## Conduct

* We are committed to providing a friendly, safe and welcoming
  environment for all, regardless of gender, sexual orientation,
  disability, ethnicity, religion, or similar personal characteristic.

* On IRC, please avoid using overtly sexual nicknames or other nicknames
  that might detract from a friendly, safe and welcoming environment for
  all.

* Please be kind and courteous. There's no need to be mean or rude.

* Respect that people have differences of opinion and that every design
  or implementation choice carries a trade-off and numerous costs. There
  is seldom a right answer.

* Please keep unstructured critique to a minimum. If you have solid
  ideas you want to experiment with, make a fork and see how it works.

* We will exclude you from interaction if you insult, demean or harass
  anyone. That is not welcome behaviour. We interpret the term
  "harassment" as including the definition in the <a
  href="http://citizencodeofconduct.org/">Citizen Code of Conduct</a>;
  if you have any lack of clarity about what might be included in that
  concept, please read their definition. In particular, we don't
  tolerate behavior that excludes people in socially marginalized
  groups.

* Private harassment is also unacceptable. No matter who you are, if you
  feel you have been or are being harassed or made uncomfortable by a
  community member, please contact one of the channel ops or any of the
  Syncthing core team immediately. Whether you're a regular  contributor
  or a newcomer, we care about making this community a safe place for
  you and we've got your back.

* Likewise any spamming, trolling, flaming, baiting or other
  attention-stealing behaviour is not welcome.

## Moderation

These are the policies for upholding our community's standards of
conduct in our communication channels, most notably in Syncthing-related
IRC channels and on the web forum.

1. Remarks that violate the Syncthing standards of conduct, including
   hateful, hurtful, oppressive, or exclusionary remarks, are not
   allowed. (Cursing is allowed, but never targeting another user, and
   never in a hateful manner.)

2. Remarks that moderators find inappropriate, whether listed in the
   code of conduct or not, are also not allowed.

3. Moderators will first respond to such remarks with a warning.

4. If the warning is unheeded, the user will be "kicked," i.e., kicked
   out of the communication channel to cool off.

5. If the user comes back and continues to make trouble, they will be
   banned, i.e., indefinitely excluded.

6. Moderators may choose at their discretion to un-ban the user if it
   was a first offense and they offer the offended party a genuine
   apology.

7. If a moderator bans someone and you think it was unjustified, please
   take it up with that moderator, or with a different moderator, **in
   private**. Complaints about bans in-channel are not allowed.

8. Moderators are held to a higher standard than other community
   members. If a moderator creates an inappropriate situation, they
   should expect less leeway than others.

In the Syncthing community we strive to go the extra step to look out
for each other. Don't just aim to be technically unimpeachable, try to
be your best self. In particular, avoid flirting with offensive or
sensitive issues, particularly if they're off-topic; this all too
often leads to unnecessary fights, hurt feelings, and damaged trust;
worse, it can drive people away from the community entirely.

And if someone takes issue with something you said or did, resist the
urge to be defensive. Just stop doing what it was they complained about
and apologize. Even if you feel you were misinterpreted or unfairly
accused, chances are good there was something you could've communicated
better — remember that it's your responsibility to make your fellow
community members comfortable. Everyone wants to get along and we are
all here first and foremost because we want to talk about cool
technology. You will find that people will be eager to assume good
intent and forgive as long as you earn their trust.

*Adapted from the [Rust Code of Conduct](https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/wiki/Note-development-policy#conduct)*

*Adapted from the [Node.js Policy on Trolling](http://blog.izs.me/post/30036893703/policy-on-trolling)*
