Policies

We encourage our members to cooperate and compete in our topics, but crossing the line into abuse is never acceptable.

If you come across a member violating the policies below, you should report to us.

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Last Revised: January 22, 2019​

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Overview

This Code of Conduct presents a summary of the shared values and “common sense” thinking in our community:

• Be considerate

• Be respectful

• Be collaborative

• Support Others

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Our community is made up of several groups of individuals and organizations which can roughly be divided into two groups:

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Contributors, or those who add value to the project through improving PLCSource.IO content and its services

Users, or those who add value to the project through their support as consumers of PLCSource.IO content.

 

This Code of Conduct reflects the agreed standards of behavior for members of the PLCSource.IO community, in any forum, mailing list, wiki, web site, IRC channel, public meeting or private correspondence within the context of the PLCSource.IO team and its services.

The community acts according to the standards written down in this Code of Conduct and will defend these standards for the benefit of the community.

Leaders of any group, such as moderators of mailing lists, IRC channels, forums, etc., will exercise the right to suspend access to any person who persistently breaks our shared Code of Conduct.

In the PLCSource.IO community, participants from all over the world come together to learn and create the content of instrumentation and control automation systems.

This is made possible by the support, hard work and enthusiasm of people, including those who create and use PLCSource.IO.

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This document offers some guidance to ensure PLCSource.IO participants can cooperate effectively in a positive and inspiring atmosphere and to explain how together we can strengthen and support each other.

This Code of Conduct is shared by all contributors and users who engage with the PLCSource.IO team and its community services.

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1 – SUPPORT OTHERS

Our community is made strong by mutual respect, collaboration and pragmatic, responsible behavior. Sometimes there are situations where this has to be defended and other community members need help.

If you witness others being attacked, think first about how you can offer them personal support. If you feel that the situation is beyond your ability to help individually, go privately to the victim and ask if some form of official intervention is needed. Similarly, you should support anyone who appears to be in danger of burning out, either through work-related stress or personal problems.

When problems do arise, consider respectfully reminding those involved of our shared Code of Conduct as a first action. Leaders are defined by their actions and can help set a good example by working to resolve issues in the spirit of this Code of Conduct before they escalate.

Disagreements, both political and technical, happen all the time.

Our community is no exception to the rule.

The goal is not to avoid disagreements or differing views but to resolve them constructively.

You should turn to the community to seek advice and to resolve disagreements and where possible consult the team most directly involved.

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2 – COMMUNICATION

When participating in the communication of any kind (chat, voice communication, group finder), you are responsible for how you express yourself. You may not use language that could be offensive or vulgar to others.

Hate speech and discriminatory language are inappropriate, as is any obscene or disruptive language. Threatening or harassing another member is always unacceptable, regardless of the language used. Violating any of these expectations will result in account restrictions. More serious and repeated violations will result in greater restrictions.

 

3 – NAMING

Names are subject to the same rules established above. Any name the member has the ability to customize—such as member names—must be appropriate and inoffensive.

Any name that violates our standards or disrupts the community will be changed, and additional limitations may be placed on the offending account per our discretion.

Take note that acceptable names are determined by member reports and PLCSource.IO's decision, and role-playing servers may have distinct standards for using game-appropriate names.

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4 – BEHAVIOR

In order for the PLCSource.IO community to stay healthy, its members must feel comfortable and accepted. Treating one another with respect is absolutely necessary for this. In a disagreement, in the first instance assume that people mean well.

We do not tolerate personal attacks, racism, sexism or any other form of discrimination.

Disagreement is inevitable, from time to time, but respect for the views of others will go a long way to winning respect for your own view. Respecting other people, their work, their contributions and assuming well-meaning motivation will make community members feel comfortable and safe and will result in motivation and productivity.

 

5 – CONSIDERATE

Your actions and work will affect and be used by other people and you, in turn, will depend on the work and actions of others. Any decision you take will affect other community members, and we expect you to take those consequences into account when making decisions.

As a contributor, ensure that you give full credit for the work of others and bear in mind how your changes affect others. It is also expected that you try to follow the development schedule and guidelines.

As a user, remember that contributors work hard on their part of PLCSource.IO and take great pride in it. If you are frustrated your problems are more likely to be resolved if you can give accurate and well-mannered information to all concerned.

We expect members of our community to be respectful when dealing with other contributors, users, and communities. Remember that PLCSource.IO is an international project and that you may be unaware of important aspects of other cultures.

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6 – COLLABORATIVE

In order to avoid misunderstanding, try to be clear and concise when requesting help or giving it. Remember it is easy to misunderstand emails (especially when they are not written in your mother tongue).

Ask for clarifications if unsure how something is meant; remember the first rule — assume in the first instance that people mean well.

As a contributor, you should aim to collaborate with other community members, as well as with other communities that are interested in or depend on the work you do.

Your work should be transparent and be fed back into the community when available, not just when PLCSource.IO releases.

If you wish to work on something new in existing projects, keep those projects informed of your ideas and progress.

It may not always be possible to reach a consensus on the implementation of an idea, so don't feel obliged to achieve this before you begin.

However, always ensure that you keep the outside world informed of your work, and publish it in a way that allows outsiders to test, discuss and contribute to your efforts.

Contributors on every project come and go. When you leave or disengage from the project, in whole or in part, you should do so with pride about what you have achieved and by acting responsibly towards others who come after you to continue the project.

As a user, your feedback is important, as is its form. Poorly thought out comments can cause pain and the demotivation of other community members, but considerate discussion of problems can bring positive results. An encouraging word works wonders.

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7 – Community Badges

Colored badges, the people answering questions in the forums may have badges next to their user ID. 
Badges show a member's identity or level of participation, such as:

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• Silver Product Experts

• Gold Product Experts

• Platinum Product Experts

• TOP Contributor

• PLC Expert

• SCADA and HMI Expert

• Instrumentation Expert

• More to be Added.

When you meet them on our Community Forum you can check their badges description.

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CONTACT INFORMATION

Questions about the Code of Conduct should be sent to us at Support@PLCSource.IO