The Drupal Code of Conduct (http://drupal.org/dcoc) outlines our shared ideals and values. This document expresses how we hope to make these ideals real at our conferences and other events. Our goal is to ensure that all participants can freely and openly share ideas in a friendly, safe, and welcoming environment that encourages and inspires mutual respect and collaboration.

As our community grows, it is imperative that we preserve the things that got us here; namely, keeping Drupal a fun, welcoming, challenging, and fair place to play. The Drupal Code of Conduct (DCOC) states our shared ideals with respect to conduct. Think of this as coding standards for people. It is an expression of our ideals, not a rulebook. It is a way to communicate our existing values to the entire community.

Our friends at Ubuntu have blazed a brilliant trail in this area. They use Drupal as their CMS, and in turn we have embraced their Code of Conduct.

This code of conduct is essentially identical to that used by Ubuntu, except that the name of the project has been changed, and the conflict resolution process has been removed since we don’t have one.

Discussion about this policy belongs in the Drupal.org Policies group

Be considerate.

Our work will be used by other people, and we in turn will depend on the work of others. Any decision we take will affect users and colleagues, and we should take those consequences into account when making decisions. Drupal has millions of users and thousands of contributors. Even if it’s not obvious at the time, our contributions to Drupal will impact the work of others. For example, changes to code, infrastructure, policy, documentation, and translations during a release may negatively impact others’ work.

Be respectful.

The Drupal community and its members treat one another with respect. Everyone can make a valuable contribution to Drupal. We may not always agree, but disagreement is no excuse for poor behavior 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. We expect members of the Drupal community to be respectful when dealing with other contributors as well as with people outside the Drupal project and with users of Drupal.

Be collaborative.

Collaboration is central to Drupal and to the larger free software community. This collaboration involves individuals working with others in teams within Drupal, teams working with each other within Drupal, and individuals and teams within Drupal working with other projects outside. This collaboration reduces redundancy, and improves the quality of our work. Internally and externally, we should always be open to collaboration. Wherever possible, we should work closely with upstream projects and others in the free software community to coordinate our technical, advocacy, documentation, and other work. Our work should be done transparently and we should involve as many interested parties as early as possible. If we decide to take a different approach than others, we will let them know early, document our work and inform others regularly of our progress.

When we disagree, we consult others.

If and when we choose to adopt a more extensive or formal conflict resolution process, we will add to this section. But for now, the title says it all.

We will not tolerate bullying or harassment of any member of the Drupal community.

If you feel threatened or violated as a result of intimidating, bullying, harassing, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory, or demeaning conduct, please speak up and ask it to stop. If you do not feel that you can speak up, contact the Community Working Group immediately with evidence of the incident. Incidents of bullying and harrassment can be reported privately and will be treated seriously and discretely.

Please speak up if you notice someone else being subjected to such behavior. Refer people to our Code of Conduct and point out such behavior is unwelcome.

When we are unsure, we ask for help.

Nobody knows everything, and nobody is expected to be perfect in the Drupal community. Asking questions avoids many problems down the road, and so questions are encouraged. Those who are asked questions should be responsive and helpful. However, when asking a question, care must be taken to do so in an appropriate place.

Step down considerately.

Members of every project come and go and Drupal is no different. When somebody leaves or disengages from the project, in whole or in part, we ask that they do so in a way that minimizes disruption to the project. This means they should tell people they are leaving and take the proper steps to ensure that others can pick up where they left off.