About FLOSS.social

FLOSS.social was launched on 1 April 2018 as a Mastodon server for people who care about, support, or build Free, Libre, and Open Source Software (FLOSS). Of course, our community discussions aren't limited to just FLOSS. We encourage everyone here to share their unique interests!

Posting in English is recommended, for maximum conversation opportunities within the FLOSS community, but it is not required. However, you will need to understand English in order to agree to our Community Code of Conduct.

This service was installed and is maintained in part by Masto.Host with equipment located at OVH, object storage provided by BunnyCDN, and outbound email via SparkPost.

Please contact @admin@floss.social with any moderation or administrative concerns. Additional information about reporting concerns related to the Community Code of Conduct can be found below.

5 Do's and 5 Don'ts to Thrive on FLOSS.social

1. DO browse the Local Timeline and get to know others in our community.
2. DO search and follow hashtags for topics that interest you, and follow interesting people.
3. DO add respectful replies and conversation to others' posts you find interesting.
4. DO set up Filters for types of content you don't want to see, and use CW and hashtags to help people filter what you may send.
5. DO report content that you find concerning, whether it's from FLOSS.social people or other servers.

1. DON'T post commercial or business content (unless sharing your FLOSS related activities).
2. DON'T post or boost the same content repeatedly or frequently.
3. DON'T run bots here, or cross-post from other services if those posts include jargon or links to those services.
4. DON'T forget we're all here because we want a fun, safe, enjoyable place to communicate and share.
5. DON'T post content without understanding our Community Code of Conduct and (Non) Privacy Policy.

FLOSS.social Community Code of Conduct

Our Pledge to Each Other

In the interest of fostering an open and welcoming environment, we as FLOSS.social members, moderators, and admins (collectively known as FLOSS.social community members) pledge to make our participation in FLOSS.social and the greater Fediverse a a harassment-free experience for everyone.

Diversity is Encouraged

FLOSS.social aims to provide a positive, safer environment not only everyone in its community but also those who interact with us, regardless of:

• age
• body size
• caste
• disability
• ethnicity
• gender identity and expression
• level of experience
• education
• socio-economic status
• nationality
• personal appearance
• race
• religion (or lack thereof)
• sexual identity and orientation
• tribe
• other protected status as defined by laws or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Our Standards

Examples of behavior that contributes to creating a positive, safer environment include, but are not limited to:

• Using welcoming and inclusive language
• Being respectful of differing viewpoints and experiences
• Gracefully accepting constructive criticism
• Focusing on what is best for the community
• Showing empathy towards other community members

Examples of unacceptable behavior by FLOSS.social community members include, but are not limited to:

• Insulting/derogatory comments
• Trolling
• Statements or jokes that exclude based on the demographic groups in the above "Diversity is Encouraged" section
• Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following
• Public or private harassment
• Publishing others’ private information, such as a physical or electronic address, without explicit permission
• Sexual language, imagery, attention, or advances towards others, or behavior that contributes to a sexualized environment
• Violence directed against another person, including violent threats and violent language
• Uploading images, audio, or video with Public visibility (appears on Local or Federated timelines) without adding ALT text media descriptions
• Expressing support for such unacceptable behaviors by others

FLOSS.social prioritizes marginalized people's safety over privileged people's comfort. FLOSS.social moderators and admins will not take action on complaints regarding:

• "Reverse"-isms, including "reverse racism," "reverse sexism," and "cisphobia"
• The tone or writing style used when responding to harassment, racism, sexism, transphobia, or otherwise oppressive behavior or assumptions
• Reasonable communication of boundaries, such as "leave me alone," "go away," or "I'm not discussing this with you."

Our Responsibilities

FLOSS.social moderators and admins are responsible for clarifying the standards of acceptable behavior and are expected to take appropriate and fair corrective action in response to any instances of unacceptable behavior.

FLOSS.social moderators and admins have the right and responsibility to remove, edit, or reject posts, messages, comments, commits, code, and other contributions that are not aligned to this Code of Conduct.

FLOSS.social moderators and admins have the right to take certain action in response to any FLOSS.social community member exhibiting other behaviors that they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful. Examples of such actions include, but are not limited to:

• Removal or limiting viewability of content posted to the FLOSS.social instance
• A temporary or permanent ban from the FLOSS.social instance
• A temporary or permanent ban from applying for a FLOSS.social account in the future
• A temporary or permanent ban from participating as a FLOSS.social moderator or admin

Scope

This Code of Conduct applies within FLOSS.social community spaces:

• The FLOSS.social website
• The FLOSS.social public and private mailing lists
• Any official public or private FLOSS.social rooms on Matrix, as listed in the FLOSS.social community Space
• Any FLOSS.social public and private git repositories
• Any additional FLOSS.social project spaces added in the future

When FLOSS.social community members contribute in discussion in or from our services, they represent the FLOSS.social community and its reputation. Therefore, this Code of Conduct applies to:

• Public communication between FLOSS.social community members in community spaces of free software projects or non-profits who are also FLOSS.social community members
• Public communication between FLOSS.social community members at gatherings related to FLOSS.social and at free software events generally
• Public FLOSS.social blog posts and comments by FLOSS.social community members on those blog posts
• Private communication between FLOSS.social community members related to the FLOSS.social community or its members
• Private communication between FLOSS.social community members and FLOSS.social admins or moderators

This Code of Conduct also applies to official FLOSS.social communication, such as:

• Using an official @floss.social e-mail address
• Acting as an appointed representative at an online or offline event
• Posting via an official FLOSS.social social media account

Representation of our community may be further defined and clarified by FLOSS.social admins and moderators.

If a concern about a past incident in any space is made known to a moderator or admin about a current FLOSS.social community member, FLOSS.social moderators or admins may take it into account when deciding whether the incident should have any consequences to the community member's participation in the FLOSS.social community.

Enforcement

Instances of abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior may be reported by:

• Using the "Report" menu item on any post or profile in the Mastodon software (preferred)
• Contacting FLOSS.social admins directly through the @admin@floss.social account
• Contacting a FLOSS.social admin or moderator privately through their official @floss.social Matrix account
• Sending email to admin@floss.social.

All complaints will be reviewed and investigated as quickly as practicable, and will result in a response that is deemed necessary and appropriate to the circumstances. The FLOSS.social admins and moderators are obligated to maintain confidentiality with regard to the reporter of an incident. Further details of specific enforcement policies may be posted separately.

Attribution

This Code of Conduct is adapted from the Outreachy Community Code of Conduct as of January 28, 2022, made available under the terms of the GNU General Public License, version 3, and this "FLOSS.social Community Code of Conduct" is published under those same terms. The Outreachy Community Code of Conduct was adapted from the Contributor Covenant, version 1.4.

FLOSS.social Inactive Account Policy

In an effort to free up a wide range of account names, FLOSS.social has a policy to delete inactive accounts and associated personal data. An account is considered inactive when (a) no posts have been made on the account and it has been at least twelve (12) months since the account was last accessed, or (b) it has been at least twenty-four (24) months since the account was last accessed. For purposes of this policy, "accessed" means you have interacted with your account through one or more signed-in session from any device. In order to warn the users concerned, an email will be sent to the e-mail address on file for the account providing the user twenty-one (21) days to reply and request an appeal for the account to be restored. Once an account has been deleted and the warning period has passed, it can no longer be recovered. To use FLOSS.social again, you'll need to create a new account.

1. Use welcoming and inclusive language.
2. Respect differing viewpoints and experiences.
3. Gracefully accept constructive criticism.
4. Focus on what is best for the community.
5. Show empathy towards other community members.
6. No sexualized language, imagery, or unwelcome sexual attention or advances.
7. No trolling, insulting/derogatory comments, or personal/political attacks.
8. No public or private harassment.
9. Do not publish others' private information, such as a physical or electronic address, without explicit permission.
10. Do not engage in conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting.
11. Do not post image, video, or audio with Public visibility without providing a media description.
12. Understand and follow the full Community Code of Conduct: https://floss.social/about