STLE is committed to providing an atmosphere that encourages the free expression and exchange of scientific ideas. As part of that commitment, STLE is dedicated to promoting a safe and welcoming environment for all meeting participants. All participants, including, but not limited to, attendees, speakers, volunteers, exhibitors, STLE staff members, service providers, and all others are expected to abide by this Virtual Programs Code of Conduct. This policy applies to all STLE meeting-related events, including those sponsored by organizations other than STLE but held in conjunction with STLE events, on public or private platforms.
STLE has zero-tolerance for any form of discrimination or harassment of any kind is strictly prohibited, and the Society will not tolerate acts in violation of this policy. Any individual who believes that he or she has been the subject of, or has witnessed, any incidents of unacceptable behavior, is asked to contact STLE headquarters at (847) 825-5536, or email
information@stle.org so that we can take the appropriate action. All reports are confidential.
Unacceptable Behavior is defined as:
- Harassment, intimidation, or discrimination in any form.
- Verbal abuse of any attendee, speaker, volunteer, exhibitor, STLE staff member, service provider, or other meeting guest.
- Examples of verbal abuse include, but are not limited to, verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, national origin, inappropriate use of nudity and/or sexual images in public spaces or in presentations, or threatening or stalking any attendee, speaker, volunteer, exhibitor, STLE staff member, service provider, or other meeting guest.
- Disruption of presentations during sessions, in the exhibit hall, or at other events organized by STLE throughout the virtual meeting. All participants must comply with the instructions of the moderator and any STLE virtual event staff.
- Presentations, postings, and messages should not contain promotional materials, special offers, job offers, product announcements, or solicitation for services. STLE reserves the right to remove such messages and potentially ban sources of those solicitations.
- Participants should not copy or take screen shots of Q&A or any chat room activity that takes place in the virtual space.
STLE reserves the right to take any action deemed necessary and appropriate, including immediate removal from the meeting without warning or refund, in response to any incident of unacceptable behavior, and STLE reserves the right to prohibit attendance at any future meeting, virtually or in person.