Code of conduct

ActivistChecklist.org is a project built by people in social movements, for people in social movements. The tools and guides we produce help activists protect themselves from surveillance, harassment, and repression. That mission only works if the community building this project is itself a place where people can participate without being subjected to those same harms.

We also recognize that tolerating abusive behavior in our community is a security problem. People who don’t feel safe here won’t contribute, and our work will be weaker for it.

We want this to be a space where people of all races, ethnicities, gender identities, gender expressions, sexual orientations, physical abilities, physical appearances, socioeconomic backgrounds, nationalities, ages, religions, and levels of technical experience can contribute and be respected. The movements we serve are led by Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities, by trans and queer people, by disabled people, by immigrants and undocumented people, and by working-class people. If this project isn’t a place where those folks feel welcome, we’ve failed at our job.

Contributors may participate under any name they choose. Pseudonymous and anonymous contributions are welcome.

Encouraged Behaviors

We come from different cultures, with different knowledge and different languages, which means different sensibilities. Remote communication is hard, and messages can be misunderstood. With that in mind, we agree to:

• Engaging kindly and honestly with others.
• Respecting different viewpoints and experiences.
• Taking responsibility for our actions and contributions.
• Gracefully giving and accepting constructive feedback.
• Committing to repairing harm when it occurs.
• Help people who are newer to the work get oriented

Restricted Behaviors

The following behaviors are not acceptable in this community. This includes instances, threats, and promotion of these behaviors.

• Harassment. Violating someone’s clearly expressed boundaries, or continuing unwanted personal attention after being asked to stop. This includes deliberate intimidation, stalking, and use of sexual or discriminatory imagery, comments, or jokes.
• Character attacks. Insulting, demeaning, or belittling comments directed at a person or group.
• Stereotyping or discrimination. Characterizing someone’s personality or behavior on the basis of their race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, religion, nationality, immigration status, class, or other aspects of their identity.
• Sexualization. Behavior that would generally be considered inappropriately intimate for the context of this project.
• Violating confidentiality. Sharing or acting on someone’s personal or private information without their permission. This includes attempting to determine the real-world identity of pseudonymous contributors.
• Endangerment. Causing, encouraging, or threatening violence or other harm toward any person or group.
• Misleading identity. Impersonating someone else, or creating a false identity to evade enforcement actions.
• Behaving in other ways that threaten the well-being of our community.

Language that is unwelcoming, whether or not it rises to the level of harassment, is also discouraged. A lot of exclusionary behavior takes the form of microaggressions: subtle put-downs that may be delivered unconsciously. Regardless of intent, microaggressions can have a real negative impact on our community.

Reporting

Not every disagreement is a code of conduct violation. Conflict between people working together is normal. This code of conduct exists for situations that go beyond ordinary friction.

When an incident does occur, it is important to report it promptly. To report a possible violation, fill out the contact form here and make sure to include your Signal username or email address.

Reports will be taken seriously and investigated promptly. The people handling reports will review messages, logs, and context, and may interview witnesses or other participants. Investigations and enforcement will be handled as transparently as possible while prioritizing the safety and privacy of everyone involved. Enforcement actions are carried out privately with the people involved, though communicating with the broader community may be part of a resolution.

Addressing and Repairing Harm

When this code of conduct has been violated, the following steps may be used to determine how to respond. The goal is to repair harm, not to punish. Depending on severity, earlier steps may be skipped.

Warning. A private, written notice explaining the violation and what is expected going forward. Repair might include a private apology and acknowledgment of responsibility.

Temporarily limited activity. A written notice with a cooldown period, which may restrict participation in specific channels or interactions with specific people. Repair might include using the cooldown period to reflect, and being thoughtful about re-entering community spaces afterward.

Temporary suspension. Removal from community participation for a defined period, with conditions for return. Repair includes respecting the suspension, meeting conditions for return, and re-engaging thoughtfully.

Permanent removal. Access to all community spaces is revoked. This should be rare and used only when other approaches have failed or when a violation is severe enough that there is no way to keep the community safe with this person in it.

This ladder is a guideline. It does not limit the ability of project maintainers to use their judgment in the best interests of the community.

Scope

This code of conduct applies in all project spaces: the GitHub repository, pull requests, issues, any associated communication channels, and any other forums created for project discussion. It also applies when someone is representing the project in public, such as using an official project account or acting as a representative at an event.

Attribution

This Code of Conduct is adapted from the Contributor Covenant, version 3.0. Contributor Covenant is stewarded by the Organization for Ethical Source and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.