[rlpb]

It's also really handy to be able to refer to a code of conduct directly to curb inappropriate behaviour. Referring to one gives more power to a direct and immediate request for someone to curb his inappropriate behaviour.

This worked has well for me (I'm male, if it matters) at the one conference I've seen inappropriate (if unintended) behaviour. A shout of "that's inappropriate; we have a code of conduct here; move on to the next slide or get off the stage" worked very well for me.

Using this turns an implied "that's inappropriate [in my opinion]" into a specific and much more powerful "that's inappropriate [according to our rules]".

[saraid216]

Yup. This is exactly how rule of law works. A codified, criticized, and iterated set of demands is more useful than simply having a lone opinion in a mostly egalitarian setting precisely because your opinion isn't alone and you can prove it without asking anyone else to spend social capital.

[baudtack]

Now I'm curious what conference.