imag/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md

# imag Community Code of Conduct

This document was adapted from the KDE code of conduct.


## Preamble

This document offers some guidance to ensure imag participants and contributors
can cooperate
effectively in a positive and inspiring atmosphere, and to explain how together
we can strengthen and support each other.

This Code of Conduct is shared by all contributors and users who engage with the
imag team and its community services.


## Overview

This Code of Conduct presents a summary of the shared values and “common sense”
thinking in our community. The basic social ingredients that hold our project
together include:

    Be considerate
    Be respectful
    Be collaborative
    Be pragmatic
    Support others in the community
    Get support from others in the community

Our community is made up of several groups of individuals and organizations
which can roughly be divided into two groups:

    Contributors, or those who add value to the project through improving imag
    software and its services
    Users, or those who add value to the project through their support as
    consumers of imag software

This Code of Conduct reflects the agreed standards of behavior for members of
the imag community, in any forum, mailing list, wiki, web site, IRC channel,
public meeting or private correspondence within the context of the imag team and
its services. The community acts according to the standards written down in this
Code of Conduct and will defend these standards for the benefit of the
community. Leaders of any group, such as moderators of mailing lists, IRC
channels, forums, etc., will exercise the right to suspend access to any person
who persistently breaks our shared Code of Conduct.


## Be considerate

Your actions and work will affect and be used by other people and you in turn
will depend on the work and actions of others. Any decision you take will affect
other community members, and we expect you to take those consequences into
account when making decisions.

As a contributor, ensure that you give full credit for the work of others and
bear in mind how your changes affect others. It is also expected that you try to
follow the development schedule and guidelines.

As a user, remember that contributors work hard on their part of imag and take
great pride in it. If you are frustrated your problems are more likely to be
resolved if you can give accurate and well-mannered information to all
concerned.


## Be respectful

In order for the imag community to stay healthy its members must feel
comfortable and accepted. Treating one another with respect is absolutely
necessary for this. In a disagreement, in the first instance assume that people
mean well.

We do not tolerate personal attacks, racism, sexism or any other form of
discrimination. Disagreement is inevitable, from time to time, but respect for
the views of others will go a long way to winning respect for your own view.
Respecting other people, their work, their contributions and assuming
well-meaning motivation will make community members feel comfortable and safe
and will result in motivation and productivity.

We expect members of our community to be respectful when dealing with other
contributors, users and communities. Remember that imag is an international
project and that you may be unaware of important aspects of other cultures.


## Be collaborative

The Free Software Movement depends on collaboration: it helps limit duplication
of effort while improving the quality of the software produced. In order to
avoid misunderstanding, try to be clear and concise when requesting help or
giving it. Remember it is easy to misunderstand emails (especially when they are
not written in your mother tongue). Ask for clarifications if unsure how
something is meant; remember the first rule — assume in the first instance that
people mean well.

As a contributor, you should aim to collaborate with other community members, as
well as with other communities that are interested in or depend on the work you
do. Your work should be transparent and be fed back into the community when
available, not just when imag releases. If you wish to work on something new
in existing projects, keep those projects informed of your ideas and progress.

It may not always be possible to reach consensus on the implementation of an
idea, so don't feel obliged to achieve this before you begin. However, always
ensure that you keep the outside world informed of your work, and publish it in
a way that allows outsiders to test, discuss and contribute to your efforts.

Contributors on every project come and go. When you leave or disengage from the
project, in whole or in part, you should do so with pride about what you have
achieved and by acting responsibly towards others who come after you to continue
the project.

As a user, your feedback is important, as is its form. Poorly thought out
comments can cause pain and the demotivation of other community members, but
considerate discussion of problems can bring positive results. An encouraging
word works wonders.


## Be pragmatic

imag is a pragmatic community. We value tangible results over having the last
word in a discussion. We defend our core values like freedom and respectful
collaboration, but we don't let arguments about minor issues get in the way of
achieving more important results. We are open to suggestions and welcome
solutions regardless of their origin. When in doubt support a solution which
helps getting things done over one which has theoretical merits, but isn't being
worked on. Use the tools and methods which help getting the job done. Let
decisions be taken by those who do the work.


## Support others in the community

Our community is made strong by mutual respect, collaboration and pragmatic,
responsible behavior. Sometimes there are situations where this has to be
defended and other community members need help.

If you witness others being attacked, think first about how you can offer them
personal support. If you feel that the situation is beyond your ability to help
individually, go privately to the victim and ask if some form of official
intervention is needed. Similarly you should support anyone who appears to be in
danger of burning out, either through work-related stress or personal problems.

When problems do arise, consider respectfully reminding those involved of our
shared Code of Conduct as a first action. Leaders are defined by their actions,
and can help set a good example by working to resolve issues in the spirit of
this Code of Conduct before they escalate.


## Get support from others in the community

Disagreements, both political and technical, happen all the time. Our community
is no exception to the rule. The goal is not to avoid disagreements or differing
views but to resolve them constructively. You should turn to the community to
seek advice and to resolve disagreements and where possible consult the team
most directly involved.

Think deeply before turning a disagreement into a public dispute. If necessary
request mediation, trying to resolve differences in a less highly-emotional
medium. If you do feel that you or your work is being attacked, take your time
to breathe through before writing heated replies. Consider a 24-hour moratorium
if emotional language is being used — a cooling off period is sometimes all that
is needed. If you really want to go a different way, then we encourage you
to publish your ideas and your work, so that it can be tried and tested.


This document is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution - Share Alike
3.0 License.