Our goal is to be a safe and welcoming community for all members. This Code of Conduct covers our collective expectations for the behavior of all members of the Open Concept Lab (OCL) community in any forum, mailing list, wiki, web site, public meeting or private correspondence. This document also defines potential consequences for violations to the code of conduct. The OCL Community Management Team will arbitrate in any dispute over the conduct of a community member.
The OCL community stands on the shoulders of other incredible communities that have paved the way for healthy, safe, and open community cooperation and collaboration. The OCL Code of Conduct is based on the Ubuntu Code of Conduct licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license, and also borrows some of the adaptations made by the OpenMRS and OpenHIE communities. Many thanks to the Ubuntu Project, OpenMRS and OpenHIE communities for their work!
Be considerate. Our work is open and so we expect that our work will be used by others and in-turn we will depend on the work of others as well. Any decision an individual takes will impact other users and colleagues, and we will take those consequences into consideration when making decisions.
Be respectful. We may not always agree, but disagreement is no excuse for poor behavior and poor manners. We work together to resolve conflict, assume good intentions, and do our best to act in an empathic fashion. 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.
Take responsibility for your words and actions. We can all make mistakes; when we do, we take responsibility for them. If someone has been harmed or offended, we listen carefully and respectfully, and work to right the wrong.
Be collaborative. What we produce is a complex whole made up of many parts and the sum of many dreams. Collaboration between teams with different goals and visions is essential for the whole to be greater than the sum of its parts, with each part striving to understand the whole. Collaboration reduces redundancy, improves quality, and is celebrated internally and externally. Wherever possible, we work closely with upstream projects and others in the free software community to coordinate efforts, involving interested parties early on. While consensus may not always be possible before beginning work, efforts should be made to keep relevant projects informed, publish work openly for outside testing and contribution, and give patches back to the community as they are made rather than just at release.
When there is disagreement, consult others. Disagreements, both political and technical, happen all the time and our community is no exception. We agree it is important to not avoid disagreements or differing views, but rather that we seek to resolve them constructively. In the case of disagreement, we will turn to the community process to seek advice and resolution. When we apply new and different solutions to problems in terminology, we will bring those decisions, forked code, etc. to the community for more ideas and to continue discussions.
When unsure, ask for help. Asking questions is always encouraged, especially as it helps us all to avoid further problems later on. We will be responsive and helpful when asked for help. We will also take care to use the appropriate forum when asking questions to be conscientious of others’ time. Our community encourages the use of our OCL Chat (https://chat.openconceptlab.org/) to ask tool- and terminology-related questions in order to maintain our open processes!
Step down considerately. If we need to leave the community or disengage from a project, in whole or in part, we will do so in a way to minimize disruptions to the project. We will share with others if we plan to leave and take proper steps to ensure that others in the community can continue the work.
Conflicts of Interest. We share a common understanding of a collaborative, shared environment and goals. We expect leaders to be aware when they are conflicted due to employment or other projects they are involved in, and abstain or delegate decisions that may be seen as self-interested. If we are in-doubt of our own conflicts, we will consult others for a second opinion.
Maintain a healthy community space for all. OCL prides itself on being a friendly and collaborative community. This comes largely from our ability to hold ourselves, and each other, accountable for our behavior with each other. Part of that approach to accountability includes escalating awareness of circumstances that make members of our community feel unequal, uncomfortable, or unsafe. In situations where you witness behaviors in the community that betray our code of conduct, we encourage you to communicate your concerns directly with that individual or group. In circumstances where you are either uncomfortable approaching them, or feel as if your intervention has been unsuccessful, please don’t hesitate to approach the OCL Community Management Team.
Violations and consequences of inappropriate behavior. We are committed to upholding the code of conduct, and, as such, we will enforce disciplinary actions for people who continually disregard these principles. If a community member is seen to violate the Code of Conduct, their behavior will be referred to the OCL Community Management Team, which will take appropriate and open action befitting the severity of the violation. In all instances, both the reporter and violator will be notified of the event, and what action will be taken. Such actions could include one or more of the following:
- An official warning message on the violation
- Temporary or permanent suspension of user accounts
- Removal of privileges from, or adding restrictions to user accounts
- Removal of content/contributions
- Removal from the OCL community