ARIN Participants Expected Standards of Behavior

Report a violation of the ARIN Participants Standards of Behavior

Version 4.0
November 2024

The ARIN Participant Expected Standards of Behavior ensures a safe, respectful, and enjoyable experience for all who participate with ARIN-hosted events and ARIN mailing lists. These standards establish a clear expectation for conduct that promotes an inclusive environment where everyone feels empowered to engage fully.

The Standards of Behavior applies to all participants of an ARIN event, including ARIN staff, members of the Board of Trustees, Advisory Council (AC), Address Supporting Organization Address Council (ASO AC). Participation includes, but is not limited to, virtual or in-person activity at Public Policy and Members Meetings, ARIN outreach events such as ARIN on the Road or ARIN in the Caribbean, mailing lists, and other related activities.

All participants must:

Treat each other with civility, courtesy and respect (both face-to-face and online), regardless of the sex, race, color, national origin, marital status, age, religion, creed, disability, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, occupation, line of business, or any other classification protected by law, or policy position of other participants.
Make respectful, reasonable, informed, and truthful comments when participating in policy development and decision-making discussions and processes. Statements of a political or philosophical nature are discouraged.
Listen respectfully to the views of all stakeholders when considering policy issues.
Act in accordance with ARIN’s Policy Development Process when participating in ARIN public policy events. The ARIN model is based on a bottom-up, consensus-driven approach to policy development. Discussion must focus on the stated purpose.
When participating in the ARIN Policy Development Process, take responsibility for the success of the model by acting fairly and in good faith with other participants in the ARIN process while trying to build consensus and find solutions to issues.
When participating, include your name and organizational affiliation.
Register for the event, if applicable, which may include notice of any potential logging of their identity or activity associated with the event.
Refrain from taking inappropriate photography or recording individuals without their knowledge or permission.
Refrain from the use or extraction of individuals’ contact information or organizational information obtained through participation without their knowledge or permission.
Follow the rules and regulations of any applicable event venue or hotel.
Refrain from statements that include foul language, personal character attacks, or show disrespect for other participants, including ARIN.
Refrain from statements that are slanderous or libelous, including making defamatory and untrue accusations of criminal conduct.
Refrain from activity where a participant attempts to knowingly present themselves as someone else.
Refrain from activity involving knowingly false or fictitious statements.
When participating on any of ARIN’s mailing lists, refrain from the use of participation for marketing purposes or distribution of marketing materials.
When participating on any of ARIN’s mailing lists, refrain from posting of URL’s. Further, all auto-replies are prohibited on ARIN mailing lists.

Policy Against Harassment

In addition to the above expectations, those who participate in ARIN events and related activities must foster an environment that is free from any form of discrimination and conduct that is harassing, coercive, or disruptive. ARIN prohibits harassment in any form – verbal, physical or visual – and will not tolerate discriminatory harassment or inappropriate conduct of a harassing nature directed against any individual on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, marital status, age, religion, creed, disability, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, occupation, line of business, or any other classification protected by law, or policy position of other participants.

Sexual harassment is a form of gender discrimination that is unlawful and violates this policy. For purposes of this policy, sexual harassment is defined generally to include unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when such conduct is made a condition of an individual’s employment or participation, used as the basis for decisions, or has the effect of substantially interfering with an individual’s performance or creating a hostile environment. Sexually harassing conduct, as well as inappropriate conduct of a harassing nature, is prohibited.

Examples of prohibited conduct include, but are not limited to: (1) sexually-oriented kidding, teasing, gestures or jokes; (2) offensive or unwelcome sexual flirtations, advances, or propositions; (3) verbal abuse of a sexual nature; (4) graphic or verbal comments, epithets, or slurs about an individual’s body; (5) sexually degrading words used to describe an individual; (6) the display or transmission (e.g., e-mail, text or social media) of sexually suggestive or sexually explicit materials (such as magazines, videos, pictures, cartoons or posters); (7) inquiries into another individual’s sexual experiences and activities or discussion of one’s own sexual experiences and activities; and (8) unwelcome intentional touching of another person or other unwanted intentional physical conduct.

ARIN is committed to supporting a productive and safe environment for all participants at ARIN events.

Reporting Violations of Standards

Any ARIN participant who feels that another participant has violated these standards is asked to immediately notify any of the following: ARIN’s President and CEO, Chief Human Resources Officer, or General Counsel; the Chair of ARIN’s Board; or the Ombudsperson. Contact information for these individuals can be found here.

All allegations of violations that are reported will be reviewed as promptly as possible and will be treated with as much confidentiality as possible, consistent with the need to conduct a thorough review and investigation if necessary.

ARIN prohibits retaliation against any ARIN community member or participant who, in good faith, alleges a violation of these standards, even if sufficient evidence is not found to substantiate the allegation. ARIN also prohibits retaliation against any ARIN participant or community member participating truthfully and candidly in a review or an investigation of an allegation. An ARIN community member or participant will not be penalized in any way for reporting, in good faith, a potential violation of these standards.

Consequences of Violations of Standards

Violations of these standards may result in disciplinary action without warning, which correlates with the nature and gravity of the violation. Discipline can include but is not limited to:

A reprimand or written warning.
Removal from participating in ARIN-related activities and/or initiatives, which could include removal from an applicable mailing list and/or revoking of posting privileges for a specified period of time or permanently.
Any other measure deemed necessary to maintain a productive and safe working environment for all participants.

Notices and Disclaimers

ARIN does not endorse, support, represent or guarantee the truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of any communications nor does ARIN endorse any opinions expressed by participants that are not employed by, or have a fiduciary obligation to, ARIN. By participating in an ARIN activity, participants acknowledge that any reliance on material stated or posted through an ARIN activity will be at their own risk.
Participants acknowledge that their identity and activity within any ARIN event may be logged; recorded; made publicly available; archived on the ARIN website; used in materials related to ARIN’s process, procedures, operations (such as ARIN Meeting Reports); and are subject to legal rules of discovery.
Notwithstanding anything in this ARIN Participants Expected Standards of Behavior, ARIN specifically reserves the right to pursue any remedy in law or equity.