Miraheze Spaces Code of Conduct

The Miraheze Spaces Code of Conduct (MSCoC), formerly known as the Code of Conduct (CoC), is a user conduct policy which applies to any off-wiki platform or domain where 'Miraheze' as a group has authority. A non-exhaustive list of these platforms include any IRC  channel in the #miraheze- namespace (including #miraheze itself) on libera.chat, Phabricator, and Discord. While this policy governs user behavior on Miraheze off-wiki domains, the Global Conduct Policy applies to users on-wiki and the Volunteer Conduct Policy additionally applies to all Miraheze volunteers on top of this.

Application
The Miraheze Spaces Code of Conduct applies only to any off-wiki domain where Miraheze has authority. While the Miraheze Spaces Code of Conduct does not strictly apply to wikis, it is recommended that users follow it.

On the other hand, the Global Conduct Policy applies to user conduct on all Miraheze wikis.

The Miraheze Spaces Code of Conduct applies to all users who hold advanced permissions on Meta and globally, even on wiki, as the community expects the highest standards of behavior from these users.

General Conduct

 * Be nice. We're all part of the same community, so be friendly, be welcoming, and be a nice person overall. Be someone that other people want to be around, not avoid. Together, we work to build a project so be a likable person.


 * Be respectful. Disagreement is no excuse for poor manners. We work together to resolve conflict, assume good intentions and do our best to act in an empathic fashion. We don't allow frustration to turn into a personal attack. A community where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one and will surely fail. Always assume good faith and work together to resolve disputes or seek assistance if you can't come to an agreement.


 * Harassing others is unacceptable. Harassment hurts others and the project. A hostile environment is tense and one no one wants to be in. Depending on the severity of your actions, you may be warned once or immediately disciplined (muted, quieted, banned, etc.) depending on the medium. If you have a problem with another user, please contact a platform moderator first before escalating the issue. Harassment is never the answer.


 * Ask for help when unsure. Nobody is expected to be perfect in this community. Asking questions early avoids many problems later, so questions are encouraged, though they may be directed to the appropriate forum. Those who are asked should be responsive and helpful, they should never be rude or condescending. Those who hold advanced permissions are expected to ask for help, they aren't perfect either, so they should never be afraid to ask for help.


 * Step down when you no longer have time. If you hold advanced permissions or have some form of responsibility in running community resources (i.e. you're operating a bot or service), be aware of your own constraints. If something occurs in your life and you can no longer find time to devote to your roles, find a way to step down gracefully. If you don't, other people on your team may always await your opinion and stall things waiting for your very delayed review or response. Some users may become discouraged from seeking advanced roles which they would be a perfect fit for because they think the role is adequately staffed when in reality, it needs more active users. By stepping down, you help encourage more users to take up advanced roles which they may be suitable for. Make sure someone can take over for you, and transfer the relevant information (contacts, passwords, etc.) for a smooth transition.

We all go on tangents sometimes, and casual off-topic discussion is fine. However for all of Miraheze's services, if you are a disruption to actual on-topic discussions, you may be removed. Some platforms allow for off-topic discussions and others don't. If you're having an off-topic discussion on a platform that allows for it, make sure to go to the appropriate spot.

In addition to our Content Policy that covers our website, all forms of spam and vandalism are unacceptable.

Our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy apply to services besides our website, where applicable.

Definition of Harassment
Harassment and poor manners defined in this Code of Conduct includes those set forth below, but are not limited to:


 * Personal attacks, violence, threats of violence, or deliberate intimidation.


 * Offensive, derogatory, or discriminatory comments.


 * Gratuitous or off-topic use of sexual language or imagery.


 * Inappropriate or unwanted public or private communication, following, or any form of stalking.


 * Disclosure of a person's identity or other private information without their consent. Disclosure of some identifying information is not consent to disclose other identifying information.


 * Inappropriate or unwanted publication of private communication. Publishing or reporting private communication or personally identifying information for the purposes of reporting harassment (as explained here) is acceptable.


 * Harming the discussion or community with methods such as sustained disruption, interruption, or blocking of community collaboration (i.e. trolling).


 * Discrimination (unless required by law), particularly against marginalized and otherwise underrepresented groups. Targeted outreach to such groups is allowed and encouraged.


 * Using the code of conduct system for purposes other than reporting genuine violations of the code of conduct (e.g., retaliating against a reporter or victim by filing a report claiming their response was harassment).


 * Attempting to circumvent a decision of the Commission or appeals body, e.g. unblocking someone during a period the Commission banned them.


 * Repeated failures to handle harassment appropriately despite proper warnings by Stewards/Code of Conduct Commission members

IRC Specifics
This section applies to all IRC channels in the #miraheze namespace on libera.chat. We understand that IRC can be a very useful tool for communicating with Miraheze Staff and Volunteers in real-time, but please keep the following in mind:

Like on our other services, spam is not allowed and off-topic discussion should only go so far.

IRC channel or namespace operators (users with the +o ChanServ flag in one or more #miraheze* channels) have discretion when it comes to IRC channel moderation.


 * 1) miraheze operators should specify time lengths and reasons for all bans and quiets via litharge which manages our ban list.

Phabricator Specifics
Phabricator is our open source issue tracking software (among other things), and we know it can be hard to make sense of all the things going on there.

As always, please be respectful of everyone using Phabricator.

Please try to be understanding when we can't quickly get to certain tasks or have to decline them for one reason or another.

Spam, or any other inappropriate behavior violating this Code of Conduct on Phabricator, may result in your account being disabled by a Phabricator administrator.

Moderation
The Miraheze Support platforms (IRC, Phabricator, any other medium defined by the commission) are not free speech venues; they are for discussion about Miraheze. Each of these spaces have their own moderators.

Moderators are held to a higher standard than other community members and subject to the Volunteer Conduct Policy too. If a moderator creates an inappropriate situation, they should expect less leeway than others, and should expect to be removed from their position if they cannot adhere to the MSCoC or VCP.

Complaints about moderator actions must be handled using the reporting process below.

Enforcement
If you encounter someone violating the Miraheze Spaces Code of Conduct, please contact the appropriate moderation or management team for that particular platform. Local platform administrators are responsible for enforcing the Miraheze Spaces Code of Conduct.

Background
The following Requests for Comment have shaped this policy:


 * Requests for Comment/Code of Conduct reform (January 2023) - Narrowed the scope of this policy to focus on off-wiki platforms, renamed this policy and split it into three different policies encompassing on-wiki, off-wiki, and volunteer conduct.
 * Requests for Comment/Abolish the Code of Conduct Commission (April 2021) - Abolished the Code of Conduct Commission.
 * Requests for Comment/Code of Conduct Commission reform (July 2020) - Reformed the Code of Conduct Commission.
 * Requests for Comment/Amendment of Code of Conduct, September 2017 (September 2017) - Established the Code of Conduct Commission to enforce the Code of Conduct.
 * Requests for Comment/Code of Conduct (April 2017) - Established the Code of Conduct.