---
lang: en
layout: doc
permalink: /code-of-conduct/
ref: 118
title: Code of conduct
---

## Introduction

This Code of Conduct is a collaborative, evolving document that attempts to
transparently set out a public set of standards regarding appropriate conduct
in the Qubes OS Project. It is *not* intended to be a statement or endorsement,
whether implicit or explicit, of any particular political or philosophical
attitude, belief, or way of living. Rather, it is an attempt to find a
reasonable middle ground among the inevitable disagreements regarding free
expression that arise in a large, diverse community of people from around the
world. It is intended to be a practical means of serving the best interests of
our users, contributors, and the project itself. We welcome you to view the
[history of
changes](https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-doc/commits/master/about/code-of-conduct.md)
to this document and the
[discussion](https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/2163) leading to
its creation.

## Our Pledge

The Qubes OS project creates a reasonably secure OS. In the interest of
fostering an open and welcoming environment, we as contributors and maintainers
pledge to make participation in our project and our community a harassment-free
experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, disability, ethnicity,
gender identity and expression, level of experience, nationality, personal
appearance, race, religion, sexual identity and orientation, or other
characteristic.

## 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
- Reinforcing stereotypical models for illustration of non-technical users
  (e.g. our mothers/grandmothers, etc.)
- Public or private harassment, as defined by the [Citizen Code of
  Conduct](https://github.com/stumpsyn/policies/blob/master/citizen_code_of_conduct.md)
- 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

(Please also see our [discussion guidelines](/support/#discussion-guidelines).)

## Our Responsibilities

Project maintainers are 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. This action can include
removing, editing, or rejecting comments, commits, code, wiki edits, issues,
and other contributions, or to ban temporarily or permanently any contributor
for other behaviors that they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or
harmful.

## Scope

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.

In all other cases, this Code of Conduct applies only in the official project
venues specified on [this page](/support/); it does not apply to unofficial
venues, community-run venues, or any other public or private place. For
example, if a Qubes user decides to create an unofficial discussion space on a
third-party platform, and someone appears to violate this Code of Conduct in
that space, we are not responsible for taking any action with respect to that
behavior; the venue; the venue's creators, owners, leaders, or moderators; or
anything else pertaining to the incident.

## Enforcement

Instances of abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior may be
reported by contacting the project CoC team at `mods@qubes-os.org`. The project
CoC team is the [Marek
Marczykowski-Górecki](/team/#marek-marczykowski-g%C3%B3recki), [Andrew David
Wong](/team/#andrew-david-wong), and [Michael Carbone](/team/#michael-carbone).
All complaints will be reviewed and investigated and will result in a response
that is deemed necessary and appropriate to the circumstances. The project team
is obligated to maintain confidentiality with regard to the reporter of an
incident, and will ensure reporter, reported and all others impacted are
regularly updated through the process. 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.

## A Note on Trust

Expect all contributions to be reviewed with some amount of healthy adversarial
skepticism, regardless of your perceived standing in the community. This is a
security project, and allowing ourselves to get complacent while reviewing code
simply because it comes from a well-known party would not be in the best
interest of the project. Please try not to get offended if you perceive your
contributions as being met with distrust -- we are most definitely thankful and
appreciative of your efforts, but must also remain vigilant in order to ensure
continued quality and safeguard against potential sabotage.

## Attribution

The initial published version of this Code of Conduct was adapted from the
[Contributor Covenant, version
1.4](https://contributor-covenant.org/version/1/4) and the [Rust Code of
Conduct](https://www.rust-lang.org/en-US/conduct.html).
