Conduct
Code of ethics
The commitments contributors make. Adapted in part from the Contributor Covenant, version 1.4.
Foundations
Resilience. We commit to protecting life as a whole, not only human persons. The best way to protect life is to encourage resilience, the ability to adapt to change, and a way to protect the capacity for change is to foster biodiversity in the ecosystems we inhabit. Given the choice between maximizing the happiness of a group of persons and maximizing the resilience and diversity of a larger ecosystem, we tend to choose the latter.
Diversity, equity and inclusion. We commit to diversity, equity and inclusion between persons as fundamental values. Diversity includes demographics that are not broadly represented, and the range of ideas, perspectives and values people hold; diverse perspectives make a group more resilient. Equity means equal treatment, access and opportunity, and the removal of barriers to participation. Inclusion is a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. We pledge to make participation in the project a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, level of experience, education, socio-economic status, nationality, personal appearance, race, religion, species, or sexual identity and orientation.
Identify the stakeholders. Ethics requires identifying the stakeholders, and that is difficult by definition. We commit to an ongoing effort to identify and empower the parties affected by our work. They come from hugely varied backgrounds: designers and developers, artists, critics, funders, users anywhere in the world, and non-human participants. They may not share a language, a construction of identity, or expectations about respect.
Conduct
There are established legal guardrails we follow, among them COPPA on children's data, GDPR on personal data, and HIPAA on health information. Beyond those we hold to more general conventions.
- Privacy. Participants have a general right to privacy. Technology leaks intimate information, and those in a position of power should encrypt, anonymize, and not keep private information beyond its purpose.
- Honesty. Contributors should be proactively transparent about the risks, liabilities and impacts of what we build.
- Fairness. The systems we build should be fair and non-discriminatory.
- Self-dealing. Where money is involved we must be especially vigilant about not routing advantages to a select group.
- Leadership. Contributors take leadership on these topics rather than waiting for someone else to.
- No weaponizing. Ethics is about protecting others when there is no personal gain in it. Using ethical issues as a lever for personal gain is discouraged.
Ethics may mean saying no. There are lines a group chooses not to cross even when the short-term reward is real, and pursuing the rights of others who have no voice can cost something.
Rights and responsibilities
Every participant has the right to contribute to these definitions, to be treated as equal to any other participant, to feel empowered to create, to be free to leave without censure, guilt or obligation, and to invite peers.
Every participant has the responsibility to speak for those who cannot speak; to be welcoming, charitable and empathetic; to be charitable with what inputs they accept and precise and patient with what they say; to focus on what is best for the extended community of stakeholders; to see each participant and situation as individual; to practice gratitude; to avoid sexualized language and imagery; to avoid trolling, insults, and comments that attack a person rather than a thesis; to avoid harassment; and to never publish private information such as a physical or electronic address without permission.
Project maintainers are responsible for clarifying the standards of acceptable behavior and for taking fair corrective action, including removing or rejecting contributions that do not align with this code, and banning contributors for behavior they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive or harmful.
Scope and enforcement
This code applies within project spaces and in public spaces when an individual is representing the project, for example through an official account or as an appointed representative at an event.
Unacceptable behavior may be reported to the project maintainers. Complaints will be reviewed and investigated promptly, and the project team will keep the reporter's identity confidential. Maintainers who do not follow or enforce this code in good faith may face repercussions as determined by the rest of the project's leadership.
This document is open to revision.