Dear Element 11 Community,

We want to take a moment to address an important issue that has come to our attention. As a community, we believe in the safety and well-being of all our members, and we take reports of misconduct very seriously. To that end, we formed an independent Conduct Committee in 2021 to take reports and investigate allegations of misconduct.

The members of this committee hold no positions on the Board of Directors of Element 11, and are trusted, long-time members of our community. This means that they bring a deep understanding of our community and its values; and can investigate allegations of misconduct with impartiality and fairness. Due to the nature of having an independent committee, we do not have say into their internal processes or investigations. When an action is recommended by the Conduct Committee, it is up to the individual which had action taken against them to work with the Conduct Committee to resolve the issue. We would like to emphasize that each individual who has had an action taken against them has been made aware of appropriate next steps, and all individuals are made aware of the reason for the action.

We want to emphasize that the current process for banning an individual for misconduct is different from what it has been in the past. In cases of serious misconduct, the person reporting the offense must feel safe, and the entire Code of Conduct, and Warnings and Bans policies exist for the purpose of keeping our entire community safe. As an organization, we do not perform the investigations, but it is our responsibility as an organization to take appropriate action. It is for this reason the Conduct Committee was formed. There is an appeals process for all bans, and we carefully review all appeals which are submitted. Choosing to take action against a member of the community is not an easy decision, as such we carefully review recommendations made to us by the Conduct Committee.

We want to make it clear that in order to keep the community safe, it does not matter how prominent a member of the community may be. We have a zero-tolerance policy for misconduct, and we will take action to ensure that our community remains a safe and welcoming space for all members. As an organization, it is our responsibility to provide a safe venue for all, and we cannot allow the actions or words of individual community members who may not have the full picture to impact our actions. We encourage all members of our community to trust in our process and to work with us to create a safe and welcoming space for all.

We understand that this is a complex issue, and we are committed to doing everything in our power to ensure the safety and well-being of all our community members. We want to thank you for your continued support and participation in our community, and we hope that you will continue to work with us to create a safe and welcoming space for all.

Sincerely,

The Element 11 Team