Code of Conduct

The following CoC is the Cooperative Software Development Guidelines CoC version 1.0.

JoinJabber is a community dedicated to the concern of participants in the Jabber interoperable network. It promotes cultural diversity and international cooperation; we want to empower people to communicate without any form of oppression or barriers. See our goals for more information.

We acknowledge that we come from different backgrounds and all have certain biases and privileges. Therefore, this Code of Conduct cannot account for all the ways that people might feel excluded, unsafe or uncomfortable. We commit to open dialogues, and as such this Code of Conduct is never finished and should change whenever needed. It is a collective responsibility for all of us to enact the behaviour described in this document, and bring it to the physical and digital space of JoinJabber.

This code of conduct applies to all our spaces, both online and off. Please report to the Mediation Circle any problematic behavior you see regarding people in our spaces or members of the JoinJabber collective. This includes behavior outside of JoinJabber spaces at any point in time.

This list is not exhaustive and the mediation team may decide to take actions disregarding the list if necessary. A member of the community not doing anything explicitly against the Code of Conduct may also be requested to leave if they take too much time and energy away from the mediation team.

  • We follow the Permacomputing Principles and the Social Rules of the Recurse collective.
  • Consent: No unsolicited advice, respecting the autonomy of people using our server/app, respecting the privacy and boundaries of other people in the network.
  • Plurality of views, experiences and backgrounds to foster an inclusive environment. We recognize that not everyone has the same opportunities, therefore we must be sensitive to the context we operate in and see implicit hierarchies that we can challenge. We think about how we can consider degrees of privilege, account for the needs of others, promote an activist stance and support/give platform to other voices. We expect people to be willing to examine their privilege, language and other habits while they are here, and work on a growing understanding of intersectional feminism.
  • A spirit of collaboration and consensus for working on projects instead of meritocracy. We focus on what is best not just for us as individuals, but for the overall community because tech people are not inherently smarter than others or care more for certain things. We try to respect the dignity, experiences, and perspectives of those that are implicated by the work we do even if they are not here and give them respect and consideration.
  • Being open for self-reflection both in ourselves and our communities/people/figures/organizations. We speak up when we see them do wrong, reform them and remove the people that did/enable it. If we fail we create new ones and denounce these that don't want to change.

We as a community pledge to make participation in our community a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, visible or invisible disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, level of experience, education, socio-economic status, nationality, personal or physical appearance, race, caste, color, religion or lack thereof, neuro(a)typicality, sexual identity and orientation, immigration status, language, or other identity marker. If you're unsure if a word is derogatory, don't use it. This also includes repeated subtle and/or indirect discrimination.

In JoinJabber we consider impact before intent and we prioritize marginalized people's safety over privileged people's comfort. The mediation team reserves the right not to act on complaints regarding:

  • "Reverse" -isms, including "reverse racism", "reverse sexism", and "cisphobia".
  • Reasonable communication of boundaries, such as "leave me alone", "go away", or “I'm not discussing this with you”.
  • Communicating in a "tone" you don't find congenial. The expression of justified anger will not to be policed within this space. Tone policing and the expectation of politeness have long been used as tools for oppression, as reasons for dismissal of valid arguments, and we will not be complicit in propagating that behaviour.
  • Criticizing racist, sexist, cissexist, terf (trans-exclusionary radical feminism), white feminism or otherwise oppressive/hierachical behavior or assumptions.

Basic expectations for conduct are not covered by the "reverse-ism" clause and would be enforced irrespective of the demographics of those involved. For example, racial discrimination will not be tolerated, irrespective of the race of those involved. Nor would unwanted sexual attention be tolerated, whatever someone's gender or sexual orientation. Members of our community have the right to expect that participants in the project will uphold these standards.

  • Asking before assuming, no question is too obvious or should be known before asked. For example what someone's preferred pronoun is, whether they know anything about a subject. If we are unsure, we ask for clarity. We also understand that not all questions are OK, or need answering.
  • Be empathetic, by actively listening to others and not dominating discussions. We give each other the chance to improve and let each other step up into positions of responsibility. We are aware of each other's feelings, abilities and provide support while knowing when to step back. We ask to make sure that our actions are wanted. Leaving physical, emotional and conceptual room for other people.
  • Giving and gracefully accepting constructive feedback. Accepting responsibility, apologizing to those affected by our mistakes, and learning from the experience.
  • Caring for our physical and digital environment. We respect and pay attention to the beings (human or not), facilities, infrastructures and objects brought together and treat them with the necessary care.
  • Harassement, such as outing of any aspect of a person's identity or their information (including messages) without their consent and continued one-on-one communication after requests to cease.
  • Stalking including virtual following (locating someone in other web spaces in order to continue unwelcome contact) and logging/recording online conversations for harrassement purposes.
  • Debating the rights and lived experiences of marginalized people. Questioning or challenging someone's stated self-identity or chosen labels, even if they conflict with your own views. This includes misgendering or use of "dead" or rejected names.
  • The use of sexualized language or imagery, and sexual attention or advances of any kind. This includes simulated physical contact (such as emojis like “kiss”) without affirmative consent or after a request to stop.
  • Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), in all its manifestations (including animations or illustrations).
  • Hate speech, hierarchical ideas/behaviors and religions. This includes (among others) in all their forms and manifestations: fascism, white supermacy, colonialism, imperialism, nationalism (especially ethno-states), capitalism, racism, sexism, ableism, transphobia, queerphobia and militarism.
  • Misinformation, disinformation and propaganda (especially state propaganda) that seek to promote pseudoscience, conspiracies or deny/cast doubt in historic and ongoing acts of genocide.
  • Violence, incitement or threats of violence (both physical and psychological) towards another participant, community or group, including encouraging someone to engage in self-harm.