This page displays the Social Media Guidelines, Code of Conduct, and Contact Information that were available during the conference. If you are interested in discussing the use of such guidelines at academic conferences, or in borrowing these guidelines for your own event, please feel free to contact the event organizers: Dorothy Kim (dokim@vassar.edu) or Adrienne Williams Boyarin (aboyarin@uvic.ca).
Social Media at Making Early Middle English (MEME)*
*Our thanks to Kimm Curran (@kimmcurran) who shared with us the University of Glasgow’s European Association of Archaeologists’ Conference guide for use of social media, which she authored and created. She kindly allowed us to use her guide for MEME.
Conference delegates may use social media to engage in conversations related to conference presentations, keynotes, and other activities taking place. The main social media outlets are: Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Instagram. The hashtag for the conference is: #makingEME. This hashtag can be used on Instagram and Twitter to aggregate conversations.
Instagram
Instagram is a photo sharing service that many academic organizations, archives, and
academics use. Members of the public also appreciate visual representations of humanities
work, and this is a popular outreach tool. Photos of conference events are being taken
to share with our delegates and to increase our visibility in academic, funding-agency,
and public sectors. If you post pictures to Instagram, please tag them with the #makingEME hashtag.
Facebook
Conference information may be shared on Facebook pages before and after the event.
This sharing may include reports on conference activities and other outreach or information.
Tumblr
Tumblr is a blogging platform that allows readers to follow and comment on posts.
MEME has a Tumblr account (makingeme), where organizers may post longer-form pieces
about conference events.
Twitter
For live updates of conference proceedings, Twitter is a good venue; information can
be communicated and received in “real time” in 140-character snippets, and live tweeting
is popular at conferences across many disciplines. It is fast, public, and a good
way to share ideas and garner further interest. Colleagues not able to attend the
conference or who are globally dispersed can also follow the conference in this way.
Find out more by taking a look at “Getting Started with Twitter”: https://support.twitter.com/articles/215585. If you think what you are tweeting might be generally interesting to medievalists,
you can also use the hashtag #medievaltwitter. For a medievalist’s spin, check out
Dorothy Kim’s blogpost on #medievaltwitter here: http://www.inthemedievalmiddle.com/2014/01/medievaltwitter.html.
Twitter at Sessions and Keynotes
Chairs and moderators of sessions should be aware of, and make clear in introductions,
which speakers have given permission for live tweeting and/or photo sharing (i.e.,
we will use an “opt-in/opt-out” option). If you do not have permission information,
inquire with speakers before the start of the session. Each session has a hashtags
based on the conference and the session number, e.g. #makingEME #s10 or #makingEME #keynote1. Chairs and moderators are asked to remind the audience of designated hashtags. If
chairs or moderators do not know the Twitter handle of a speaker (e.g., @AdrienneBoyarin),
they should ask before the session, to facilitate live tweeting where permitted.
Presenters may want to remind chairs and moderators of their choices, and they may want to share or reiterate their Twitter handle at the start of a talk, so that other participants or audience members can provide linked attribution to permitted quotations and photos. A Twitter handle might also, for instance, be placed on PowerPoint slides.
Twitter Guidelines for Conference Delegates and Attendees
For many, Twitter serves as an event diary—a means of taking notes on key points,
networking, and enhancing the experience of the event as a whole. This extends beyond
those attending and opens up engagement from anyone following the conference or its
delegates on Twitter. The platform has allowed publishers, funders, community groups,
and other conference organizers to pick up on shared ideas and contact presenters
about their work. While both those at an event and anyone interacting virtually are
thus encouraged to share, question, and comment respectfully on information, all should
be mindful that Twitter is a public forum. In the event that a speaker has asked not to be tweeted, this should be respected. If you come into a session late and/or are uncertain about a speaker’s preference,
you should not tweet about them or their work.
Twitter Etiquette
- When quoting a speaker, include the speaker’s name (use their Twitter handle if available) and use quotation marks;
- Always take care to separate your own comments about a topic or paper from those made by the speaker;
- Engage with tweets from others by replying to them and including the event hashtag #makingEME;
- Summarize or report points concisely, and consider including a photo of a relevant slide;
- Always obtain permission to take photos of speakers and/or their presentation slides;
- Add to the conversation by sharing useful links to relevant websites, articles, or books;
- Avoid sarcasm, rudeness, and bad-mouthing of any sort;
- Be mindful that by including the conference hashtag in your tweets you are contributing to a professional but public forum that others will be following;
- Use Twitter to express appreciation and signal-boost;
- Add the designated event hashtag to each tweet if you want it to be seen!
Twitter and Event Networking
While at the conference, you can use Twitter and the conference hasthag to build your
professional network. Reach out to other attendees to meet for dinner, take an early
morning run, or arrange informal discussions on a topic of interest. Create your own
list of event speakers and attendees with whom you share an interest. We are adding
Twitter handles to name badges. If we did not get yours before the event, please feel
free to add it to your name badge so that other delegates can follow you!
New to Twitter?
Prepare before an event or session: follow the hashtag to see how others tweet, take
time to practice so you become familiar with how to post a tweet, retweet someone
else’s tweet, favorite a tweet, add a photo, or send a private “direct message” (DM).
Making Early Middle English (MEME) Code of Conduct*
MEME’s aim is to provide an open, safe, and constructive conference space in which open discussion, multiple viewpoints, and productive intellectual exchange can flourish. We do not condone harassment against any participant for any reason. Harassment is deliberate intimidation and targeting of individuals in a manner that makes them feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, or afraid. Participants asked to stop any unwelcome behavior are expected to comply. Event organizers retain the right to take action to keep MEME a welcoming environment for all participants, and particularly in response to behavior designed to, or with the clear impact of, disrupting the event or making the environment hostile for other participants.
Harassment includes but is not limited to:
- Verbal comments that reinforce damaging social structures of domination (e.g., related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, or religion);
- Inappropriate use of sexual images in public spaces;
- Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following;
- Unwanted photography or recording;
- Sustained disruption of talks or other events;
- Inappropriate physical contact;
- Unwelcome sexual attention;
- Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior.
We expect participants to avoid harassing behavior at all event venues and event-related social activities. We think people should follow this code of conduct outside event activities too! We want this to be a productive, constructive, safe, and invigorating environment for all of our participants and delegates. We ask that everyone join in helping us make it so.
Reporting Misconduct
If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, you can contact Dorothy Kim (dokim@vassar.edu) or Adrienne Williams Boyarin (aboyarin@uvic.ca) via email or Twitter DM (@dorothyk98 or @AdrienneBoyarin), by anonymous report, or in person (face-to-face at the conference). We will ensure you are safe and not overheard. We will handle your report respectfully. We will not ask you to confront anyone. We will be happy to provide escorts, help you contact campus security, local law enforcement or support services, or otherwise assist you.
You can make an anonymous report here: https://makingeme.wufoo.com/forms/z13ma89m0bvu1hw/. This reporting site does not require you to leave your name or email address. We cannot follow up an anonymous report with you directly, but we will monitor the reporting site regularly and investigate any reported misconduct with the aim of preventing recurrence.
Emergency Information and Contacts
University of Victoria Campus Security: 250-721-7599
Local (City of Victoria) law enforcement: 250-995-7654
Local sexual assault hot line (Victoria Sexual Assault Centre): 250-383-3232
Local emotional/suicidal crisis hotline (Vancouver Island Crisis Line): 1-888-494-3888
Local emergency: 9-1-1
Local non-emergency (medical/nursing advice): 8-1-1
Local medical care: Royal Jubilee Hospital (with ER) 250-370-8000, Lansdowne Walk-In Clinic (near UVic campus) 250-592-4212
Local taxi company (Blue Bird Taxi): 1-800-665-7055
*Our thanks to Femtechnet, Geek feminist wiki, DEFCON, the Ada Initiative, and the Center for Solutions for Online Violence for resources, templates, and language incorporated into this Code of Conduct. Check out the following links for more information on these organizations’ and conferences’ policies:
http://femtechnet.org/csov/educator/
https://adainitiative.org/continue-our-work/conference-policies/
https://www.defcon.org/html/links/dc-code-of-conduct.html
http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/index.php?title=Conference_anti-harassment_policy
