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Code of Conduct

  1. To join OoLEN, applicants need to prove their affiliation with a research group (for example by sharing a link to their group’s website) or by sharing a published paper or preprint of their authorship on the topic of the origin of life. Applicants need also to state their agreement to the mission statement and code of conduct of OoLEN when applying and share one photo and a short description of expertise for the website.

  2. Members of OoLEN are expected to be actively engaged in the network, particularly responding to emails and requests (addressing network activities, ideas or questions about published results) from other members within an appropriate time frame. Exceptions are accepted with due justification.

  3. After being granted any form of permanent position, including tenured or tenure-track positions (this is, with no end date on contract), or after supervising at least one graduate student independently on their own funding, members can remain in OoLEN for an extra three years. After this period, they will be asked to join OoLEN Alumni (see 4.).

  4. The OoLEN Alumni are previous members of OoLEN as determined in 3. The OoLEN Alumni do not participate in meetings unless invited nor in elections, are not part of OoLEN main mailing list and have restricted access to the forum. They commit to be available to be contacted by OoLEN members.

  5. OoLEN is organized in an executive board with five members and several working groups. Every member of the executive board should be part of one working group. The main organizer of the IOoL (OoLEN’s in-person meeting) takes part in the executive board meetings throughout the duration of the planning period.

  6. Members of OoLEN are expected to be actively engaged in the shaping of the network. Voting in the annual election for the composition of the executive board is compulsory. Members of the executive board and working groups meet regularly to discuss and vote for organizational decisions. There is a maximum of three terms for a position, except in the case that no one else volunteers.

  7. All members should aim for transparency, including reporting potential conflicts of interest relevant to scientific discussions (see 8.).

  8. Members should be enabled to share their work and ideas freely, without the fear of others claiming credit for those through plagiarism, scooping or similar practices. See Guidelines for authorship. While results discussed in the network will be handled confidentially, no member is obligated to share unpublished work.

  9. Any type of confirmed (see 11.) discrimination based on race, ethnicity, nationality, class, caste, religion, belief, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, health or other status towards any person, including non-members, will entail immediate and definitive exclusion from the network.

  10. Any type of confirmed (see 11.) bullying, use of aggressive language, threat, or abuse towards any person, including non-members, will entail immediate and definitive exclusion from the network.

  11. The victim or witness of 9. or 10. should contact one of the members of the executive board to initiate an investigation. The executive board members will then, given sufficient evidence, vote to the exclusion of the member that infringed the code on point 9. or 10. If the conflict of interest is with one of the executive board members, said person will not participate in the investigation.

  12. Any person aware of any behavior by a member of OoLEN that goes against this code is asked to report to one of the members of the executive board, which will investigate the claim while protecting anonymity.