party from the event.

• Removing access to convention spaces or venues on a temporary or permanent basis

• Barring a non-member from future events

 

We make take a view that a demonstrable history of harassment outside of the convention, particularly at other gaming events or online in gaming related spaces, is sufficient to make other attendees / volunteers feel unsafe at our events. If this is the case the harasser may be unwelcome to attend our events. If we know this at the time of booking we may refuse your booking.

​​

What should I do if I am being harassed?

​

In some cases, you may find the harassment stops if you clearly say ‘no’ or ‘please leave me alone’ or simply walk away, but we understand this is not always the case. We would appreciate it if a member of the event team was informed to help us identify any repeat offenders.

​​

If you continue to be harassed or notice someone else being harassed, please contact a member of the event team. The team will help participants as practical/necessary, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe during the event. The first crew member you report to will take whatever steps they can to assist you in feeling safe and will put you in contact with or bring you to an appropriate team member.

​

You do not have to give us details of the harassment and can choose whether or not to report. If you wish to report, we will take details of the harassment and work with you to respond to the issue in a way that assists you in feeling safe and maintains the safety of the wider convention environment, as well as enforcing our anti-harassment policy. If you report a serious criminal matter, please be aware that we may be obliged to contact the police. We would however take into account any concerns you may have around involving them.

​​

We do not accept “victim blaming”, if you are being harassed it is categorically not your fault. It is not the fault of the clothes you are wearing or the fact you smiled or spoke to the harasser. Unless you have specifically invited the behaviour with words (ie “yes I would like a hug”) then it can fall into the category of harassment.

​

If you did not feel able to tell us about the harassment at the event (and we do understand this might be the case), then do please let us know if/when you feel able. This will enable us to make sure you and other attendees are safer and feel safer at future events. Please contact us via email at [email address]

 

The team who run this event do not accept, allow or tolerate any behaviour which is harassing or bullying, in particular we will not tolerate any behaviour which makes people feel unwelcome on the basis of gender, race, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, body size or physical appearance.

​

This harassment policy does not seek to replace or restate the Equality Act 2010 but sets out the specific conditions for our event.  

​
Volunteer Crew

Please be respectful to/about our volunteers. They have given up their time to make your event enjoyable.

If you are rude or unpleasant to our volunteers (at or before the event) you may be asked to leave the event and not return. This becomes a more likely scenario if the person does not cooperate with (or are rude to) the team who are dealing with this issue.

​

Drugs and alcohol intoxication

Please do not bring illegal substances to Conspire. If you are drunk / intoxicated by any means and not in control of yourself, you will be asked to leave the event. 

​

Nakedness

We are not sure why anyone would think it is a good idea to be naked at a convention … but apparently it happens, so please don’t. We are not the morality police if you want to flash some skin that’s fine … just make sure all the relevant parts are covered up …

 
Privacy and Data Protection

 

We use electronic methods to store your records. These details will be used to ensure you have access to the activities at the event. We will not be storing your information for any other reason, unless you choose to join the BSFA or the SFF. Once the convention is over, the information will be deleted.

 

If for any reason you are worried about this issue or feel there has been a breach of your privacy, please contact us to let us know.

Complaints

If you have any issue prior or after the event, please contact us via email {insert event email here]. If you have any concerns on the day, please ask a member of the volunteer crew to put you in touch with a member of the event team who will do their best to resolve the issue.