Code of Conduct

Being involved in the elementary community is an awesome thing; you get to be a part of something big, collaborate with people from around the world, and help people make their computers awesome. However, with that comes a responsibility to follow a predefined set of rules that ensures the best experience for all involved. The following rules are expected to be adhered to anytime you’re involved with the community, be it on the elementary website, in an official IRC room, in person, or elsewhere.

I. Respect

Respecting others is extremely important. Be sure to respect people and their opinions, personal background, privacy, and ideas. The elementary community is not a place for disrespectful or hurtful remarks for any reason whatsoever. When giving criticism, approach it constructively and respectfully. Personal attacks are not tolerated. When receiving constructive criticism, take it into consideration and thank the critic for their input, no matter your stance.

II. Content

The elementary community is made up of thousands of users of varying ages, beliefs, and levels of maturity. Because of this, you must be conscious of the content you produce and the remarks you make. No nudity, excess vulgarity, political content, religious content, or inappropriate content should appear in relation to elementary. Ultimately, the elementary moderators have the final say as to what constitutes as inappropriate. If in doubt, consider whether or not it’s something you’d show to a room full of people including children and grandmothers from around the world. If you’re hesitant, don’t do it.

III. Rumors and Speculation

While the fast-paced and exciting nature of elementary contributes to the want to spread rumors or speculation, avoid it. Discussing future plans is alright, but anytime it’s not a verified fact, disclose it as personal speculation or do not discuss it. Spreading inaccurate information can be detrimental to the community, especially if spread in a negative light.

IV. Helpful Discussion

elementary is powered by individuals coming together in their free time to create something incredible. It's important to respect that fact and to always try to contribute to healthy, helpful discussion. If in a meeting, keep on-topic and stay quiet unless you have something helpful that pertains to the immediate discussion. If commenting on the website, keep the discussion related to the content of the Journal entry or Answer topic. If participating in a developer-oriented discussion such as a mailing list or developer IRC channel, do not create unnecessary noise by discussing non-development topics; this only derails the discussion and muddies up the logs for developers who may not be present.

As a primarily online-based community, it’s important we avoid the many potentially negative aspects of the Internet. Do not troll; starting fights or making remarks with the sole purpose of making someone mad or misleading others is childish and unacceptable. If someone is trolling, simply ignore them and alert a moderator. Spam is also unacceptable; this includes posting links to irrelevant sites and repeatedly posting links to the same site. If someone is spamming, do not click on the links, but alert a moderator if possible.

V. Consequences

If you choose not to follow this code of conduct, we reserve the right to do the following things: alter or remove any content you’ve posted; deactivate your account on the website; kick you out of an IRC channel; ban you from the site, IRC channels, or related services; or otherwise prevent you from interacting with the community. If you would like to report someone violating the Code of Conduct or wish to appeal against actions taken against you, do so here.

Last modified 2012-12-09: Added linked section anchors (ex. #I for section I), fixed some grammar, further clarified section IV, added "alert a moderator" links for easier access.