Code of Conduct

Updated 2026-05-03

Welcome!

Somerville Area Furry Exchange is a private Signal group for furries living in and around Somerville, MA.

The admin is:

I want this to be a fun, pleasant, and harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion. I do not tolerate harassment of participants in any form. Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

Discretion

Please don't talk about Somerville Area Furry Exchange in public. This is a private, invitation-only Signal group. Please don't discuss it in public, or with people who aren't members. It can cause awkwardness and hurt feelings if people start asking what it is and how to get invited. Further, harassers and abusers may be surveilling some members of this Signal group. Keeping the existence of this Signal group private makes it more difficult for bad actors to triangulate their targets' social footprints.

If you wish to nominate someone for membership, please contact the admin before you speak to the person you wish to invite.

Logs and Records

Please be mindful that things you say here may at some point become public. I cannot prevent people from screencapping or otherwise logging this Signal group. I also can't guarantee that every member's login credentials and logged-in devices are secure. Files uploaded here can be downloaded by anyone with a login. Please exercise caution and refrain from sharing sensitive information that could harm you or others if it became public.

Harassment

Harassment includes:

  • Offensive comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neuro(a)typicality, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion
  • Unwelcome comments regarding a person's lifestyle choices and practices, including those related to food, health, parenting, drugs, and employment
  • Deliberate misgendering or use of 'dead' or rejected names
  • Gratuitous or off-topic sexual images or behavior in spaces where they're not appropriate
  • Simulated physical contact (e.g. textual descriptions like "*hug*" or "*backrub*") without consent or after a request to stop
  • Threats of violence
  • Incitement of violence towards any individual, including encouraging a person to commit suicide or to engage in self-harm
  • Deliberate intimidation
  • Sustained disruption of discussion
  • Unwelcome sexual attention
  • Continued one-on-one communication after requests to cease
  • Publication of non-harassing private communication

Reporting

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact the admin. I'll respond as promptly as I can.

I will respect confidentiality requests for the purpose of protecting victims of abuse. At my discretion, I may publicly name a person about whom I've received harassment complaints, or privately warn third parties about them. I will not name harassment victims without their affirmative consent.

Consequences

Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

If a participant engages in harassing behavior, I may take any action I deem appropriate, up to and including expulsion from this Signal group and identifying the participant publicly as someone about whom I've received complaints.

Credits and License

This code of conduct is based on Annalee Flower Horne's Sample Slack Code of Conduct, which is in turn based on Geek Feminism's Community Anti-Harassment Policy. I have adapted the Sample Slack Code of Conduct for my own use under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.