Code of Conduct

This code of conduct governs the SweetOps Slack Community and related Open Source Projects. SweetOps is operated by Cloud Posse, a DevOps Accelerator based in Houston, TX.

SweetOps is a collaborative DevOps community for engineers of all skill levels.

We want to make sure our community is as constructive as possible in order to help each other solve cool DevOps problems. Anything that goes against the spirit of this, isn't cool. If you see something suspicious, derogatory, or otherwise inappropriate, etc. please send an email to abuse@cloudposse.com with details.

Introduction

We strive to be inclusive to the largest number of contributors, with as diverse backgrounds as possible. That is why we are committed to providing an environment that encourages friendly, safe and welcoming discussions for everyone interested in learning and sharing.

This code of conduct outlines our expectations for all those who participate in our community, as well as the consequences for unacceptable behavior.

We invite all those who participate in SweetOps to help us create safe and positive experiences for everyone.

Etiquette

Channel Guidelines

General Guidelines

• Do not cross-post questions across multiple channels (pick one)
• Use the professional language you would use at work. Avoid using profanity in any language.
• Praise publicly (with tons of emojis!)
• Criticize constructively, but never disparagingly (e.g. there are no “stupid” questions)
• Practice empathy (e.g. “Ahk, that shouldn't happen”)
• Correct delicately (e.g. “Have you considered…”)
• Avoid sarcasm, or feigning surprise (e.g. Don't say “I'm surprised you didn't know that”)
• Use threads when responding, especially in busy channels
• Don't use @channel and @here (we've disabled them)
• When posting for the first time, review the channel history to get a sense of how others interact

Unacceptable Behavior

The following are behaviors we consider forms of harassment that are unacceptable within our community:

• Comments that may be considered sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic or otherwise discriminatory or offensive in nature. (Everything you say in public is on the record)
• Usernames that contain unwelcome, suggestive, derogatory or inappropriate terms.
• Disrespect towards others is not tolerated.
• Unprofessional jokes, innuendo, dismissive attitudes.
• All forms of intimidation or harassment are prohibited.
• Foul or obscene language (in any language!)
• Disrespect towards differences of opinion.
• Disparagement.
• Deceptive or fraudulent activity.
• Sustained disruptions (like spamming channels).
• All forms of violence, threats of violence or violent language.

This is not an exhaustive list of things we prohibit. In order to preserve the spirit of this community, we reserve the right to use our discretion when applying disciplinary actions to behaviors we deem inappropriate.

Solicitation, Job Posts & Self-Promotion

We have zero tolerance for fraudulent or suspiciously looking job posts. They will be promptly deleted and the poster will be banned.

• Job posts and work solicitation are only permitted in the #jobs channel. Candidates seeking work may also post their resumes or availability there.
• Job postings must include a link to the position on an official company careers page or established job board. Links to Notion pages, Google Docs, or similar document-sharing platforms are not accepted. This policy exists to combat phishing and abuse.
• The #jobs channel is for companies looking to make a direct-hire without intermediaries such as recruiters. Third-party job marketplaces are not permitted.
• Soliciting payment from members for any reason (e.g. recruiting fees) is never acceptable.
• Direct messages to members should only be in relation to specific messages posted about job opportunities or candidates seeking work — not for promoting other services.
• Recruiters may only reach out to individual candidates who have posted in #jobs, but are not permitted to directly solicit members or companies.
• Sending unsolicited direct messages for solicitation or promotion — unless you have an established public conversation with that member (e.g., responding to their #jobs post) — is grounds for immediate suspension without notice.

With the prevalence of scams today — especially around employment and phishing — we err on the side of caution. If you've received an unwelcome solicitation, please email abuse@cloudposse.com with details including screenshots.

Use the #jobs channel if you're looking for work or posting job opportunities. All other channels are strictly for topic-relevant conversation. #random is the most flexible channel but is still subject to the Self-Promotion policy below.

Privacy

All conversations that happen in our public Slack channels are published regularly to our online archive and indexed by web crawlers like Google. For this reason, community members should not have any expectation of privacy in their use.

It's the responsibility of our members to avoid sharing any information that might lead to loss or damages, such as breach of their company's security protocols or sharing of intellectual property.

All direct messages are private. They not accessible by anyone on the Slack team, including moderators and administrators.

Your email address is private and will not be shared with anyone outside of Cloud Posse. From time to time, Slack (the Company) or Cloud Posse may send you notifications. If you are unable to opt-out for any reason, please let us know at abuse@cloudposse.com.

Additionally, Slack (the Company) has its own Privacy Policy which affects all communities hosted on the platform.

Logs and Records

Important: Please be mindful that anything you say in our community is a matter of public record.

We publish all conversations in public channels to our public archive. We cannot prevent people from taking screenshots or otherwise logging conversations in this slack team.

We also can't guarantee that every member's login credentials and logged-in devices are secure and not compromised.

Keep in mind that all files uploaded to this slack team can be viewed and downloaded by anyone both via Slack and our archives.

Please exercise caution and refrain from sharing sensitive information that could harm you or others if it became public.

Message Retention

Because this is a free slack team, online scrollback is restricted, but Slack (the company) retains a complete log of all channels and direct messages back to the inception of the SweetOps Slack team.

Slack is a U.S. company and therefore subject to subpoenas from U.S. courts. Our logs may be subject to subpoena and could become public as part of legal proceedings.

Reporting Guidelines

Please let us know if you encounter any unacceptable behavior by sending us an email at abuse@cloudposse.com. We would appreciate it if you would include any screenshots that provide a full context of whatever transpired. We might not be able to see what you see, especially if what was sent was in a private direct message.

Moderation

We perform both automated and human moderation. To some degree, we expect our community to self-moderate and let us know when they see unacceptable behavior.

Moderators reserve the right to delete self-promotional or commercial posts that do not comply with our Self-Promotion policy. Commercial SaaS posts outside of #random will be deleted without notice. Similarly, any objectionable, inappropriate or off-topic comments may be deleted. Repeated violations will result in account suspension.

Official moderators of our Slack community are:

• Erik Osterman (@osterman)
• Andriy Knysh (@aknysh)

Enforcement & Consequences

Any unacceptable behavior will not be tolerated.

If you are the subject of or witness to any violations of this Code of Conduct, please email us at abuse@cloudposse.com.

If violations occur, our community moderators will take necessary and appropriate actions, up to and including expulsion from the community.

Membership

Our community is public and free-for-everyone to join. In fact, we encourage you to share our community with everyone you know that might benefit. Our goal is to facilitate collaboration across organizational boundaries so we can achieve SweetOps.

Cloud Posse are the stewards of this community, and we are under no obligation to provide support. Membership is a privilege, not a right. If self-promotion is your primary reason for joining, this is not the community for you.

Important: We do not allow disposable email addresses. All members must use a legitimate, permanent email address to join our community. This helps us maintain the quality and integrity of our community.

If you would like to invite someone to the team, they may join here:

https://cloudposse.com/slack

Open Source Collaboration

One of the big goals of our community is to increase the amount of Open Source collaboration in the DevOps community. We hope that by encouraging participants to recognize and strengthen the relationships between companies, organizations and individuals that their effects on our community will be amplified. This is why we go the extra mile to ensure our community is open, welcoming, friendly, and encourages all participants to contribute to the fullest extent possible.

“Office Hours” Support

Every week we hold public community “office hours” which are an opportunity for members to get to know each other face-to-face, ask questions, and get help. These sessions abide by this Code of Conduct.

These sessions may be recorded, published and shared.

Projects

We support a lot of Open Source projects. These projects abide by this Code of Conduct.

• https://github.com/cloudposse
• https://github.com/cloudposse-terraform-components
• https://github.com/cloudposse-github-actions

Commercial Support

Cloud Posse does not provide support on commercial repositories via Slack. This includes any repositories under the Cloud Posse Terraform Components organization. For commercial support, please visit cloudposse.com/support.

Contact

We want to hear from you. Please let us know if there's something we should add, amend or update as part of our Code of Conduct.