Acknowledgements: This was adapted from Hack Club's Code of Conduct which was adapted from Go's Code of Conduct. It is to be noted that many parts of Go's Code of Conduct are adopted from the Code of Conduct documents of the Django, FreeBSD, and Rust projects.
- Treat everyone with respect and kindness.
- Be thoughtful in how you communicate.
- Don't be destructive or inflammatory.
- If you encounter an issue, please mail [email protected].
Innovation Circuit events bring people from many different backgrounds together. We are committed to providing a friendly, safe, and welcoming environment for all, regardless of age, disability, gender, nationality, race, religion, sexuality, or similar personal characteristic.
The first goal of the Code of Conduct is to specify a baseline standard of behavior so that people with different social values and communication styles can communicate effectively, productively, and respectfully.
The second goal is to provide a mechanism for resolving conflicts in the community when they arise.
The third goal of the Code of Conduct is to make our events welcoming to people from different backgrounds. Diversity is critical in order for us to build a thriving community; for the Innovation Circuit to be successful, it needs students from all backgrounds.
Explicit enforcement of the Code of Conduct applies to all official Innovation Circuit events and online spaces (such as GitHub).
These are the values to which students should aspire.
- Be friendly and welcoming
- Be patient
- Remember that people have varying communication styles and that not everyone is using their native language (meaning and tone can be lost in translation).
- Be thoughtful
- Productive communication requires effort. Think about how your words will be interpreted.
- Remember that sometimes it is best to refrain entirely from commenting.
- Be respectful
- In particular, respect differences of opinion.
- Be charitable
- Interpret the arguments of others in good faith, do not seek to disagree.
- When we do disagree, try to understand why.
- Avoid destructive behavior:
- Derailing: stay on topic; if you want to talk about something else, start a new conversation.
- Unconstructive criticism: don't merely condemn the current state of affairs; offer—or at least solicit—suggestions as to how things may be improved.
- Snarking (pithy, unproductive, sniping comments)
- Discussing potentially offensive or sensitive issues; this all too often leads to unnecessary conflict.
- Microaggressions: brief and commonplace verbal, behavioral, and environmental indignities that communicate hostile, derogatory or negative slights and insults to a person or group.
People are complicated. You should expect to be misunderstood and to misunderstand others; when this inevitably occurs, resist the urge to be defensive or assign blame. Try not to take offense where no offense was intended. Give people the benefit of the doubt. Even if the intent was to provoke, do not rise to it. It is the responsibility of all parties to de-escalate conflict when it arises.
These actions are explicitly forbidden:
- insulting, demeaning, hateful, or threatening remarks;
- discrimination based on age, nationality, race, (dis)ability, gender (identity or expression), sexuality, religion, or similar personal characteristic;
- bullying or systematic harassment;
- unwelcome sexual advances, including sexually explicit content.
Please understand that speech and actions have consequences, and unacceptable behavior will not be tolerated. When you participate in areas where the code of conduct applies, you should act in the spirit of the "Hacker values". If you conduct yourself in a way that is explicitly forbidden by the Code of Conduct, you will be warned and asked to stop. Repeated offenses may result in a temporary or permanent ban from Innovation Circuit events.
If you have any questions or concerns about our decision, please reach out to us directly. Email us directly at [email protected].
If you encounter a conduct-related issue, you should report by contacting us directly at [email protected] or approaching us at an event.
Note that the goal of the Code of Conduct is to resolve conflicts in the most harmonious way possible. We hope that in most cases issues may be resolved through polite discussion and mutual agreement. Forceful measures are to be employed only as a last resort.
Changes to the Code of Conduct should be proposed by creating an issue or making a pull request to this document.