Community Code of Conduct

Like the technical community as a whole, the Treehouse team and community is made up of a mixture of professionals and volunteers from all over the world, working on every aspect of providing technical education to everyone—including teaching, mentorship, and connecting people in the learning process. Indeed, a robust, safe and engaged community is an important aspect of a healthy learning environment.

Diversity is one of our huge strengths: we bring together people from different backgrounds, different walks of life, and different countries. Our many voices come together to make Treehouse an exciting and vibrant learning community. At times, we'll each have differing opinions: we encourage healthy and constructive debates and discussions. But unclear communication and excessive arguments can lead to unhappiness. To that end, we have a few ground rules that we ask people to adhere to. This code applies equally to teachers, moderators, and students seeking help and guidance.

This isn’t meant to be a complete list of things that you can't do. Rather, take it in the spirit in which it’s intended—a guide to make it easier to enrich your education at Treehouse, and to be active and positive participants in the larger technical and professional communities outside of Treehouse.

This code of conduct applies to all spaces managed by Treehouse. This includes the community forum, Treehouse events, Treehouse Slack channels and any other forums created by the Treehouse team which the community uses for communication. In addition, violations of this code outside these spaces may affect a person's ability to participate within them.

If you believe someone is violating the code of conduct, we ask that you report it by emailing help@teamtreehouse.com.

• Be friendly and patient.
• Be welcoming. We strive to be a community that welcomes and supports people of all backgrounds and identities. This includes, but is not limited to members of any race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, color, immigration status, social and/or economic class, educational level, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, size, family status, political belief, religion, and mental or physical ability.
• Be considerate. Your work will be used by other people, and you in turn will depend on the work of others. Any decision you take will affect users and colleagues, and you should take those consequences into account when making decisions. Remember that we're a world-wide community, so you might not be communicating in someone else's primary language.
• Be respectful. Not all of us will agree all the time, but disagreement is no excuse for ill behavior and bad 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. Members of the Treehouse community should be respectful to one another and be mindful that behavior outside of Treehouse could affect your involvement with Treehouse.
• When we disagree, try to understand why. Disagreements, both social and technical, happen all the time and Treehouse is no exception. It is important that we resolve disagreements and differing views constructively. Remember that we’re different. The strength of Treehouse comes from its varied community: people from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines. Different people have different perspectives on issues. Being unable to understand why someone holds a viewpoint doesn’t mean that they’re wrong. Don’t forget that it is human to err and blaming each other doesn’t get us anywhere. Instead, focus on helping to resolve issues and learning from mistakes.
• Be careful in the words that you choose. Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other participants. Harassment and other exclusionary behavior aren't acceptable. This includes, but is not limited to:
  • Violent threats or language directed against another person.
  • Discriminatory jokes and language.
  • Posting sexually explicit or violent material.
  • Posting (or threatening to post) other people's personally identifiable information ("doxing").
  • Personal insults.
  • Unwelcome sexual attention.
  • Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior.
  • Repeated harassment of others. In general, if someone asks you to stop, then stop.

Original text courtesy of the Speak Up! project. This version heavily inspired by the Django community's code of conduct.

Questions?

Contact Customer Support at help@teamtreehouse.com