No assholes allowed at Facebook's big conference

Facebook's big F8 Developer Conference is right around the corner -- and if you're planning on heading to San Jose to attend in person next month, Facebook has a clear message for you: don't be an insensitive, selfish asshole.

Visitors to the Code of Conduct section of the event's page have been greeted by an extensive set of community guidelines and policies regarding prohibited behavior. The list encapsulates just about everything you'd hope wouldn't be tolerated in the nearest middle school locker room, let alone a professional conference held by one of the biggest companies in the world: name calling, inappropriate jokes and unwelcome touching are just a few of the outlined behaviors deemed "not ok."

It's admirable that Facebook is making it clear it's not going to tolerate boorish behavior at the event -- but really, the fact that the list is so specific and so extensive is a reflection of the sorry state of the tech industry's culture on the whole. With sexism scandals in the headlines and a reputation for leaving women and people of color out of the mix, it's fair that F8's organizers felt the need to set some strict rules.

The ridiculousness of the strict guidelines was first brought to light by Bloomberg's Shira Ovide.

Here's the full list of the code of conduct:

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Facebook clarifies that it's list of banned behaviors doesn't encapsulate all unacceptable conduct. It's relying on people to use their best judgment. Let's hope no poorly behaved programmers make it their personal mission to push the boundaries and innovate their way to the top of the dbag charts. And that attendees keep things, you know, civilized by standing up for each other and reporting bad eggs to security.

It's unclear how much more extensive these rules are compared to F8 conferences past, but it's clear they have gotten Silicon Valley talking. There's no word on how Facebook will actually stamp out the bad behavior of offenders, but advocating for solidarity among attendees isn't a bad place to start.

The tech industry has a long way to go before its boys' club atmosphere is a thing of the past, and making clear declarations that bad behavior won't be tolerated at a prestige event is only a small sign of progress. Who knows, though -- if groups of people who love to be described as geniuses are given basic instructions for common courtesy enough times, they might just start to learn something.