[HacktionLab] mask tolerance

[mark]

Hi Nick,

This is an interesting question.

Wearing a mask, or doing anything that makes it harder to read a 
person's non-verbal communication, is not a neutral act. It impedes 
interactions. That might be necessary, but I would suggest that there 
needs to be consideration given to whether wearing a mask actually makes 
anyone safer. If it doesn't, then it's a bad idea.

Last time I looked, the available clinical evidence suggested that 
wearing medically certified respirators reduced the risk of acquiring 
respiratory infections, while wearing anything else on your face might 
slightly reduce the risk of you transmitting an infection, but doesn't 
reduce your risk of acquiring one.

There may be new evidence available since I last looked though. So maybe 
a way ahead would be to ask the person making this request to show us 
the peer-reviewed scientific publications showing how their mask wearing 
changes their likely health outcomes.

Cheers,
Mark


On 18/09/2026 11:44, Nick Sellen wrote:
> Hey! I'd like to make an amendment to the hacktionlab safe spaces policy 
> and the best way seems to be to have a post it here for feedback. It 
> came about as I've been organising the event for this year, and trying 
> to make it accessible for some people it might otherwise not be...
> 
> The current policy is this one: https://hacktionlab.org/index.php? 
> title=Safe_Spaces_policy <https://hacktionlab.org/index.php? 
> title=Safe_Spaces_policy> which is from back in 2017. The proposal is to 
> add one extra line on the Safe Spaces policy document stating:
> 
> *"If people wish to wear a mask or open a window for health reasons 
> please respect their wishes"*
> 
> So, I'm asking for any feedback, which could be an objection, an 
> improvement, or something else!
> 
> As the event is coming up quite soon, I'd like to conclude this by next 
> monday.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Nick
> 
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