Code of Conduct
===============

Like the technical community as a whole, the Topaz team and community is made
up of a mixture of professionals and volunteers from all over the world,
working on every aspect of the mission - including mentorship, teaching and 
connecting people.

Diversity is one of our huge strengths, but it can also lead to communication 
issues and unhappiness. To that end, we have a few ground rules that we ask 
people to adhere to when they're participating within this community and
project. These rules apply equally to founders, mentors and those seeking help 
and guidance.

This isn't an exhaustive list of things that you can't do. Rather, take it in
the spirit in which it's intended - a guide to make it easier to enrich all of
us and the technical communities in which we participate.

This code of conduct applies to all communication: this includes IRC, the
mailing list, the issue tracker, and any other forums which the community uses
for communication.

* Be welcoming, friendly, and patient.
* 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.
* Be respectful. Not all of us will agree all the time, but disagreement is no
  excuse for poor behaviour and 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. Members of the
  Topaz community should be respectful when dealing with other members as well
  as with people outside the Topaz community.
* Be careful in the words that you choose. Remember that sexist, racist, and
  other exclusionary jokes can be offensive to those around you. Be kind to
  others. Do not insult or put down other participants. Behave professionally.
  Remember that harassment and sexist, racist, or exclusionary jokes are not 
  appropriate for the community.
* When we disagree, we try to understand why. Disagreements, both social and
  technical, happen all the time and Topaz is no exception. It is important
  that we resolve disagreements and differing views constructively. Remember
  that we're different. The strength of Topaz comes from its varied community,
  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 that they're wrong. Don't forget that it is human to
  err and blaming each other doesn't get us anywhere, rather offer to help
  resolving issues and to help learn from mistakes.


Original text courtesy of the `Speak Up!`_ project.

.. _`Speak Up!`: http://speakup.io/coc.html
