S.A.F.E. Code of Conduct

S.A.F.E. exists to help connect the San Antonio furry community through safe, welcoming, and positive events, resources, and community support. Our events and online spaces should be places where people can make friends, learn, create, volunteer, and enjoy the fandom without harassment, intimidation, or unsafe behavior.

By attending a S.A.F.E. event, participating in a S.A.F.E. online space, volunteering with S.A.F.E., submitting an event or group listing, or representing S.A.F.E. in the community, you agree to follow this Code of Conduct.

Our goal is simple: be kind, respect boundaries, follow the rules of the space we are in, and help keep the community safe for everyone.

Suggested buttons:
[Report a Concern]
[Contact S.A.F.E.]
[View Events]

Quick Version

S.A.F.E. expects all participants to:

Treat others with respect, kindness, and basic courtesy.
Ask before touching, hugging, photographing, recording, or interacting closely with someone.
Respect personal boundaries, including when someone says no, stop, or leave me alone.
Follow all venue rules, event rules, platform rules, and applicable laws.
Keep all-ages spaces family friendly unless an event is clearly marked otherwise.
Avoid harassment, bullying, discrimination, threats, intimidation, or unsafe behavior.
Respect minors, families, volunteers, venue staff, guests, and members of the public.
Use good judgment with costumes, props, language, photos, and public behavior.
Report serious concerns to S.A.F.E. leadership, event staff, venue staff, or emergency services when appropriate.
Understand that unsafe or inappropriate behavior may lead to removal from events, online spaces, or future S.A.F.E. activities.

Purpose of This Code

The S.A.F.E. Code of Conduct provides clear expectations for behavior at S.A.F.E. activities, online spaces, volunteer activities, and community-facing programs. It is intended to protect attendees, volunteers, partner groups, venues, families, creators, and the general public.

This Code cannot list every possible situation. S.A.F.E. leadership, event staff, moderators, and designated volunteers may use reasonable judgment to address behavior that is unsafe, disruptive, harmful, or inconsistent with the purpose of this Code.

Nothing in this Code replaces local, state, or federal law. If something is illegal outside of a S.A.F.E. event, it is also illegal at a S.A.F.E. event.

Who This Applies To

This Code of Conduct applies to:

Attendees at S.A.F.E. events
Volunteers and leadership team members
Event hosts and partner groups working with S.A.F.E.
People participating in S.A.F.E. online spaces or Telegram chats
People submitting events, news, groups, creator listings, or other content to S.A.F.E.
Vendors, performers, panelists, photographers, media guests, and invited participants
Anyone representing S.A.F.E. in public, at events, or through official communications

For events hosted by other groups, those groups may have their own additional rules. S.A.F.E. may still decline to promote, remove, or distance itself from events or groups that do not align with this Code.

Community Expectations

Respect and Courtesy

Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity. Participants should be polite, welcoming, and mindful that S.A.F.E. includes people of many ages, backgrounds, identities, comfort levels, and life experiences.

Expected behavior includes:

Speaking to others respectfully
Being mindful of volume, language, and public surroundings
Avoiding aggressive, threatening, or intentionally disruptive behavior
Respecting personal space
Being patient with volunteers and event staff
Following staff instructions when safety or event operations are involved

Consent and Personal Boundaries

Consent matters. Always ask before touching, hugging, petting, grabbing, picking up, leaning on, photographing, recording, or closely interacting with someone.

This includes fursuiters, costumers, minors, volunteers, and people you already know. A costume, badge, tail, collar, plush, outfit, or friendly personality is not permission.

If someone says no, stop, backs away, avoids contact, or seems uncomfortable, respect that immediately. Do not pressure, guilt, tease, follow, corner, or repeatedly ask after someone has declined.

Harassment and Discrimination

S.A.F.E. does not allow harassment, bullying, stalking, threats, intimidation, discrimination, or targeted abuse.

Examples of prohibited behavior include:

Unwanted physical contact
Sexual harassment or unwanted sexual comments
Repeated unwanted messages, attention, or advances
Following, cornering, blocking, or isolating someone
Threats of violence or harm
Insults, slurs, hate speech, or demeaning language
Bullying, dogpiling, rumor-spreading, or targeted public shaming
Harassment based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, national origin, body size, appearance, or any other protected or personal characteristic
Displaying symbols, language, gestures, or materials intended to promote hate, violence, or intimidation
Retaliation against someone for making a good faith report

Public and Family-Friendly Conduct

Many S.A.F.E. activities happen in public, family-friendly, or shared spaces. Participants are expected to behave in a way that reflects positively on the community and respects the venue, other guests, families, minors, and members of the public.

Unless an event is clearly marked as 18+ or 21+, please keep clothing, costumes, conversations, displays, and behavior appropriate for an all-ages public setting.

Avoid:

Explicit sexual behavior or public sexual roleplay
Excessively revealing or sexualized attire in all-ages spaces
Inappropriate touching, groping, grinding, or prolonged public affection
Loud explicit conversations around minors or the general public
Displaying adult artwork or adult merchandise in public or all-ages areas
Creating a scene that disrupts the venue, event, or public area

When in doubt, keep it PG and respectful.

Minors, Families, and Age-Restricted Events

S.A.F.E. welcomes families and younger community members at all-ages events. Everyone is expected to treat minors with appropriate care, respect, and boundaries.

Expectations involving minors include:

Do not engage minors in sexual, adult, or age-inappropriate conversation or behavior.
Do not provide alcohol, tobacco, vaping products, cannabis, illegal substances, or adult materials to minors.
Do not attempt to bypass age restrictions for 18+ or 21+ events.
Do not misrepresent your age or encourage someone else to do so.
Follow all posted age requirements for events and venues.
Parents or guardians are responsible for the supervision and conduct of minors in their care.

S.A.F.E. may require additional rules for events involving minors, youth-friendly programming, or age-restricted spaces.

Venue Rules and Local Laws

Participants must follow all rules set by the venue, event host, property owner, platform, city, county, state, and federal law.

This includes rules about:

Food and drink
Alcohol
Smoking and vaping
Parking
Restricted areas
Photography and filming
Capacity limits
Dress code
Pets and service animals
Safety instructions
Emergency procedures

If a venue employee, S.A.F.E. volunteer, event host, security staff member, or emergency responder gives a safety-related instruction, follow it promptly and respectfully.

Alcohol, Smoking, Vaping, and Substances

Alcohol may only be consumed when it is legal, allowed by the venue, and appropriate for the specific event. Anyone who drinks is responsible for doing so safely and legally.

The following are not allowed:

Providing alcohol to anyone under 21
Bringing alcohol to events or venues where it is not permitted
Being intoxicated in a way that creates a safety risk, disruption, or concern for others
Using illegal substances at S.A.F.E. events
Selling, distributing, or encouraging the use of illegal substances
Smoking or vaping outside of designated areas
Exposing others to smoke, vapor, or strong odors in a way that affects their comfort or health

S.A.F.E. may ask someone to leave if they appear impaired, unsafe, disruptive, or unable to follow event rules.

Weapons, Props, and Unsafe Items

Weapons and unsafe items are not allowed at S.A.F.E. events unless specifically approved in advance and allowed by the venue and law.

This may include:

Firearms
Knives or blades
Tasers or stun devices
Explosives or fireworks
Realistic weapon replicas
Props that could be mistaken for real weapons
Items used or displayed in a threatening manner

Costume props must be safe, clearly fake, handled responsibly, and appropriate for the event setting. S.A.F.E. may ask that a prop be removed, stored, or not brought into an event space.

Pets and Service Animals

Service animals are welcome where required by law. Pets or emotional support animals may only attend events when the venue and event rules allow them.

Animal handlers are responsible for:

Following venue rules
Keeping animals under control
Cleaning up after animals
Preventing disruption or unsafe interactions
Respecting anyone with allergies, fear of animals, or sensory concerns

Do not pet, distract, feed, photograph, or interact with a service animal without permission from the handler.

Photos, Video, Recording, and Media

S.A.F.E. wants people to enjoy and share positive memories, but privacy and consent come first.

Before taking a close-up photo or video of someone, ask permission. If someone says no, respect it. If someone asks you to delete or not post a photo or video that clearly features them, handle that request respectfully.

Expected behavior includes:

Ask before photographing or recording individuals.
Avoid filming people who are clearly uncomfortable.
Do not take hidden, secret, or invasive photos or recordings.
Do not photograph minors in a focused way without parent or guardian permission.
Do not interrupt event operations, block walkways, or create safety hazards for photos.
Do not claim to represent S.A.F.E. media unless approved.
Press, commercial media, interviews, and official coverage must be approved by S.A.F.E. leadership or the event host.

Public crowd photos may happen at events, especially in open public spaces. S.A.F.E. will make reasonable efforts to respect privacy concerns when they are brought to our attention.

Online Spaces and Digital Conduct

This Code also applies to S.A.F.E. online spaces, including Telegram groups, chats, comments, forms, directories, and other official platforms.

Online participants are expected to:

Follow moderator instructions
Keep discussion appropriate for the channel or topic
Avoid harassment, spam, threats, dogpiling, and targeted drama
Avoid posting private information without consent
Avoid sharing screenshots from private spaces without permission
Avoid impersonating S.A.F.E. leadership, volunteers, or other members
Avoid using S.A.F.E. spaces to evade blocks, bans, or personal boundaries
Avoid NSFW content in all-ages or public S.A.F.E. spaces

S.A.F.E. may moderate, remove, restrict, or report online content or behavior that violates this Code.

Sales, Promotion, and Solicitation

Selling, vending, fundraising, tabling, advertising, or promoting goods, services, groups, events, or causes at S.A.F.E. events must be approved by S.A.F.E. leadership or the event host.

This helps prevent confusion, spam, safety concerns, and conflicts with venue rules.

S.A.F.E. may decline or remove promotions that are misleading, unsafe, adult-focused in all-ages spaces, hateful, exploitative, or inconsistent with S.A.F.E.’s mission.

Respect for S.A.F.E. Volunteers and Community Leaders

S.A.F.E. is volunteer-run. Please treat volunteers, admins, moderators, organizers, photographers, hosts, and partner groups with patience and respect.

Volunteers are expected to lead by example. S.A.F.E. volunteers and leadership should:

Follow this Code of Conduct
Act fairly and consistently
Protect private information
Avoid using their role for personal advantage
Escalate safety concerns appropriately
Avoid retaliation, favoritism, or abuse of authority
Communicate clearly when acting on behalf of S.A.F.E.

Reporting a Concern

If you experience, witness, or become aware of a concern, please report it as soon as you safely can.

You can report concerns by:

Speaking with S.A.F.E. leadership or event staff at an event
Using the S.A.F.E. contact form
Using an official S.A.F.E. reporting form, if available
Messaging a designated S.A.F.E. moderator or admin in an official online space
Contacting venue staff or security when the concern involves immediate venue safety
Calling emergency services if there is immediate danger, violence, threat of harm, medical emergency, or a crime in progress

When reporting, include as much helpful information as you can:

What happened
When and where it happened
Who was involved
Names, usernames, badge names, or identifying details, if known
Screenshots, photos, or messages, if available
Names of witnesses, if any
Whether immediate support is needed

S.A.F.E. will make reasonable efforts to handle reports with care, respect, and discretion. Information may need to be shared with leadership, moderators, venue staff, law enforcement, or others when needed to protect safety, investigate a concern, or comply with legal obligations.

Good Faith Reports and Retaliation

S.A.F.E. encourages good faith reports. You do not need to prove everything before asking for help or making a report.

Retaliation against someone for reporting a concern, helping with a report, or participating in a review is not allowed.

Knowingly false reports, bad faith reports, or reports made for harassment, revenge, or manipulation may themselves be treated as Code of Conduct violations.

Response and Enforcement

S.A.F.E. may respond to violations based on the situation, severity, available information, safety needs, and prior conduct.

Possible actions include:

Verbal reminder or redirection
Written warning
Mediation or boundary-setting, when appropriate
Removal from an event or online space
Temporary mute, restriction, or suspension
Permanent ban from S.A.F.E. spaces or events
Removal of listings, posts, submissions, promotions, or directory entries
Removal from volunteer, host, vendor, or leadership roles
Contacting venue security or law enforcement
Refusal to promote or partner with an event, group, or individual

S.A.F.E. may take immediate action when needed to protect safety, prevent disruption, or uphold venue rules.

Appeals and Review

A person who has been suspended, banned, or otherwise restricted may request a review by S.A.F.E. leadership unless the action involved immediate safety concerns, law enforcement, legal restrictions, or another circumstance where review is not appropriate.

Appeal requests should include:

Your name and contact information
The action you are appealing
Why you believe it should be reviewed
Any relevant context or evidence
What steps you are willing to take to prevent future issues

S.A.F.E. leadership may uphold, modify, or remove an action after review. Some actions may remain in place to protect the community, even if an appeal is submitted.

Event Listings, Partner Groups, and Community Directory

S.A.F.E. may share, list, or promote events and groups to help the San Antonio furry community stay connected. A listing does not automatically mean S.A.F.E. owns, controls, supervises, or endorses every part of that event or group.

Groups, event hosts, and creators listed through S.A.F.E. are expected to act in good faith and maintain standards that support safety, respect, consent, and community trust.

S.A.F.E. may remove or decline listings that:

Conflict with this Code of Conduct
Are misleading or unsafe
Promote harassment, hate, abuse, or exploitation
Do not follow age restrictions or venue rules
Create significant concern for community safety
Damage trust between S.A.F.E., venues, partners, or the public

Accessibility and Inclusion

S.A.F.E. wants events and community spaces to be as welcoming and accessible as reasonably possible.

Participants are encouraged to:

Respect mobility aids, service animals, sensory needs, and disability accommodations
Avoid blocking ramps, walkways, doors, elevators, and accessible seating
Be patient with people who communicate, move, socialize, or participate differently
Avoid mocking accents, speech patterns, disabilities, neurodivergence, or support needs
Follow posted accessibility guidance for each event

Event hosts are encouraged to share accessibility information when possible, including parking, venue layout, noise levels, restroom availability, age rating, and known limitations.

Privacy and Personal Information

Do not share someone’s private information without permission. This includes legal names, addresses, phone numbers, workplace details, private messages, medical information, family information, or identifying details that someone has not chosen to make public.

S.A.F.E. may collect information through forms, reports, event submissions, or volunteer processes. S.A.F.E. should use that information only for legitimate community, safety, administrative, or communication purposes.

Closing Statement

S.A.F.E. is built on community care, volunteer effort, and a shared love of the furry fandom. The Code of Conduct is not here to make things scary or stiff. It is here so everyone knows the expectations, so problems can be handled fairly, and so our events stay welcoming for newcomers, families, longtime furs, creators, volunteers, and friends.

Thank you for helping make S.A.F.E. a positive part of the San Antonio community.

Update Notice

S.A.F.E. may update this Code of Conduct as the organization grows, as community needs change, or as new events and programs are added. The current version should always be posted on the official S.A.F.E. website.

Approved by: S.A.F.E. Leadership
Approved date: [Insert Date]
Last reviewed: [Insert Date]