Don't be a contemptible fellow (be excellent to each other)

This is a combination of Wikimedia's "Don't be a dick" rule, and the guiding principle of Noisebridge (simply to "be excellent to each other").

Wikimedia's version

"Don't be a dick [an abrasive and inconsiderate person]. If people abided by this, we wouldn't need any other policies about behaviour .. and most behavioural rules are special cases of this one. Implicitly or explicitly calling people dicks is a dick-move: don't use this .. as a justification to do so." -- from Wikimedia

The Noisebridge version

"Be excellent to each other is the guiding principle of Noisebridge .. Unlike Wikipedia, Noisebridge takes a positive approach, and avoids the practice of officially enumerating the myriad potential special cases; 'be excellent' is enough. " -- from Noisebridge

Discussion

This was first discussed on the private members-only mailing list (see the archives starting from March 15 2012).

See also Actions of a Contemptible Fellow

Be aware of peoples' sensitivities

Try to be sensitive enough to recognise the pain and suffering of others.

All people have different sensitivities. The experiences we've had in our lives, our environment, traumatic treatment, deprivation, and our genes, all affect how sensitive we are to different things.

There is no such thing as equality in this world, so try to recognise how privileged and empowered you are relative to others.

Please bear in mind that something you see as insignificant could be distressing to other people in ways you may not have considered.

Specific issues

In this hackspace racism, sexism, ageism, gender discrimination and elitism are not acceptable. Please recognise the significance of all these different, specific forms of discrimination.

If you feel you've been a victim of thoughtless, insensitive behaviour in the hackspace, please let us know in some way, so we can recognise our mistakes.

Be sensitive even to apparently contemptible fellows

Nobody likes to be widely viewed as a contemptible fellow. Some of us don't care much :-) Perhaps that is why some of us appear to draw lots of attention to ourselves, doing things that appear overtly contemptible to others. It's not because we're seeking attention for ourselves. Nobody likes to have endless negative energy directed towards them. Some of us just want to raise awareness of issues that we feel deeply passionate about. Some of us feel the pain of the world in crisis, are deeply revulsed by the grotesque waste and self indulgence that we see, while at the same time we are in the midst of a mass-extinction event, and billions of people go hungry. We can't bear to see continual insensitivity and ambivalence. Please be sensitive to this pain.