Want to help Jon but aren’t sure how?

If you, like many, feel that something wasn’t handled correctly in the situation surrounding Jon Tennant but aren’t sure what to do, don’t fret!

We have prepared this practical guide that we will edit as things change. Please feel free to get involved with as many points as you would like.

Thank you 🙂

Write a Letter

We have a template letter/email for you to print and send to the Washington DC Attorney General, Mayor’s Office of Human Rights and a few other places. Just contact Rebecca to get a copy of the letter and the addresses to post it to: rebecca_tennant@hotmail.co.uk

The Attorney General is much more likely to look at a cause if it’s repeatedly brought to his attention, so switch on your printer and add your voice to this cause.

Sign a petition

https://www.change.org/p/open-con-oppose-a-lack-of-accountability-a-call-for-answers

This one calls on OpenCon to answer some really rather simple questions around their processes and what happened with Jon, such as what Jon was accused of, why didn’t they investigate the allegation (*shock*), why he was presumed guilty, why he was accused of a crime without any evidence, why they didn’t consider basic humanity and professional ethics worth applying….that type of thing.

Sign another petition

www.openscholarship.co.uk/renew-your-coc/

This one calls on all organisations in this field to consider the very simple but very relevant question: does your code of conduct protect everyone by applying due process.

Due process, people, is a refined, distilled, wonderful process that says hey, we have to do things properly and not jump to conclusions. It says we don’t know what we don’t know, so let’s use this process to find out. Due process protects the rights of alleged victims AND alleged harassers. It doesn’t make assumptions. It doesn’t apply cause where there is no evidence. It protects. Did OpenCon follow due process? Absolutely not. Do they know this? I would hope so- it should have appeared on their Twitter feed around 500 times that people are questioning this. Are they willing to change their code of conduct (Coc)? It appears not. Go figure.

Fundraise

We are investigating every avenue in this situation. Because this situation is a violation of SO many rights-(for example Jon’s right to protect his reputation-yes this is a right, outlined in the European Convention on Human Rights and case law, Jon’s right to be presumed innocent until PROVEN guilty, Jon’s right to a fair trial, Jon’s right to see and submit evidence, Jon’s right to appeal)- it deserves the attention. One avenue is legal, and we are fundraising to get a court order to gather information. We can’t say more here (she says, feeling like James Bond).

So when OpenCon say they have violated ‘no rights’, I have just listed 6, off the top of my head. Then there is also the right to not be accused of a false crime. To be heard by a neutral jury.

8 Rights.

To donate, follow this link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/207d7ia440?sharetype=teams&member=4421734&utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&rcid=c6e820aa127f4feba1f86968dd213309

Sign another petition

This one calling on Twitter to look at the way they respond to reports of bullying: http://chng.it/WN4vqDh7

Email OpenCon/SPARC

I mean, it says on the website that you are welcome to give feedback on their CoC- I’ve yet to come across ANYONE though who has emailed them and their opinions have been heard. I can comfortably (and with a bit more effort think of more) think of 4 different people who have emailed them and been shut down as soon as it was apparent that they disagreed…hmmm

Maybe they shouldn’t welcome feedback if they don’t welcome feedback. Just a thought.

Email them here: Joe@sparcopen.org.uk about their code of conduct which you can find here: www.opencon2018.org/code_of_conduct

They also welcome you to feedback on their code of conduct here: https://github.com/sparcopen/opencon-dei-report/issues/10

Note the Washington DC Human Rights Office ‘example’ sexual harassment policy, specifically the section on ‘Rights of the Alleged Harasser’: https://mayor.dc.gov/sexualharassment

See that in the OpenCon CoC?

Me neither.

You have no rights if you are accused, apparently.

Find events that support your career without signing away your soul

Many organisations run events, conferences and community groups that can further your career, without you having to compromise your morals. Do some research and check out the point below.

Support organisations with good, ethical code of conducts

Check out various organisation’s code of conducts if you are going to get involved with them. If they do not have sections supporting the rights of those harassed or victimised in other ways AND those accused then avoid them. They may have had their code of conduct designed by a Victorian era ghost or worse, Wikipedia help.

Don’t respond to Twitter mobbing or encourage it

Please. Don’t ever join a Twitter mob. Check to see if you are doing so before responding to tweets. There are effective ways through real, verified channels to sort out issues.

Twitter is not one of these channels.

If you see mobbing or cyberbullying happening tag Twitter in it @twittersafety @twittersupport and use the #mobbing hashtag to draw awareness and attention to it.

These hashtags also pull up some useful ways to respond to mobbing:

#scapegoatcommunity

#bullying

#gaslighting

#multipleperpetratorviolence

Educate yourself

This is a link to Jon’s blog, who wrote extensively on what happened. Every time I read it I get so angry to see the blatant disregard for his person shown by OpenCon, their silence with the excuse of protecting confidentiality (despite our recent assurances that we would not publicise information or retaliate but would take the information to a court) and the fact that they seemingly take the high road while at the same time watching someone’s life get destroyed.

Basically this makes me question humanity:

www.fossilsandshit.com/blog

You can read my version of a few things. When I read this I feel sick- because I didn’t express how angry I really was and didn’t fully explain how unjust things were. I was under some sort of impression, at this point, that all people were good really and that OpenCon would of course reveal information and allow us to take it to court (and not obstruct justice). They refused basic information, even when offered a neutral mediator to communicate between us to promote confidentiality and professionalism, and wouldn’t take down the ban from Twitter. While Jon is in an ice chamber in Bali this group of people sit in silence. Self-preservation over anything else.

How they can claim then to promote community literally baffles me.

It’s very disturbing. https://rebeccatennant10.wordpress.com/2020/05/01/what-really-happened-jon-tennant/

Check out this article to learn more about what happened in terms of the mobbing on Twitter: https://medium.com/@vdeherde/now-you-are-the-witch-2cefff8f7a58

If you need some evening amusement you can check out the FOUR versions on the OpenCon Code of Conduct that were apparently edited to allow them to sanction Jon as they please:

Current version: https://www.opencon2018.org/code_of_conduct

Next most recent version: https://www.opencon2018.org/code_of_conduct_archived_v3

Next most recent version: https://web.archive.org/web/20170424091439/http://www.opencon.2017.org/code_of_conduct or you can see it here too: https://github.com/sparcopen/opencon-dei-report/issues/10

Next most recent version: https://www.opencon2018.org/code_of_conduct_archived_v1

This is a great read because Veronique is a great writer. This talks about the basic facts and basic issues around the case: https://medium.com/@vdeherde/accusations-against-jon-tennant-surrounding-open-cons-ban-78d9589c05eb?source=———3——————

A bit more background-this is Veronique’s view on the situation, looking at the whole OpenScience Community and their reaction to a public, lifetime ban: https://medium.com/@vdeherde/did-the-open-science-community-turn-a-blind-eye-on-a-major-procedural-breach-56b0a73b7e57?source=———5——————