These standards help members collaborate, seek opportunities, share knowledge, and build professional relationships with clarity and respect. They apply to member interactions, BAR projects, editorial participation, events, partnerships, and use of the Network.
Membership and documented BAR Credits provide professional context. They are not a guarantee of any person’s reliability, availability, endorsement, or suitability for a particular project.
1. Work with respect
Members are expected to communicate professionally and to respect each person’s boundaries, time, identity, creative practice, and right to decline an invitation.
Harassment, discrimination, threats, intimidation, stalking, sexual harassment, retaliation, deliberate humiliation, impersonation, and the disclosure of private information without permission are not permitted.
Disagreement is welcome when it remains constructive and focused on the work or issue being discussed.
2. Speak about others responsibly
Professional communities depend on trust. Members should address concerns directly when it is appropriate and safe to do so.
Knowingly spreading false or unverified claims, sharing private conversations without permission, encouraging social exclusion, or using personal information to damage another person’s relationships, reputation, or opportunities is inconsistent with BAR’s standards.
This standard protects good-faith safety reports, confidential advice, honest professional feedback, discussion of documented experiences, and truthful participation in a review. Members raising concerns in good faith are protected from retaliation.
3. Begin collaborations with clarity
Before work begins, participants should discuss roles and responsibilities, scope, schedule, compensation or terms of exchange, credit and attribution, ownership and usage rights, and how changes or cancellations will be communicated.
A written agreement is encouraged whenever a project involves payment, publication, distribution, intellectual property, or substantial time. Volunteer, educational, and unpaid participation should always be identified clearly before a person agrees to take part.
4. Communicate changes responsibly
Members should honor the commitments they accept and communicate changes, delays, or cancellations as early as reasonably possible.
BAR recognizes that health, disability, family responsibilities, emergencies, and other circumstances can affect availability. Responsible communication matters more than an expectation of constant access or immediate response.
No member is required to accept a request, provide an introduction, offer unpaid work, or continue a professional relationship.
5. Build professional relationships with care
Members are welcome to seek collaboration, mentorship, advice, employment, referrals, and creative opportunities. Requests should be specific, relevant, and respectful of the other person’s time and stated availability. Members may decline a request without explanation.
Spam, repeated unwanted contact, pressure for access or introductions, misleading opportunities, and unsolicited commercial solicitation are not permitted.
6. Protect creative work, credit, and privacy
Members must credit collaborators accurately and obtain permission before using, publishing, distributing, altering, licensing, or monetizing another person’s work.
Member information is provided for relevant professional and community engagement. It may not be harvested, sold, distributed, or used for unrelated promotion. Access to information through BAR does not create permission to contact someone outside the methods they have chosen.
7. Represent BAR accurately
Members may describe their documented involvement with BAR accurately. Participation in the Network does not authorize anyone to speak on behalf of BAR or Berklee College of Music, promise access to BAR members, or imply an endorsement that has not been granted.
Standards for employers and partners
Employers, organizations, collaborators, and external partners are expected to provide accurate information about opportunities, responsibilities, working conditions, schedules, compensation, rights, and available resources.
BAR may decline or discontinue relationships involving misleading opportunities, unsafe conditions, discriminatory conduct, inappropriate access to students, unclear compensation, misuse of creative work, or violations of member privacy.
Raising a concern
Members can use the Report or Block controls in Member Home. A useful report may include what happened, when and where it occurred, the people or project involved, relevant messages or agreements, and any immediate safety or privacy concern.
If a concern involves BAR’s founder, a direct teaching relationship, discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, stalking, or retaliation, use the independent reporting routes rather than asking BAR’s founder to review it. Reports are kept as private as reasonably possible. Retaliation against someone who raises a concern or participates in a review is not permitted.
For an immediate threat to personal safety, call 911 or the local emergency service. On Berklee’s Boston campus, call Berklee Public Safety at 617-747-8888.
How concerns are reviewed
BAR considers the nature, severity, context, available documentation, previous concerns, and effect on the community. Responses may include guidance, limits on contact or features, temporary restrictions, suspension, removal from the Network, or ending a partnership. Interim restrictions may be used to protect members during review.
Shared responsibility
These standards support a community where people can create, learn, connect, and pursue professional opportunities with greater confidence. By claiming a BAR Network account or participating in BAR spaces, members agree to follow these standards and respect the privacy and agency of others.