This document outlines principles for behavior and moderation policies for official Scalaz channels (the Scalaz mailing list, #scalaz on IRC, and the Scalaz GitHub repository).
Note: This should not be interpreted like a legal document. It's a statement of intent, and a set of guidelines for collaboration.
- Be excellent: Strive for the highest level of technical excellence. Seek out the best ideas via direct and rigorous discourse, and be encouraging and welcoming of robust discussion and debate.
- Be respectful and civil: The Scalaz project consists of contributors and users from all around the world with a diverse set of backgrounds. Not everyone will agree on all things, but at a minimum, be civil to others, regardless of age, gender, race or ethnicity, and so forth. Avoid personal attacks and demeaning, discriminatory or harassing behavior and speech. Strive to be warm, welcoming, kind, and patient, especially when expressing disagreement.
- Be open to learning: For newcomers to Scalaz, be open to learning about new concepts and ideas. If someone is suggesting concepts that go beyond your basic understanding, patiently asking for more information is the right way to go.
- Help build a culture of feedback: Be open and welcoming of feedback from others on how to communicate better and take opportunities to give constructive feedback to others. Help make the community one you want to be a part of.
- Be charitable: Try to assume the best about the people you interact with while working on or talking with others. Being charitable works in both directions. If someone says something that upsets or frustrates you or that you take as a personal attack, take a step back. Before responding in frustration or anger, try to set emotions aside, assume the best about the other person, and consider how to handle the conversation constructively. And likewise, if you witness someone responding in apparent frustration, try not to respond in kind and exacerbate the situation. Instead, make an effort to understand the source of their frustration and deal with the conversation in a constructive way.
Unacceptable behaviors include: direct personal attacks, harassing, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory or demeaning conduct. Harassment includes: offensive verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, disability, deliberate intimidation, stalking or following, and unwelcome sexual attention.
If a person engages in such behavior, then the following actions will be taken:
- Issued a warning: On the first offense, one of the Scalaz moderators will issue a warning about the unacceptable behavior.
- Put under moderation: On the second offense, a user may be placed under moderation. This will continue for a maximum of three months. If behavior improves, a user can leave moderated status. If behavior degrades, it can lead to #3.
- Removal from the community: If a person continues to engage in unacceptable behavior, they may be banned, either temporarily, or permanently, from participation in official channels. As this is a serious action to take, it should only be a last resort. Banning a person for a period of time greater than 48 hours should be discussed and unanimously agreed upon by all Scalaz moderators.
As this policy makes clear, moderators for official Scalaz venues should not immediately reach for banning or threats of banning in response to bad behavior. If you think there is a reasonable chance that offensive remarks or behavior were not deliberately meant to harm others, assume the best and try to give the offending person constructive feedback.
Step 3 needs to consider the possibility that the person engaging in unacceptable behavior is a moderator.