To Whom Does This Code of Conduct Apply?

The CoC applies to members of the CockroachDB community: participants to the community Slack, participants in discussions on GitHub including CockroachDB developers and external contributors, participants to the community forum, and generally online forums where CockroachDB development is being discussed under moderation by Cockroach Labs.

Code of Conduct

• Be kind and patient. We are all human beings. We expect contributors to treat each other kindly and patiently and to continue to build a sustainable and welcoming community of peers.
• Be welcoming. We are committed to providing a friendly, safe and welcoming environment for all, regardless of level of experience, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, personal appearance, body shape or size, race, ethnicity, culture, age, religion, nationality, origin, immigration status, social or economic class, education level, family status, political beliefs or affiliation, mental or physical ability, or other similar characteristics.
• 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 fellow contributors, and you should take those consequences into account when making decisions. Include relevant details in your inquiries (eg. versions, error messages, deployment environment, etc.). Avoid asking off-topic questions in existing discussion threads, as this will inconsiderately consume the attention of every participant at once.
• Favor clear and constructive criticism. Spell out your concerns distinctly: some neurodiverse folk cannot read "between the lines". Ensure that any criticisms you share are structured. Respect that people have differences of opinion and that every design or implementation choice carries a trade-off and numerous costs. There is seldom an obvious right answer. Favor education and collaboration. To explain a complex idea, show, don't tell. Sometimes you can even make a fork and show your proposed change.
• Be respectful. 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. Also remember that we're a world-wide community, so you might not be communicating in someone else's primary language.
• When we disagree, try to understand why. Different people have different perspectives. Disagreeing with someone’s viewpoint or misunderstanding why someone holds that viewpoint doesn’t mean that they’re wrong or acting in bad faith. Remember that it is human to err. Focus on helping to resolve issues and learning from mistakes.

Unacceptable Behavior

• We will exclude you from interaction if you insult, demean or harass anyone. That is not welcome behavior. We adopt and incorporate the term “harassment” as defined in the Citizen Code of Conduct; if you don’t understand about what is included or excluded from this definition of harassment, please refer to the Citizen Code of Conduct’s definition of harassment. To make the point even clearer, we don’t tolerate behavior that excludes people in socially marginalized groups.
• The moderation team reserves itself the right to restrict community access to folks based on their recent pattern of behavior in other public forums, when such behavior is in violation of this code of conduct. In particular, behaviors that are connected to affiliation to known hate groups will be scrutinized more actively.
• 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 the moderation team. Whether you’re a regular contributor or a newcomer, we are committed to making this community a safe place for you.
• Likewise any spamming, trolling, flaming, baiting or other attention-stealing behavior is not welcome.

Moderation

These are the policies for upholding our community’s standards of conduct. If you feel that a thread needs moderation, please contact the moderation team via reporting@cockroachlabs.com.

1. Remarks that violate the standards of conduct, including hateful, hurtful, oppressive, or exclusionary remarks, are not allowed. (Certain words and language are not considered in violation of the CoC just because they are considered cursing in some dialects of English. We want to be inclusive of folk who use different language registers as long as they are not used to violate the CoC, to discourage other users, or to target another user or contributor in a hateful manner.)
2. The moderators will consider a power differential between two members of the community to inform their decision about whether a violation has occurred. We expect a higher standard of responsibility from folks who have more power or social standing in the community. Cockroach Labs leadership has the highest level of responsibility to behave in a manner consistent with the code of conduct.
3. The moderation team will ensure that an emotional reaction to a candidate CoC violation is not treated as a CoC violation itself without due consideration for the whole situation.
4. The moderation may flag and remove comments or remarks from users that the moderation team deems, in its discretion, to be inappropriate.
5. The moderation team will first respond to such remarks with a warning.
6. If the warning is unheeded, the user will be temporarily silenced or excluded from the communication channel.
7. If the user comes back and continues to act in violation of this code of conduct, the moderation team may ban (i.e. indefinitely exclude) the user .
8. The moderation team may choose at their discretion to reinstate users who have violated the CoC for first-time offenses where the user has also offered the offended party a genuine apology.
9. 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 or in-thread are not allowed.
10. 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.

We strive to go the extra step to look out for each other. Don’t just aim to adhere to the letter of the law, 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 have 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 work together. You will find that people will be eager to assume good intent and forgive as long as you earn their trust.

Special situations

You believe someone is in physical danger

If you believe someone is in physical danger, please notify appropriate law enforcement first. If you are unsure what law enforcement agency is appropriate, please notify the moderation team and we will attempt to notify them.

You are unsure whether a situation is a CoC violation

In case of doubt, open a conversation in good faith with the moderation team. We will not look negatively upon you if we find the situation is not a violation. And knowing about incidents that are not violations, or happen outside our spaces, can also help us to improve the Code of Conduct or the processes surrounding it.

Possible violation by a member of the moderation team

If you are concerned with the behavior of a current member of the moderation team, you may not feel comfortable contacting the moderation team, as all members will see your request.

In that case, you can contact the current (vice/co) chairs of the moderation team. Their email addresses are listed on the Moderation Team page. The chairs will follow the usual enforcement process with the other members, but will exclude the member(s) that your report concerns from any discussion or decision making.

If you are concerned with the behavior of all current (vice/co) chairs of the moderation team please send your report directly to the CRL Developer Relations leadership via lisa@cockroachlabs.com instead.

Reconsideration

Any of the parties directly involved or affected can request reconsideration of a decision. To make such a request, contact the CRL Developer Relations leadership at lisa@cockroachlabs.com with your request and motivation and they will review the case.