We're here for one reason: the joy of building. This is a room full of people who make things: hardware, software, weird little robots, half-finished experiments. People who want to show them to other people who get it. Everything below exists to keep it that way.
Zero tolerance for making anyone feel uncomfortable. That's the rule that sits above every other rule here. Harassment, condescension, gatekeeping, unwanted attention, or "well, actually"-ing someone into the ground: none of it belongs in this room. Everyone here is at a different point in their build, and every one of them deserves to feel welcome walking in with whatever they've got.
Presenters are here to demo, not to pitch. If what you built has a commercial product at its core, that's completely fine. Bring it, run it, let us poke at it. But the floor is for talking through how you built it and why it's fun, not for closing a sale. No pricing tiers, no "sign up tonight and get." If it's a great product, it'll sell itself. Trust the work and tell us about the build.
This is the no-pitch rule with a slightly wider net. Going table to table with a stack of recruitment flyers, or quietly collecting resumes off everyone you meet, pulls the energy away from why we're all here. If you're hiring and it comes up in a real conversation, wonderful. Swap contacts, follow up next week. Just let it come from someone being genuinely into what you're building, not from handing the whole room a flyer.
Ask questions out of genuine curiosity. Give feedback the way you'd want to receive it. Assume the person demoing a rough prototype is braver than the person who never shipped. The best thing you can do here is make someone feel good about the thing they're building.
If anyone makes you uncomfortable, whether a presenter, an attendee, or anyone else, find any organizer and let us know. We'll handle it quietly and quickly. You don't owe anyone an explanation for feeling unsafe, and you won't be the one who has to leave.
Build cool stuff. Show it off. Be kind.