Difference between revisions of "FKI:Community/Code of Conduct"

Revision as of 12:45, 13 October 2014

The norms and guidelines defined in this Code of Conduct are applicable in any forum, mailing list, wiki, web site, IRC channel, public meeting and private correspondence related to the Free Knowledge Institute. See also the FKI's founding principles and "Induction Manual". FKI workgroups and other structures are ultimately accountable to the FKI Foundation Board who will arbitrate in any dispute over the conduct of a member of the community in accordance with our code of conduct, policies and procedures.

Golden Rule

The Golden Rule, or Ethic of Reciprocity says "One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself." This means for us to set the positive example and practice what we "preach". All participants within the FKI intent to live by the values that we have defined as our shared value set. We prefer to do this in a positive way and encourage others to do the same. This means that we follow the FKI's Founding Principles, use Free Software, share documents in Open Standard formats, use and publish works under free/libre licenses - with a preference for copyleft -, respect each others' contributions and diversity, etc.

Be mindful of the community

While the FKI platforms and projects may be used freely and effectively by individuals working in isolation, its strength lies in its support for collaboration in the production, sharing and re-use of learning resources.

When editing pages or expressing ideas or opinions on FKI fora, or when modifying code or adding features (as a system administrator), or when making decisions, be mindful of the wide and diverse community of educators, learners and other interested and affected parties.

Be collaborative

Collaboration is central to the FKI and to the wider free knowledge community. Collaboration streamlines the production of common resources, and improves the quality of our work.

Whatever the scale of the project or activity, be open to collaborators from the outset and continue with transparency, inclusivity and continuous communication of intentions and progress. Follow due process and strive for [1], but feel free to create alternative sets of resources, or derivative works, with clear cross-referencing, so that the community can peruse the various perspectives, offer new ideas and participate in the discussion.

Be respectful

Everyone can make a valuable contribution to Free Knowledge in general and to the FKI in particular. We share our differing viewpoints and opinions freely, in a professional manner, while striving for consensus in decision making and for enhanced quality of the learning resources we produce. We may have very different perspectives and may not always agree, but at all times maintain a tone of mutual respect and acknowledge each others' contributions appropriately.

Help each other

Nobody knows everything, and nobody is expected to be perfect in the Free Knowledge community. Asking questions avoids many problems down the road, and so questions are encouraged. Those who are asked (or who discover open) questions should be responsive and helpful.

Assume good faith

FKI welcomes and encourages newcomers and inexperienced participants who may be unfamiliar with the emergent culture and concrete online environments. Occasionally, misplaced comments with unintended implications arise. Most people mean well and contribute with a view to enhancing the resources on the FKI/FTA and related platforms. In general, assume good faith unless there is clear evidence of malice.

Encourage leadership

Leadership emerges at multiple levels within the community and our aim is to foster an environment which encourages leadership and innovation.

FKI leaders epitomise this Code of Conduct, lead by example and encourage others likewise to express their ideas, try them out, and in turn encourage others to participate in bringing them to fruition.

The Free Knowledge Institute's code of conduct is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 licence. You may re-use it for your own project, and modify it as you wish, just please allow others to use your modifications and give credit to the WikiEducator Project and to the Ubuntu project on whose codes of conduct this document is based.