Our Pledge

In the interest of fostering an open and welcoming environment, you as community members pledge to make participation in the Automattic for Agencies Program (“A4A”) and the A4A community a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, level of experience, education, socio-economic status, nationality, personal appearance, race, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.

A4A Engagement & Community Rules

• Treat all Automattic users, community members and Automattic team members fairly and equally. Stimulate conversation, be respectful of others’ views, and refrain from personal attacks.
• Respect legitimate intellectual property rights, do not plagiarize work, and give credit to the originators of ideas.
• Don’t share the posts of others without permission.
• All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal material is strictly prohibited.
• Discriminatory, hostile or intimidating messages or language will not be tolerated, whether based on a person’s race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, social or economic class, educational level, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, size, family status, political belief, religion, or mental or physical ability.
• A4A strives to create and maintain a community in which people of many different backgrounds and cultures are treated with respect.
• Be mindful and respectful of linguistic background – while the language for online fora discussions is mostly English (unless otherwise specified), remember not everybody is a native English speaker / writer.

Our Standards

Examples of behavior that contributes to creating a positive environment include:

• Using welcoming and inclusive language
• Being respectful of differing viewpoints and experiences
• Gracefully accepting constructive criticism
• Focusing on what is best for the community
• Showing empathy towards other community members

Examples of unacceptable behavior by participants include:

• The use of sexualized language or imagery and unwelcome sexual attention or advances
• Trolling, insulting/derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks
• Public or private harassment
• Publishing others’ private information, such as a physical or electronic address, without explicit permission
• Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting

Our Responsibilities

The Automattic team is responsible for clarifying the standards of acceptable behavior and are expected to take appropriate and fair corrective action in response to any instances of unacceptable behavior.

The Automattic team has the right and responsibility, in its sole discretion, to remove, edit, or reject comments, messages and other contributions that are not aligned to this Code of Conduct, or to ban temporarily or permanently any agency for other behaviors that they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful.

Scope

This Code of Conduct applies within all A4A and Automattic spaces, and it also applies when an individual is representing A4A or its community in public spaces. Examples of representing A4A or A4A community include posting via an official social media account, or acting as a program representative at an online or offline event. 

Enforcement Guidelines

Instances of abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior may be reported by contacting the A4A team at partnerships@automattic.com. All complaints will be reviewed and investigated and will result in a response that is deemed necessary and appropriate to the circumstances. The Automattic team is obligated to maintain confidentiality with regard to the reporter of an incident. Further details of specific enforcement policies may be posted separately.

Community leaders will follow these Community Impact Guidelines in determining the consequences for any action they deem in violation of this Code of Conduct:

1. Correction

Community Impact: Use of inappropriate language or other behavior deemed unprofessional or unwelcome in the community.

Consequence: A private, written warning from community leaders, providing clarity around the nature of the violation and an explanation of why the behavior was inappropriate. A public apology may be requested.

2. Warning

Community Impact: A violation through a single incident or series of actions.

Consequence: A warning with consequences for continued behavior. No interaction with the people involved, including unsolicited interaction with those enforcing the Code of Conduct, for a specified period of time. This includes avoiding interactions in community spaces as well as external channels like social media. Violating these terms may lead to a temporary or permanent ban.

3. Temporary Ban

Community Impact: A serious violation of community standards, including sustained inappropriate behavior.

Consequence: A temporary ban from any sort of interaction or public communication with the community for a specified period of time. No public or private interaction with the people involved, including unsolicited interaction with those enforcing the Code of Conduct, is allowed during this period. Violating these terms may lead to a permanent ban.

4. Permanent Ban

Community Impact: Demonstrating a pattern of violation of community standards, including sustained inappropriate behavior, harassment of an individual, or aggression toward or disparagement of classes of individuals.

Consequence: A permanent ban from any sort of public interaction within the community.

This Code of Conduct is adapted from the Contributor Covenant, version 2.1.