The OpenFF BespokeFit Code of Conduct sets the rules for the behavior of every member in the OpenFF BespokeFit community so that everyone can experience a welcoming, supportive, and productive environment that is free from harassment.
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OpenFF BespokeFit is part of an engaged and respectful community made up of people from all over the world. Your involvement helps us to further our mission and to create an open platform that serves a broad range of communities, from research and education to industry and beyond. This diversity is one of our biggest strengths, but it can also lead to communication issues and conflicts. Therefore, we have a few ground rules we ask that our community members adhere to.
Fundamentally, we are committed to providing a productive, harassment-free environment for everyone. Rather than considering this code an exhaustive list of things that you can't do, take it in the spirit it is intended - a guide to make it easier to enrich all of us and the communities in which we participate.
Importantly: as a member of our community, you are also a steward of these values. Not all problems need to be resolved via formal processes, and often a quick, friendly but clear word on an online forum or in person can help resolve a misunderstanding and de-escalate things.
By embracing the following principles, guidelines and actions to follow or avoid, you will help us make OpenFF BespokeFit a welcoming and productive community.
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Be friendly and patient.
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Be welcoming. We strive to be a community that welcomes and supports people of all backgrounds and identities. This includes, but is not limited to, members of any race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, color, immigration status, social and economic class, educational level, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, physical appearance, family status, political belief, technological or professional choices, academic discipline, religion, mental ability, and physical ability.
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Be considerate. Your work will be used by other people, and you in turn will depend on the work of others. Any decision you take will affect users and colleagues, and you should take those consequences into account when making decisions. Remember that we're a world-wide community. You may be communicating with someone with a different primary language or cultural background.
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Be respectful. Not all of us will agree all the time, but disagreement is no excuse for poor behavior or poor manners. We might all experience some frustration now and then, but we cannot allow that frustration to turn into a personal attack. It's important to remember that a community where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one.
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Be careful in the words that you choose. Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other community members. Harassment and other exclusionary behaviors are not acceptable. This includes, but is not limited to:
- threats or violent language directed against another person
- discriminatory jokes and language
- posting sexually explicit or violent material
- posting (or threatening to post) other people's personally identifying information ("doxing")
- personal insults, especially those using racist or sexist terms
- unwelcome sexual attention, even if believed to be welcome
- advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior
- repeated harassment of others. In general, if someone asks you to stop, then stop
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Moderate your expectations. Many in our community volunteer their time. They are probably not purposefully ignoring issues, refusing to engage in discussion, avoiding features, etc. but often just unavailable.
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When we disagree, try to understand why. Disagreements, both social and technical, happen all the time and OpenFF BespokeFit is no exception. It is important that we resolve disagreements and differing views constructively. Remember that we're different. The strength of OpenFF BespokeFit comes from its varied community that includes people from a wide range of backgrounds. Different people have different perspectives on issues. Being unable to understand why someone holds a viewpoint doesn't mean they're wrong. Don't forget that it is human to err and blaming each other doesn't get us anywhere. Instead, focus on helping to resolve issues and learning from mistakes.
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A simple apology can go a long way. It can often de-escalate a situation, and telling someone that you are sorry is act of empathy that doesn't automatically imply an admission of guilt.
This Code of Conduct applies both within project spaces and in public spaces when an individual is representing the project or its community. Examples of representing a project or community include using an official project e-mail address, posting via an official social media account, or acting as an appointed representative at an online or offline event. Representation of a project may be further defined and clarified by project maintainers.
Instances of abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior may be reported by contacting the project team at josh.mitchell@openforcefield.org. The project team will review and investigate all complaints, and will respond in a way that it deems appropriate to the circumstances. The project team is obligated to maintain confidentiality with regard to the reporter of an incident. Further details of specific enforcement policies may be posted separately.
Project maintainers who do not follow or enforce the Code of Conduct in good faith may face temporary or permanent repercussions as determined by other members of the project's leadership.
This code of conduct is adapted from the OpenFF NAGL code of conduct. Original text was adapted from the Speak Up!, Django, Contributor Covenant, Jupyter, MolSSI, and MDAnalysis projects. We are grateful to those projects for contributing these materials under open licensing terms for us to easily reuse.
All content on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license.