Contributor Agreement

Whether you are here to create a new project or offer support to an existing one, we’re happy you showed up. In order for us to stay focused on our mission and to do our best work, here are our Code of Conduct and Community Rules:

Our Code of Conduct. You agree to adopt and uphold the Helpful Code of Conduct while working with and representing the Helpful community:

• BE KIND. We expect everyone to act with mutual respect, dignity, and compassion. This includes abstaining from prejudicial words, or actions, involving race, gender, class, sexual orientation, gender presentation, physical ability, or religious affiliations.
• BE COMMUNICATIVE. Transparency is key, and you will be asked for updates on your role and activities in the community. Following existing workflows and having frequent communication keeps everyone on the same page and decreases the likelihood of critical mistakes, misunderstandings, or duplicated work.
• BE THOUGHTFUL. We love new ideas and new collaborations, but our community values making decisions carefully. Large decisions should be made with input from others and not unilaterally! If you have questions, ask and let’s find a solution.
• BE ACCOUNTABLE. Mistakes happen even with the best of intentions. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. If you can’t do it on time, inform your co-collaborators in a timely manner so that others can step in and support you.
• BE TRUSTWORTHY. We stress safeguarding community resources including sensitive information, passwords, personal information, and other internal data. This means you won’t divert or utilize Helpful resources or relationships towards another effort – public, or private. If you become aware of a conflict of interest, you will timely speak to an Officer or Board Director of Helpful to discuss the way forward.
• BE CONSCIENTIOUS. The Helpful community is counting on you to be professional. Helpful consists of many volunteers giving their time and effort. Please leave your workspace, files, and tools in an orderly fashion such that they are accessible to other members of the community. If you decide to move on from Helpful, please share your contact information with and assist the next person who will continue the excellent work that you’ve already done.
• BE RESPECTFUL. Many people are volunteering their time, tools, and other resources to make this effort come together, so please be respectful of individuals, their time, tools and resources. Make an effort to be professional and helpful.
• BE HELPFUL. Our primary goal is to do work that is helpful!

Our Community Rules

• You understand that you are not considered an employee of Helpful and will not be entitled to receive any employee benefits.
• You are responsible for the contributions you make to the Helpful community, including any content which you may disseminate using Helpful resources (your “Content”).
• Although you retain ownership rights in your Content, you understand and acknowledge that, when you disseminate your Content using Helpful resources, it becomes Helpful Work Product (as defined below) and, as such, it becomes subject to an open-source license.

• • “Helpful Work Product” is all documents, data, work product and/or other materials, including any intellectual property rights therein, that are developed or prepared by you, other Helpful volunteers, or other third parties using Helpful resources.
  • You have an obligation to offer Helpful Work Product to the public using an open-source license compliant with the Helpful Licensing Guide which is available at https://helpfulengineering.org/licensing-guide/ (the “Helpful Licensing Guide”).
  • If you are working on an existing project using Helpful resources, there must be a license compliant with the Helpful Licensing Guide set forth in the applicable repository for that project. If this is the case, you have an obligation to comply with that license. If this is not the case, you have an obligation to add a compliant license.
  • If you are establishing a new project using Helpful resources, you have an obligation to use and comply with a license compliant with the Helpful Licensing Guide for that project and to publish such license in any applicable repository.

• You hereby waive any and all claims you may now or hereafter have in any jurisdiction to so-called “moral rights” or rights of droit moral with respect to Helpful Work Product, to the extent such rights would conflict with this Agreement.
• Lastly, in order to ensure that it remains open source and properly credited, all Helpful Work Product must be maintained on and reflected in a Helpful-designated and maintained repository.