Code of Conduct

TL;DR

  • 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 conduct@kigalihacks.live.

Why have a Code of Conduct?

Morncast Community's community includes people from many different backgrounds. The Morncast Community contributors 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 community welcoming to people from different backgrounds. Diversity is critical in order for us to build a thriving community; for Morncast Community to be successful, it needs hackers from all backgrounds.

With that said, a healthy community must allow for disagreement and debate. The Code of Conduct is not a mechanism for people to silence others with whom they disagree.

Where does the Code of Conduct apply?

If you join in or contribute to the Morncast Community ecosystem in any way, you are encouraged to follow the Code of Conduct while participating in any activity that involves directly with Morncast

Hacker Values

These are the values to which people in the Morncast Community community 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.

Unwelcome behavior

These actions are explicitly forbidden in Morncast Community spaces:

  • Expressing or provoking:
    • 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.
  • Advertisement or recruitment for events, companies, organizations, etc - unless specifically given permission by Morncast Community HQ.
  • Posting spam-like content that disrupts the environment of the community.

Moderation & Enforcement

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, and your messages may be removed by community moderators. Repeated offenses may result in a temporary or permanent ban from the community.

  • On your first offense, you will receive a written notice from one of our community moderators. Depending on the degree of the reported behavior, you may be asked to apologize, either in public or directly to the party that you have offended.
  • On a second offense, you will be temporarily removed from the community. The period of the temporary ban may vary from 3 days to a month, decided based on the seriousness of the reported behavior. Please note that this ban does not indicate that you are no longer welcomed in the community
    • it represents an official warning for your behavior.
  • On a third offense, you may be asked to leave the community. Your account may be suspended for an indefinite amount of time, and you may be publicly identified.

This procedure only serves as a general guideline for moderation & enforcement of our community conduct. Under all circumstances, the Working Group or Morncast Community's members may take any action we deem appropriate, including immediate removal from the community. Being banned from the Morncast Community may also prevent you from participating in our community events.

Please understand that we will not restrict your ability to contact the Code of Conduct team under any circumstance. If you have any questions or concerns about our decision, please reach out to us directly. If your Slack account is under suspension, email us directly at conduct@kigalihacks.live.

Reporting Issues

If you encounter a conduct-related issue, you should report it to the Working Group using the process described below. Do not post about the issue publicly or try to rally sentiment against a particular individual or group.

  • Mail conduct@kigalihacks.live
    • Every thing will remain private
    • Immediately report anything that violate code of conduct if you see one

Note that the goal of the Code of Conduct and the Working Group 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. Bannings and other forceful measures are to be employed only as a last resort.