The heart of Social Coding is people. We put people first and do our best to recognize, appreciate and respect the diversity of our global contributors. The Social Coding Movement welcomes contributions from everyone who shares our goals and wants to contribute in a healthy and constructive manner within our community. As such, we have adopted this code of conduct and require all those who participate to agree and adhere to these Community Participation Guidelines in order to help us create a safe and positive community experience for all.
These guidelines aim to support a community where all people should feel safe to participate, introduce new ideas and inspire others, regardless of:
Openness, collaboration and participation are core aspects of our work — from direct participation in community activities, to the collaboratively formation of a movement. We gain strength from diversity and actively seek participation from those who enhance it. These guidelines exist to enable diverse individuals and groups to interact and collaborate to mutual advantage. This document outlines both expected and prohibited behavior.
These guidelines outline our behavior expectations as practitioners of Social Coding and direct members of our community and ecosystem in all our activities, both offline and online. Your participation is contingent upon following these guidelines in all Social Coding Movement activities, including but not limited to:
While these guidelines / code of conduct are specifically aimed at Social Coding Movements’s community and ecosystem, we recognize that it is possible for actions taken outside of our movement, online or in person spaces to have a deep impact on community health. Such action will be considered seriously and can be clear grounds for removal from the Social Coding community. This is an active topic in the diversity and inclusion realm. We anticipate wide-ranging discussions among our communities about appropriate boundaries.
The following behaviors are expected of all Social Coders:
Value each other’s ideas, styles and viewpoints. We may not always agree, but disagreement is no excuse for poor manners. Be open to different possibilities and to being wrong. Be respectful in all interactions and communications, especially when debating the merits of different options. Be aware of your impact and how intense interactions may be affecting people. Be direct, constructive and positive. Take responsibility for your impact and your mistakes – if someone says they have been harmed through your words or actions, listen carefully, apologize sincerely, and correct the behavior going forward.
We are likely to have some discussions about if and when criticism is respectful and when it’s not. We must be able to speak directly when we disagree and when we think we need to improve. We cannot withhold hard truths. Doing so respectfully is hard, doing so when others don’t seem to be listening is harder, and hearing such comments when one is the recipient can be even harder still. We need to be honest and direct, as well as respectful.
Seek diverse perspectives. Diversity of views and of people on teams powers innovation, even if it is not always comfortable. Encourage all voices. Help new perspectives be heard and listen actively. If you find yourself dominating a discussion, it is especially important to step back and encourage other voices to join in. Be aware of how much time is taken up by dominant members of the group. Provide alternative ways to contribute or participate when possible.
Be inclusive of everyone in an interaction, respecting and facilitating people’s participation whether they are:
Think about how you might facilitate alternative ways to contribute or participate. If you find yourself dominating a discussion, step back. Make way for other voices and listen actively to them.
Our goal should not be to “win” every disagreement or argument. A more productive goal is to be open to ideas that make our own ideas better. Strive to be an example for inclusive thinking. “Winning” is when different perspectives make our work richer and stronger.
Social Coders come from many cultures and backgrounds. Cultural differences can encompass everything from official religious observances to personal habits to clothing. Be respectful of people with different cultural practices, attitudes and beliefs. Work to eliminate your own biases, prejudices and discriminatory practices. Think of others’ needs from their point of view. Use preferred titles (including pronouns) and the appropriate tone of voice. Respect people’s right to privacy and confidentiality. Be open to learning from and educating others as well as educating yourself; it is unrealistic to expect Social Coders to know the cultural practices of every ethnic and cultural group, but everyone needs to recognize one’s native culture is only part of positive interactions.
By matching your actions with your words, you become a person others want to follow. Your actions influence others to behave and respond in ways that are valuable and appropriate for our organizational outcomes. Design your community and your work for inclusion. Hold yourself and others accountable for inclusive behaviors. Make decisions based on the highest good for Social Coding Principles.
The following behaviors are considered to be unacceptable under these guidelines.
Violence and threats of violence are not acceptable - online or offline. This includes incitement of violence toward any individual, including encouraging a person to commit self-harm. This also includes posting or threatening to post other people’s personally identifying information (“doxxing”) online.
Conflicts will inevitably arise, but frustration should never turn into a personal attack. It is not okay to insult, demean or belittle others. Attacking someone for their opinions, beliefs and ideas is not acceptable. It is important to speak directly when we disagree and when we think we need to improve, but such discussions must be conducted respectfully and professionally, remaining focused on the issue at hand.
Hurtful or harmful language related to:
is not acceptable. This includes deliberately referring to someone by a gender that they do not identify with, and/or questioning the legitimacy of an individual’s gender identity. If you’re unsure if a word is derogatory, don’t use it. This also includes repeated subtle and/or indirect discrimination; when asked to stop, stop the behavior in question.
Unwelcome sexual attention or unwelcome physical contact is not acceptable. This includes sexualized comments, jokes or imagery in interactions, communications or presentation materials, as well as inappropriate touching, groping, or sexual advances. Additionally, touching a person without permission, including sensitive areas such as their hair, pregnant stomach, mobility device (wheelchair, scooter, etc) or tattoos is unacceptable. This includes physically blocking or intimidating another person. Physical contact or simulated physical contact (such as emojis like “kiss”) without affirmative consent is not acceptable. The sharing or distribution of sexualized images or text is unacceptable.
Sustained disruption of events, forums, or meetings, including talks and presentations, will not be tolerated. This includes:
We will treat influencing or leading such activities the same way we treat the activities themselves, and thus the same consequences apply.
Bad behavior from any Social Coders, including those with decision-making authority, will not be tolerated. Intentional efforts to exclude people (except as part of a consequence of the guidelines or other official action) from Social Coding Movement activities are not acceptable and will be dealt with appropriately.
Reports of harassment/discrimination will be promptly and thoroughly investigated by the people responsible for the safety of the space, event or activity. Appropriate measures will be taken to address the situation.
Anyone being asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately. Violation of these guidelines can result in anyone being asked to leave an event or online space, either temporarily or for the duration of the event, or being banned from participation in spaces, or future events and activities in perpetuity.
In addition, any participants who abuse the reporting process will be considered to be in violation of these guidelines and subject to the same consequences. False reporting, especially to retaliate or exclude, will not be accepted or tolerated.
If you believe you’re experiencing unacceptable behavior that will not be tolerated as outlined above, please use abuse@discuss.coding.social to report. Reports are triaged by the Discuss Social Coding community staff.
After receiving a concise description of your situation, they will review and determine the next steps. In addition to conducting any investigation, they can provide a range of resources, from a private consultation to other community resources. They will involve other colleagues or outside specialists (such as legal counsel), as needed to appropriately address each situation.
Reports are handled discretely and privately, and will only be shared with the people who can investigate, respond, and advise. As part of this investigation, it may be necessary for some information to be disclosed to others, for example, to key stakeholders administering communities or events, witnesses, and the wrongdoers.
Please also report to us if you observe a potentially dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of these guidelines, even if the situation is not happening to you.
If you feel you have been unfairly accused of violating these guidelines, please follow the same reporting process.
We do not tolerate retaliation against Social Coders who report concerns under the Community Participation Guidelines in good faith. Acts of retaliation should be reported in the same process as described above.
Each physical or virtual Social Coding space that is part of our movement shall have a designated contact.
All Social Coding events will have designated to this document with to serve as specific safety guideline with emergency and anti-abuse contacts at the event as well as online. Links to the Community Participation Guidelines will be posted prominently throughout the event, and in print and online materials. Event organizers are requested to speak at the event about the guidelines and to ask participants to review and agree to them when they sign up for the event.
Reports will receive an email notice of receipt. Once an incident has been investigated and a decision has been communicated to the relevant parties, all have the opportunity to appeal this decision by sending an email to abuse@discuss.coding.social.
Everyone is encouraged to ask questions about these guidelines. If you are organizing an event or activity, reach out in our channels for tips for building inclusion for your event, activity or space. Your input is most welcome and we will strive to answer them timely and/or encourage other members to respond. Please review this change log for updates to this document.
This set of guidelines is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license.
These guidelines have been adapted with modifications from Mozilla’s Community Participation Guidelines, Mozilla How to Report, the Ubuntu Code of Conduct, Mozilla’s View Source Conference Code of Conduct, and the Rust Language Code of Conduct, which are based on Stumptown Syndicate’s Citizen Code of Conduct. Additional text from the LGBTQ in Technology Code of Conduct and the WisCon code of conduct. We specifically recognize and appreciate all the hard work of the many, many people, that has led to the creation of this document and its associated processes.
We may amend the guidelines from time to time and may also vary the procedures it sets out where appropriate in a particular case. Your agreement to comply with the guidelines will be deemed agreement to any changes to it.