path: root/docs/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md

# Contributor Code of Conduct

This code of conduct is intended to lay down the basis on which we, as a community of developers and maintainers, work with each other and with others outside of the community. As always when dealing with groups of people from many different backgrounds, there are no hard and fast rules here, and the intention is not to lay down any sort of restrictive frame to work in, but rather to clarify how we (prefer to) approach each other when working together as volunteers/professionals to improve our respective projects, products and life.

## Our Goal with this Code of Conduct

We, as contributors and maintainers, aim to create a _focused but welcoming_ environment for others; collaboration, acceptance and respect are the cornerstones upon which we must build our community, otherwise there is no future for it. As such, we want to keep participation in our project and community free of harassment. We therefore ask of everyone, new contributors and long-standing members alike, to be accepting of others regardless of their age, ethnicity, level of experience, nationality, personal appearance, race, religion, or sexual orientation. None of these (and alike) attributes should influence how we work together in this project, and should not be grounds to judge or dismiss work done.

## Examples of acceptable and unacceptable behavior

Please note that these lists are examples and not exhaustive. If you have any doubts whether behavior is considered unacceptable, always err on the side of caution.

Examples of behavior that helps create a positive working environment:

* Using friendly, neutral and welcoming language.
* Being clear in your descriptions and not assuming the reader has any sort of prior knowledge of what you are talking about.
* Being courteous (use "please" when you ask something of someone).
* Being respectful of differing viewpoints and experiences.
* Gracefully accepting constructive criticism, even if you disagree with such criticism.
* Similarly, accepting that someone may not act on criticism given.
* Focusing on what is best for the community and its projects instead of individuals.
* Showing understanding and a reasonable level of empathy towards other community members.

Examples of unacceptable behavior:

* Unwelcome personal attention or advances (sexual or otherwise). If someone asks you to stop approaching them, please respect that.
* Displaying disproportionate levels of moral outrage and offense, especially when in response to someone's opinion.
* Bullying, trolling, insulting/derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks.
* Public or private harassment of other community members/contributors.
* Publishing others' personal/private information, such as a physical or electronic address, without explicit permission.
* Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional/workplace setting.

## Responsibilities of the project's staff/leadership

Project maintainers are responsible for clarifying the standards of acceptable behavior and are expected to take appropriate and above all fair corrective action in response to instances of unacceptable behavior.

Corrective action: Project staff has the right and responsibility to evaluate, and if necessary to remove, edit, or reject any comments, repository commits, code changes, wiki edits, issues or issue comments, and other contributions that are not aligned with this Code of Conduct or the community's or projects' best interests, or to ban (temporarily or permanently) any contributor, community member or maintainer for other behaviors that they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful. In cases where there is no clear and definitive breach of rules or common sense, it is expected that staff members consult with project leadership before bans are issued to discuss the severity and intended action.

## Applicability

This Code of Conduct applies within project spaces (forum, website, IRC, repositories and other project-controlled resources with user interaction) as well as in public spaces when an individual is representing the project or its community. Examples of representing a project or community include using an official project e-mail address, posting via an official social media account, acting on behalf of the project on IRC or other chat networks, or acting as an appointed or voluntary (spontaneous) representative at an online or offline event. Representation of a project in general should be courteous, respectful, and at all times keeping in mind that any representation reflects directly on the project's public image. Do not claim to officially represent the project if you have any doubts about your ability to maintain a professional composure that does not harm the project.

## Enforcing this Code of Conduct

We expect our community to apply a good measure of self-regulation when it comes to the conduct displayed by its members. We believe that any community of adults is capable of applying the concepts of common sense, common decency and common courtesy to interactions between its members.
That said, there are always exception situations possible where things need to be escalated, which is where this section comes into play.
Incidents involving abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior that need to be escalated for resolution may be reported by contacting the project owner at moonchild@palemoon.org. The project owner will then review and investigate all complaints and related communication of the case, and will respond in a way that they deem appropriate for the circumstances.

## Confidentiality

The project team is generally obligated to maintain confidentiality with regard to the reporter of an incident, although in exceptional cases where intervention of authorities is required, the reporter may be individually identified to aid in the investigation or resolution of a conflict situation.

Project staff members who do not follow or enforce the Code of Conduct in good faith may face temporary or permanent repercussions as determined by other members of the project's staff. Being a member of staff does not excuse you from adhering to acceptable behavior outlined in this Code of Conduct.