In the interest of fostering an open and welcoming environment, we as contributors and maintainers pledge to make participation in the GenAI Browser Tool project and our community a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, visible or invisible disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, level of experience, education, socio-economic status, nationality, personal appearance, race, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.
Examples of behavior that contributes to creating a positive environment include:
- Using welcoming and inclusive language in all project communications
- Being respectful of differing viewpoints and experiences
- Gracefully accepting constructive criticism and feedback
- Focusing on what is best for the community and project success
- Showing empathy towards other community members
- Providing helpful and constructive feedback in code reviews and discussions
- Sharing knowledge and expertise openly with team members
- Documenting code and decisions clearly for future contributors
- Following established coding standards and best practices
- Being patient when helping others learn new technologies
- Acknowledging and crediting others' contributions appropriately
- Participating constructively in technical discussions and decision-making
- Welcoming newcomers and helping them get started with the project
- Mentoring junior developers and new contributors
- Celebrating team achievements and individual successes
- Contributing to a positive and productive development environment
- Actively participating in community discussions and feedback sessions
- Supporting diversity and inclusion initiatives within the project
Examples of unacceptable behavior by participants include:
- The use of sexualized language or imagery and unwelcome sexual attention or advances
- Trolling, insulting/derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks
- Public or private harassment, including persistent unwelcome contact
- Publishing others' private information, such as a physical or electronic address, without explicit permission
- Discriminatory jokes, comments, or behavior targeting any protected characteristic
- Intimidation or threatening behavior toward other community members
- Deliberately introducing bugs, security vulnerabilities, or malicious code
- Plagiarizing code or claiming others' work as your own without attribution
- Sharing confidential project information or intellectual property without authorization
- Intentionally disrupting project workflows or development processes
- Refusing to follow established project guidelines and standards after being informed
- Misrepresenting qualifications, experience, or contributions to the project
- Engaging in sustained disruption of discussions, meetings, or collaborative work
- Making threats of violence or engaging in violent behavior
- Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above unacceptable behaviors
- Spamming project channels with off-topic or promotional content
- Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting
Security and Privacy
- Always prioritize user privacy and data security in all development decisions
- Never collect, store, or transmit user data without explicit consent
- Implement secure coding practices to prevent vulnerabilities
- Report security issues responsibly through proper channels
- Respect user preferences regarding data handling and AI provider selection
AI Integration Ethics
- Ensure transparency about which AI providers are being used
- Respect rate limits and terms of service for all AI providers
- Avoid bias in AI model selection and implementation
- Provide clear information about AI processing and data handling
- Maintain ethical standards in AI prompt engineering and response handling
Open Source Collaboration
- Respect open source licenses and attribution requirements
- Contribute improvements back to the community when possible
- Document significant changes and architectural decisions
- Maintain backward compatibility when feasible
- Follow semantic versioning practices for releases
Technical Discussions
- Focus on technical merits rather than personal preferences
- Provide constructive feedback with specific suggestions for improvement
- Ask clarifying questions when requirements or implementations are unclear
- Share knowledge about browser extension development best practices
- Discuss performance, security, and user experience considerations openly
Issue Reporting and Feature Requests
- Provide detailed information when reporting bugs or requesting features
- Search existing issues before creating new ones to avoid duplicates
- Use appropriate labels and templates when available
- Follow up on your issues and respond to maintainer questions promptly
- Test proposed solutions when possible before reporting them
Code Reviews
- Review code thoroughly but with kindness and respect
- Focus on code quality, security, performance, and maintainability
- Explain the reasoning behind your suggestions
- Acknowledge good practices and clever solutions when you see them
- Use collaborative language ("we could consider" instead of "you should")
Community leaders and project maintainers are responsible for:
- Clarifying and enforcing standards of acceptable behavior
- Taking appropriate and fair corrective action in response to any behavior they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful
- Removing, editing, or rejecting comments, commits, code, wiki edits, issues, and other contributions that are not aligned with this Code of Conduct
- Communicating reasons for moderation decisions when appropriate
- Maintaining confidentiality regarding reporters of incidents
How to Report Violations
- Email: aaronsequeira12@gmail.com (for sensitive matters)
- GitHub Issues: For non-sensitive community guideline violations
- GitHub Discussions: For questions about community standards
- Private Message: Direct message to project maintainers
What to Include in Reports
- Description of the incident, including date and time if possible
- Names of individuals involved (if known and comfortable sharing)
- Any relevant screenshots, links, or documentation
- Your contact information (unless reporting anonymously)
- Any additional context that might be helpful for understanding the situation
Response Timeline
- Initial acknowledgment: Within 48 hours
- Investigation completion: Within 1 week for most cases
- Resolution and follow-up: Within 2 weeks
This Code of Conduct applies within all project spaces, and also applies when an individual is officially representing the project or its community in public spaces. Examples include:
Project Spaces
- GitHub repositories and all associated features (issues, discussions, wikis, pull requests)
- Project documentation and websites
- Communication channels (if established in the future)
- Development environments and shared resources
- Extension store listings and user reviews
Public Representation
- Using an official project email address
- Posting via an official social media account
- Acting as an appointed representative at online or offline events
- Speaking at conferences or meetups about the project
- Writing blog posts or articles about the project
- Participating in podcasts or interviews as a project representative
Community leaders will follow these Community Impact Guidelines in determining the consequences for any action they deem in violation of this Code of Conduct:
Community Impact: Use of inappropriate language or other behavior deemed unprofessional or unwelcome in the community.
Consequence: A private, written warning from community leaders, providing clarity around the nature of the violation and an explanation of why the behavior was inappropriate. A public apology may be requested.
Timeline: Immediate response with follow-up within 24 hours.
Examples:
- Inappropriate language in commit messages, comments, or discussions
- Minor violations of communication guidelines
- First-time infractions of project standards
- Unconstructive criticism without specific suggestions for improvement
Community Impact: A violation through a single incident or series of actions.
Consequence: A warning with consequences for continued behavior. No interaction with the people involved, including unsolicited interaction with those enforcing the Code of Conduct, for a specified period of time. This includes avoiding interactions in community spaces as well as external channels like social media.
Timeline: Response within 48 hours, with consequences lasting 1-4 weeks depending on severity.
Examples:
- Persistent inappropriate behavior after correction
- Minor harassment or discriminatory comments
- Violation of technical standards with potential impact on project security or user privacy
- Ignoring maintainer requests or project guidelines repeatedly
Community Impact: A serious violation of community standards, including sustained inappropriate behavior.
Consequence: A temporary ban from any sort of interaction or public communication with the community for a specified period of time. No public or private interaction with the people involved, including unsolicited interaction with those enforcing the Code of Conduct, is allowed during this period.
Timeline: Response within 72 hours, with ban duration of 1-6 months depending on severity.
Examples:
- Serious harassment, threats, or doxxing
- Deliberate disruption of project activities or community spaces
- Repeated violations after warnings
- Security violations, malicious code contributions, or privacy breaches
- Significant violation of AI ethics guidelines
Community Impact: Demonstrating a pattern of violation of community standards, including sustained inappropriate behavior, harassment of an individual, or aggression toward or disparagement of classes of individuals.
Consequence: A permanent ban from any sort of public interaction within the community.
Timeline: Response within 72 hours, permanent exclusion from all project activities.
Examples:
- Severe harassment, threats, or doxxing with intent to harm
- Repeated serious violations despite previous consequences
- Sharing confidential user data or proprietary information
- Introducing malicious code with intent to harm users or the project
- Pattern of discriminatory behavior or hate speech
Any individual subject to enforcement action has the right to appeal the decision:
Appeal Procedure
- Submit appeal via email to aaronsequeira12@gmail.com within 30 days of the enforcement action
- Include a detailed explanation of why you believe the action was inappropriate
- Provide any additional context or evidence relevant to your case
- Appeals are reviewed by maintainers not involved in the original decision
- Decision is communicated within 1-2 weeks with reasoning
Appeal Considerations
- Demonstration of understanding of the violation
- Evidence of changed behavior or perspective
- Impact on the community and project
- Circumstances surrounding the original incident
- Previous contributions to the project
Technical Mentorship
- New contributors can request mentorship through GitHub discussions
- Senior developers are available for technical guidance on browser extension development
- Regular community Q&A sessions for project-specific questions
- Documentation and tutorials for getting started with the codebase
Conflict Resolution
- Mediation services available for resolving technical or interpersonal conflicts
- Guidelines for constructive feedback and collaborative development
- Training resources on effective communication in open source projects
- Clear escalation paths for unresolved disputes
Inclusive Practices
- Mentorship programs pairing experienced developers with newcomers
- Recognition programs celebrating positive community contributions
- Accessibility initiatives to ensure project participation is barrier-free
- Diversity and inclusion efforts in project leadership and decision-making
Knowledge Sharing
- Technical documentation and development guides created by community members
- Best practices sharing for browser extension development and AI integration
- Regular updates on project roadmap and architectural decisions
- Community showcase of extensions built using the project as a foundation
User Data Protection
- All community members must respect user privacy and data protection principles
- Never suggest or implement features that compromise user security
- Report potential privacy or security issues immediately to maintainers
- Respect user choices regarding AI provider selection and data processing
Ethical AI Use
- Ensure AI integrations respect user autonomy and choice
- Avoid implementing features that could manipulate or deceive users
- Maintain transparency about AI processing and data handling
- Consider bias and fairness implications in AI feature development
Extension Store Guidelines
- All contributions must comply with Chrome Web Store, Firefox Add-ons, and other extension store policies
- Never suggest features that would violate store terms of service
- Respect intellectual property and trademark guidelines
- Maintain appropriate content ratings and descriptions
This Code of Conduct will be reviewed annually by the project maintainers and community leaders to ensure it remains relevant and effective. Reviews will consider:
- Feedback from community members on the effectiveness of current policies
- Analysis of reported incidents and their resolution outcomes
- Best practices from other open source browser extension projects
- Changes in browser extension development standards and practices
- Evolution of AI ethics and privacy standards
Community Education
- New contributor onboarding includes Code of Conduct orientation
- Regular reminders and updates about community standards
- Examples and case studies of positive community interactions
- Resources for improving communication and collaboration skills in open source development
Maintainer Training
- Regular training on conflict resolution and community management
- Updates on legal and ethical considerations for browser extensions
- Best practices for handling sensitive reports and appeals
This Code of Conduct is adapted from the Contributor Covenant, version 2.1, available at https://www.contributor-covenant.org/version/2/1/code_of_conduct.html.
Additional inspiration and browser extension specific guidance derived from:
- Mozilla Add-ons Community Guidelines
- Chrome Extension Developer Program Policies
- Open Source AI Ethics Guidelines
- W3C Ethical Web Principles
For answers to common questions about this code of conduct, see the FAQ at https://www.contributor-covenant.org/faq.
Primary Contact: aaronsequeira12@gmail.com
Project Maintainer: Aaron Sequeira
GitHub Discussions: For community questions and policy clarifications
GitHub Issues: For non-sensitive community guideline questions
Emergency Contact: For urgent security or safety concerns, contact local emergency services immediately, then notify project maintainers.
This Code of Conduct is a living document that evolves with our community and the browser extension development landscape. We encourage all community members to contribute to its continuous improvement through feedback and suggestions.
Last Updated: November 2024
Version: 1.0
Next Review Date: November 2025