Code Of Conduct – (last updated January 7, 2021)

This document is designed to give you an understanding of what is and isn’t permitted in the chat room, and to make it a better place for genuine visitors seeking to learn about information security. For most people, these rules should be easy to conform to as they reflect acceptable behaviors you might observe in family, social and workplace settings. It can be summarized simply as “don’t be a jerk”.

Are you having a problem? Need assistance? We are here to help. If you are having any problems or feel uncomfortable in any way, please contact someone with the organizer or helper role. We will get things sorted.

Please check back from time to time, as we will review and update the policies as appropriate to reflect feedback received from chat room visitors and the moderator team.

Introduction

The main objective of the chat room is bringing people together to learn about information security. Please be welcoming and friendly to people. Remember this is a safe place for people to learn about information security and information technology. Please answer questions respectfully and never belittle anyone for not knowing something. 

You should try to minimize the chances of conflict by being open minded and accepting of others. Understand that we each have a unique set of values, and we are all entitled to our own opinions;

Feel free to share your views on someone else’s problem as an outsider, but avoid using excessive force, and don’t expect your thoughts and ideas to be accepted all of the time.

We’re an English speaking community but welcome all nationalities. If you find yourself speaking primarily in a different language in the main chat, please PM that person to continue the conversation.

Please do:

  • Teach others and share knowledge
  • Use welcoming and inclusive language
  • Be respectful of differing viewpoints and experiences
  • Gracefully accept constructive criticism
  • Focus on what is best for everyone in the discord
  • Show empathy towards other participants

The following activities are not permitted and may result in moderation, muting, or banning from the community, depending on the severity:

  • Repetitive messages and messages intended to disrupt the conversation
  • Messages soliciting or advertising services or products
  • Offensive, rude, disruptive and unwanted behavior
  • Posting of pornographic, nude, or gore images
  • Harassment, name calling, racist or sexist remarks
  • Profanity towards others and other forms of bullying
  • Personal or political attacks
  • Insensitive behavior, judged by the reaction of others in the room
  • Posting of links (URLs) to offensive material, sites hosting malware, initiating downloads, or promoting illegal activities
  • Sending unsolicited private messages. (Ask permission of the person before sending any private messages)
  • Harassment of any kind, even in a joking or ironic manner
  • Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting

This is not a dating service.  If one participant asks for it to stop, then the conversation must stop here.  Reporting of unwelcome behavior will be harshly moderated.

We do not tolerate harassment of participants in any form, nor do we tolerate any behavior that would reasonably lead to another being made to feel unsafe, insecure, or frightened for their physical or emotional well-being.

In short, be kind and don’t be a jerk…

Adult / Inappropriate Themes

Please avoid talking about explicit topics that would not be appropriate in a social or workplace setting.

Should moderators deem a subject matter to be inappropriate for the chatroom and / or the current audience, they may at their discretion make contact via Private Message, making clear any requirement to cease discussing the topic.

Report an Issue

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact anyone with the organizer role through a direct message.

Moderation

Chat room moderators volunteer their time to help keep the room running smoothly and are responsible for managing often complex situations;

Moderators are given exclusive privileges to help maximize the effectiveness of the room;

If you are asked to modify your behavior or given some other form of instruction but fail to comply, you are likely to be removed from the chat room for a discretionary period of time depending on the severity of the matter;

When being corrected by a moderator, please do not argue with them in the main chat. You should request a PM session to help avoid conflict and keep the involvement of others to a minimum;

Attacking moderators in the chat room will likely result in a ban. Any genuine visitor should respect their decisions – they have nothing to gain from issuing bans / mutes and are doing so to the best of their ability, on behalf of the community;

Moderators may choose to request users to leave if they’re deemed to be a risk to the safety of the general users / guests within the chatroom. Not adhering to the request will result in manual removal;

An appeal can be requested but is to the discretion of the moderator who issued that ban / mute – however, this is not a given right. To make an appeal, please PM the respective moderator

If you believe that a moderator has misused their authority and you have complied 100% with the rules documented on this page, please forward the following details to introseccon at protonmail dot com

 

  • The Discord nickname of the moderator(s) involved,
  • What you believe they have done that demonstrates abuse of power,
  • Associated dates and times that will be required to review log files etc.

 

Note that it can take some time to review log files and liaise with the moderator team, so please don’t expect an immediate response.

You are welcome to return to the chat room once your ban period expires, but please be mindful of the reason(s) you got banned, abide by the rules and take into account any moderator feedback received.

If a ban is evaded within the designated period (for any reason), please note that our moderators may extend the ban beyond the original lapse date.