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codeofconduct.html
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codeofconduct.html
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---
layout: default
location: about
---
<div class="container-fluid" id="second-container">
<div class="row community-row">
<div class="row row-with-blockquote">
<div class="col-10 offset-1 col-lg-6 offset-lg-3">
<blockquote class="text-center">
You know, when I was a young man, hypocrisy was deemed the worst of vices," Finkle-McGraw said. "It was all because of moral relativism. You see, in that sort of climate, you are not allowed to criticise others — after all, if there is no absolute right and wrong, then what grounds is there for criticism?"<br>
...<br>
"Now, this led to a good deal of general frustration, for people are naturally censorious and love nothing better than to criticise others' shortcomings. And so it was that they seized on hypocrisy and elevated it from a ubiquitous peccadillo into the monarch of all vices. For, you see, even if there is no right and wrong, you can find grounds to criticise another person by contrasting what he has espoused with what he has actually done. In this case, you are not making any judgment whatsoever as to the correctness of his views or the morality of his behaviour — you are merely pointing out that he has said one thing and done another. Virtually all political discourse in the days of my youth was devoted to the ferreting out of hypocrisy."<br>
...<br>
"We take a somewhat different view of hypocrisy," Finkle-McGraw continued. "In the late-twentieth-century Weltanschauung, a hypocrite was someone who espoused high moral views as part of a planned campaign of deception — he never held these beliefs sincerely and routinely violated them in privacy. Of course, most hypocrites are not like that. Most of the time it's a spirit-is-willing, flesh-is-weak sort of thing."<br><br>
"That we occasionally violate our own stated moral code," Major Napier said, working it through, "does not imply that we are insincere in espousing that code." "Of course not," Finkle-McGraw said. "It's perfectly obvious, really. No one ever said that it was easy to hew to a strict code of conduct. Really, the difficulties involved — the missteps we make along the way — are what make it interesting. The internal, and external, struggle between our base impulses and the rigorous demands of our own moral system is quintessentially human. It is how we conduct ourselves in that struggle that determines how we may in time be judged by a higher power." All three men were quiet for a few moments, chewing mouthfuls of beer or smoke, pondering the matter.
</blockquote>
<div class="blockquote-footer"><cite title="The Diamond Age">The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer</cite><br>
<p>Neal Stephenson, 1995</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="container-fluid top-container bottom-content" id="tldr-content">
<div class="row prose">
<div class="col-lg-8 offset-lg-2">
<h1>Code of Conduct (also our culture keys)</h1>
<p>We care about intelligent and nuanced <a class="a-link"
href="http://www.paulgraham.com/disagree.html"
target="_blank">discourse</a> and <a class="a-link"
href="http://www.conversationsonphilanthropy.org/book-review/justice-whats-the-right-thing-to-do/"
target="_blank">moral reflection as a public
endeavour</a>.</p>
<p>We want to encourage (and empower) people to be
competent, playful, honest, integrous, curious, empathetic,
thriving, silly, engaged, and excited. Let's build an
environment and community that fosters that. </p>
<h2>Living and Working in Relation to Other People</h2>
<p>We want to hire and reward <b><a class="a-link"
href="https://hbr.org/2014/01/how-netflix-reinvented-hr"
target="_blank">fully formed adults</a></b>.
<p>We really like Netflix's expression of their culture keys (<a class="a-link"
href="https://jobs.netflix.com/culture"
target="_blank">will you just look at this beauty and the footnotes!</a>), so we take inspiration on that and clarify what "being a fully formed adult" means to us:</p>
<h3>Judgement</h3>
<ul><li>making wise decisions in the circumstances (despite
ambiguity) -- we cannot stress the <a class="a-link" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynefin_framework"
target="_blank">Cynefin framework</a> enough</li>
<li>identifying root causes, and getting beyond treating symptoms;<br> of course, if something's urgent, fix the <a class="a-link"
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospital_emergency_codes"
target="_blank">Code Blue</a> and mark the root cause (or investigation of it) as a TO-DO</li>
<li>thinking strategically and then articulating what you <em>are</em> trying to do as well as what you <em>are not</em> trying to do</li>
<li>just generally relying on your logic and common sense (we respect using data judiciously to inform intuition)</li>
<li>knowing when & how to ask for help; also related to being able to effectively and
objectively <a class="a-link"
href="https://localgovernmentutopia.com/2015/02/25/40-unskilled-unaware-or-both-the-dunning-kruger-effect-at-work/"
target="_blank">evaluate your own abilities and your ability
to do your job</a> (whether self-assigned or otherwise)</li>
</ul>
<h3>Communication</h3>
<ul><li>being <a class="a-link"
href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17855868"
target="_blank">clear and articulate</a> in speech & writng</li>
<li>using proper grammar & spelling, where contextually significant</li>
<li>clearly communicating needs, boundaries, expectations, and feelings (<a class="a-link"
href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/11/how-to-get-better-at-expressing-emotions/416493/"
target="_blank">practice and attention can help even if you don't have a natural gift for it</a>)</li>
<li><a class="a-link" href="https://eight2late.wordpress.com/2008/05/10/the-dunning-kruger-effect-and-its-relevance-to-project-management/"
target="_blank">providing timely, honest, helpful, and direct feedback</a>, but remember to <a class="a-link" href="https://www.radicalcandor.com/"
target="_blank">RadicalCandor-it</a></li>
<li>listening well & seeking to understand before reacting;<br>
relatedly, if you're disagreeing on a material issue, the onus is on you to explain why you disagree to persuade the others of your point (and through the discourse, get to a wise outcome)</li>
<li>signposting early & often</li>
<li>giving adequate & at least all necessary information that can help others help you (not unlike the <a class="a-link" href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/QA/Bug_writing_guidelines"
target="_blank">best practices for filing a bug report</a></li>
<li>communication fidelity; but again signposting if things change or you've changed</li>
</ul>
<h3>Responsibility</h3>
<ul><li><a class="a-link" href="http://jnack.com/blog/2017/08/28/everyone-sweeps-the-floor-around-here-wisdom-from-adobes-founders/"
target="_blank">everyone sweeps the floor</a></li>
<li>searching for duplicates before posting</li>
<li><a class="a-link" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RTFM" target="_blank">
RTFM</a></li>
<li>relatedly, encountered a problem and then fixed it like a champ? Thank you very much, but also please UpdateTFM</li>
<li>being respectful of others' time, resources, and
opportunity costs</li></ul>
<h3>Emotional & Intellectual Maturity</h3>
<ul><li>taking smart risks & being open to possible failure</li>
<li>intervening if someone is being marginalised or treated unfairly</li>
<li>minimising complexity & finding time to simplify</li>
<li>recognising & accepting your own feelings & needs (but also that your feelings don't run the show)</li>
<li>treating people with respect independent of their status or disagreement with you</li>
<li>don't take it personally; <a class="a-link" href="https://medium.com/@krisgage/15-signs-of-emotional-maturity-38b1a2ab9766" target="_blank">don't make it personal</a></li>
<li>recognising that we all have biases, and work to grow past them</li>
<li>challenge prevailing assumptions and suggest better approaches</li>
<li>seeking alternate perspectives; but also <a class="a-link" href="https://hackernoon.com/disagree-and-commit-the-importance-of-disagreement-in-decision-making-b31d1b5f1bdc" target="_blank">disagree and commit</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>In building our company and community, we learn from...</h3>
<ul><li><a class="a-link"
href="https://fs.blog/2017/02/tribal-leadership/"
target="_blank">Dave Logan's <em>Tribal
Leadership</em></a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://www.google.com.sg/search?q=the+evaporative+cooling+effect&oq=the+evaporative+cooling+effect&aqs=chrome..69i57j0j69i64l2.4752j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8"
target="_blank">The Evaporative Cooling Effect in Social
Network</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://medium.com/@MelanieCrissey/what-you-learn-working-in-early-stage-saas-startups-b2250a07211f"
target="_blank">What you learn working in early-stage SaaS startups</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://paulsohn.org/27-charts-of-communication-styles-around-the-world/"
target="_blank">Communication patterns around the world</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://producingoss.com/"
target="_blank">Producing OSS</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="http://www.catb.org/esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/"
target="_blank">The Cathedral and the Bazaar</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://hbr.org/2014/06/your-company-is-not-a-family"
target="_blank">Your Company is Not a Family</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://www.amazon.com/First-Break-All-Rules-Differently/dp/1531865208"
target="_blank">First Break All the Rules</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/meet-is-murder.html"
target="_blank">Meet is Murder</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://www.radicalcandor.com/"
target="_blank">Radical Candor (care personally and challenge directly)</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://hbr.org/2014/10/the-transparency-trap"
target="_blank">The Transparency Trap</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynefin_framework"
target="_blank">The Cynefin Framework</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://medium.com/@beccadownes/remote-teams-45038339ac68"
target="_blank">Rebecca Downes' research on remote teams</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://siderea.livejournal.com/1230660.html"
target="_blank">The Asshole Filter</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://www.winnipeg.ca/clerks/boards/citizenequity/pdfs/white_privilege.pdf"
target="_blank">White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisble Knapsack</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/12/age-outrage/"
target="_blank">The Age of Outrage</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://hbr.org/resources/images/marketing/sub/Diversity_HBR.pdf"
target="_blank">Diversity</a>, and particularly, in a well-rounded and context-specific manner</li></ul></p>
<H2>Committed To Intelligent & Nuanced Discourse</H2>
<P>We think about:
<ul><li><a class="a-link" href="http://www.paulgraham.com/disagree.html" target="_blank">How to Disagree</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/04/the-culture-of-shut-up/360239/#"
target="_blank">The Culture of Shut Up</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="http://blog.samaltman.com/e-pur-si-muove"
target="_blank">E Pur Si Muove</a> and the
associated <a class="a-link"
href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15924093"
target="_blank">Hacker News discussion</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://medium.com/human-development-project/sjw-behaviors-that-hurt-social-justice-a445916583ce"
target="_blank">SJW behaviours that hurt social
justice</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2017/03/02/the-limits-of-epistemic-hygiene/"
target="_blank">The Limits of Epistemic
Hygiene</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2017/05/16/arguing-about-how-the-world-should-burn/"
target="_blank">Arguing about how the world should
burn</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2017/09/26/common-sense-eats-common-talk/"
target="_blank">Common Sense Eats Common Talk</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_foundations_theory" target="_blank">Moral Foundations Theory</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2016/10/27/the-cyberpunk-sensibility/"
target="_blank">The Cyberpunk Sensibility</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link" href="https://chinachannel.org/2018/06/01/double-dissidents/" target="_blank">Double Dissidents</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/7su7yl/conflict_vs_mistake/"
target="_blank">Conflict vs Mistake</a></li>
<li><a class="a-link"
href="http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/30/i-can-tolerate-anything-except-the-outgroup/"
target="_blank">I can tolerate anything except the
outgroup</a></li>
</p></ul>
<h2>Zero Tolerance of Harrassment</h2>
<p>We are committed to being a harrassment-free organisation
and community based on treating everyone — cofounders,
contributors, staff, customers, volunteers, sponsors,
partners, members of the public —
with <a class="a-link"
href="https://www.radicalcandor.com/about-radical-candor/"
target="_blank">radical candour</a> (as opposed
to <a class="footnote">ruinous empathy<span>when you care
but don't challenge; praise that isn't specific enough to
help the person understand what was good or criticism that
is sugarcoated and unclear.<br><br>See Kim Scott's book for
more details!</span></a>, <a class="footnote">manipulative
insincerity<span>when you neither care nor challenge; praise
that is non-specific and insincere or criticism that is
neither clear nor kind</span></a>
or <a class="footnote">obnoxious aggression<span> when you
challenge but don't care; praise that doesn't feel sincere
or criticism that isn't delivered kindly</span></a>). Please
be excellent to but honest with each other. </p>
<p>Harrassment is not tolerated. Harrassment includes (but
is not limited to):<br>
<ul>
<li>verbal language that reinforces
social structures of domination related to gender identity
and expression, marital status, body size, sexual
orientation, age, physical ability or appearance, ethnicity,
race, or religious beliefs (or lack thereof);</li>
<li>deliberate intimidation; </li>
<li>unwelcome and irrelevant comments regarding a
person's lifestyle, choices, or practices;</li>
<li>stalking;</li>
<li>harrassing photography or recording;
<li>sustained disruption or hijacking of discussions and/or events;</li>
<li>non-adherance to the boundaries established or
communicated by other members and/or moderators;</li>
<li>threats of violence;</li>
<li>incitement of violence towards any individual,
including encouraging a person to self-harm;</li>
<li>continued one-on-one communication after a request to cease;</li>
<li>physical contact (including simulated physical
contact, for example, textual descriptions like
*backrub*) or sexual attention, without consent or after
a request to stop; and</li>
<li>inappropriate and/or unwelcome personal attention.</li>
</ul>
<p>Our zero-tolerance policy on harrassment means that we
will look into, investigate, and review every allegation of
violation of our Code of Conduct and respond
appropriately. We are committed to due process, justice,
integrity, constructive engagement of differences,
accountability, and transparency.</p>
<p>To this end, we take
guidance from: <a class="a-link"
href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/am-i-a-bad-feminist/article37591823/"
target="_blank">Margaret Atwood's
op-ed</a>; <a class="a-link"
href="https://hbr.org/2006/09/rethinking-political-correctness"
target="_blank">Rethinking Political
Correctness</a>; <a class="a-link"
href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/08/metoo-due-process-televictions"
target="_blank">After #MeToo, we can't ditch due
process</a> <em>and</em> <a class="a-link"
href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-due-process-assault-freak-out-is-a-fever-dream/2017/12/01/8f14cd80-d6d5-11e7-a986-d0a9770d9a3e_story.html?utm_term=.65aabaa2cd23"
target="_blank">We're misunderstanding due
process</a>; <a class="a-link"
href="http://slatestarcodex.com/2017/12/04/against-overgendering-harassment/"
target="_blank">Against Overgendering
Harrassment</a>;<a class="a-link"
href="https://www.thecut.com/2017/10/if-we-cant-talk-about-sex-we-cant-stop-sexual-abuse.html"
target="_blank">If we can't talk about sex, we can't stop
sexual abuse</a>; <a class="a-link"
href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/10/harvey-weinstein-and-the-economics-of-consent/543618/"
target="_blank">Harvey Weinstein and the Economics of
Consent</a>.
</p>
<h3>Reporting harrassment</h3>
<p>We take harrassment very seriously. Please report any kind of harrassment or suspicions of harrassment to us at <a class="a-link" href="mailto:collective@legalese.com?subject=Reporting Harrassment">collective@legalese.com</a> or to Alexis personally at <a class="a-link" href="mailto:alexis@legalese.com?subject=Reporting Harrassment">alexis@legalese.com</a>.</p>
<h3>Violations</h3>
<p>Anyone who is found to be in violation may be handled in one or more of these methods:<br>
<ul><li>warning (public or otherwise);</li>
<li>expulsion; </li>
<li>contacting of the police; and</li>
<li>actions stronger than a warning that may also be taken at the discretion of two or more board members.</li></ul></p>
<p>Malicious or reckless false reporting will also be treated harshly. Personal disputes should be handled privately, unless actual harrassment occurs.</p>
<p>We reserve the right to prohibit or limiti the participation of anyone found in violation of our Code of Conduct. We believe in second chances and learning from mistakes / missteps, but we also know that some battles are better fought elsewhere, and some wounds deserving of strong intervention.</p>
<h2>Drugs & Alcohol</h2>
<p>Remember that bit about <b><a class="a-link" href="https://hbr.org/2014/01/how-netflix-reinvented-hr" target="_blank">fully formed adults</a></b>? Sure you do. So please, do use your good judgment and never use drugs and/or alcohol in a way that leads to impaired performance or inappropriate behaviour, endangers the safety of yourself or others, or violates the law.</p>
<h2>Conflicts of Interest</h2>
<p>When you are in a situation in which competing loyalties could cause you to pursue a personal benefit for you, your friends, your partner(s), or your family at the expense of Legalese or our users, you may be faced with a conflict of interest. This is mostly for people compensated by Legalese, but we also think it would be a rather good standard operating procedure for life: avoid conflicts of interest if you can, but if you can't, identify it, address it, and mitigate it with a clear head and good faith.</p>
<h2>Confidential Information</h2>
<p>Don't disclose confidential (i.e. non public) information without first asking for permission. This works both ways. It's utterly ingratiating and sycophantic to share others' secrets and confidential info with us without their permission -- don't be that person. Fight fair. People don't just wake up one day and decide to be the villain, it happens by a thousand tiny surrenders of self-respect to self-interest.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>This Code of Conduct is written by Alexis and last updated on <b>30 April 2019</b>.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>