# PhotoPrism® Code of Conduct

**By using the software and services we provide, you agree to our [Terms of Service](https://photoprism.app/terms), including our [Privacy Policy](https://photoprism.app/privacy) and the following Code of Conduct. It explains the "dos and don’ts" when interacting with other community members.**

*Last Updated: June 4, 2022*

## Preamble

The Internet is huge. As a result, you will inevitably run into people who have poor social skills, a bad day, or drank too much coffee. If issues arising from disrespectful, abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior cannot be resolved in any other way, we will invoke and enforce these rules as necessary to protect everyone's right to spend their time in a meaningful and enjoyable way.

## Rules

Because we want our Code of Conduct to be easy to understand and implement, we have only three basic rules:

(1) Be respectful, be responsible, be kind.

(2) Don't panic.

(3) Don’t feed the trolls.

## Examples

The following non-exhaustive list provides specific guidelines and examples:

(a) Do not feel entitled to free software, support, or advice, especially if you are not a contributor, [sponsor](https://photoprism.app/membership), or paying customer. Don't ask contributors to report to you and [meet deadlines](https://docs.photoprism.app/developer-guide/code-quality/#go-slow-before-you-go-fast) as if they work for you or owe you something.

(b) [Read the docs](https://docs.photoprism.app) and [determine the cause of your problem](https://docs.photoprism.app/getting-started/troubleshooting/) before opening invalid bug reports, starting a public "shitstorm" or insulting other community members in our chat rooms. Aside from being annoying for everyone, it also keeps our team from working on features and improvements that users like you are waiting for.

(c) If you are having a bad day and want to offend someone, please go somewhere else.

## Reporting

We encourage all community members to resolve problems on their own whenever possible. Instances of disrespectful, abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior [may be reported](https://photoprism.app/contact) to us.

## Enforcement

Violations may be punished with a [snarky comment](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=snarky) and finally a **\*plonk\***[^1], meaning you will be ignored according to **Rule #3**.

[^1]: Plonk stands for the metaphorical sound of a user hitting the bottom of the kill file. It was first used in [Usenet forums](https://en.everybodywiki.com/Plonk_(Usenet)), a worldwide distributed discussion system and precursor to the Web.