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Code of Conduct

The Verum project is committed to providing a welcoming, harassment- free experience for everyone.

Scope​

This code applies in all Verum spaces:

  • GitHub (issues, PRs, discussions, wikis).
  • Matrix / IRC rooms.
  • Mailing lists and email threads.
  • In-person events (meetups, conference talks).
  • Private communication about Verum matters.

It also applies to anyone using their position in the Verum project to influence behaviour outside these spaces.

Expected behaviour​

  • Be welcoming: engage newcomers positively. Everyone was new once.
  • Be respectful: disagreements happen; attack ideas, not people.
  • Give credit: cite prior work, co-authors, and contributors.
  • Listen: especially to perspectives unlike your own.
  • Accept feedback: technical review is not personal criticism.
  • Take responsibility: acknowledge mistakes and work to fix them.

Unacceptable behaviour​

The following are not tolerated anywhere in Verum spaces:

  • Harassment, including unwelcome sexual attention, trolling, intimidation, stalking, or doxxing.
  • Discrimination based on age, body size, disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, level of experience, nationality, personal appearance, race, religion, or sexual identity.
  • Deliberately introducing malicious or disruptive content — code with backdoors, typosquatted packages, dependency confusion attacks, etc.
  • Publishing others' private information without permission.
  • Conduct that could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting.

Reporting​

If you experience or witness unacceptable behaviour, contact the Verum core team at conduct@verum-lang.org.

Reports are:

  • Confidential — received by a small, trusted group.
  • Taken seriously — every report is investigated.
  • Independent — investigators do not participate in the communications under review.

You may also report anonymously via a form linked at https://verum-lang.org/report. Anonymous reports are actioned but may limit investigators' ability to follow up with you.

Enforcement​

The core team follows a graduated response:

1. Correction​

Private written reminder. Used for first offences or unintentional violations.

2. Warning​

Public warning in the relevant space, with a request to change behaviour. Second offences or more serious violations.

3. Temporary ban​

Time-bounded ban from Verum spaces (24 hours to 30 days). Used for sustained or serious violations.

4. Permanent ban​

Indefinite removal from Verum spaces. Reserved for egregious violations or repeated offences after warnings.

Enforcement decisions are made by consensus among the core team after reviewing evidence. Decisions can be appealed to the full core team once per incident.

Handling of reports​

Core team members who are themselves subject to a report recuse from its handling. If a majority of the core team is implicated, a mediator external to the project is invited.

Reports are stored securely and access is restricted. After resolution, minimal records are retained to inform future enforcement (e.g., to identify repeated patterns).

Guidelines for public discussion​

  • Technical disagreement is welcome. "I think the capability router should prefer CVC5 on string theory" is normal discussion.
  • Make concrete claims. "This RFC is bad" is less useful than "This RFC adds 3 new opcodes when 1 would suffice; here's how."
  • Quote what you respond to. Makes threads readable and reduces accidental misreading.
  • Use the issue / PR / discussion appropriate to the topic. Bug reports belong in issues, not Matrix.
  • Mark tentative ideas as such. "Half-baked thought:" prevents misunderstandings.

Credit​

This Code of Conduct draws on the Contributor Covenant v2.1, the Mozilla Community Participation Guidelines, and the Rust Code of Conduct.

Questions​

For questions about this document, email conduct@verum-lang.org. For questions about a specific incident, see Reporting above.