+ Communities form when different people unite around a common purpose. + Shared values guide decision making, and community goals supersede + individual interests and agendas. +
+ + ++ Our common purpose is to develop, propagate, and promote the adoption of + the purely functional software deployment model. Our values help us achieve this purpose by guiding decisionmaking + across the community, keeping us moving in a common direction. This + document captures our core values so that they can be shared and + referenced by everyone in the community. +
+ ++ Values are not a Code of Conduct, they do not define + governance structures, and they do not provide specific policies. Instead, + values inform the decisions we make about these things. A good test for whether something is a value is: +
+ ++ To apply in many situations, values must be high-level, abstract concepts. + Therefore, in the text below, each value is presented as a heading + followed by an elaboration of its meaning. This is meant as a starting + point for interpretation, not a comprehensive definition. The heading and + the elaboration have equal importance. +
++ We treat each other with respect and civility. No matter one's + individual identity, circumstances, level of contribution to the + project, or status, everyone has the right to respect, and everyone has + the duty to treat others with respect. We prioritise project health over + individual interests. People with higher visibility within the project + or towards the public are subject to higher expectations for their + conduct. +
+ ++ We are here, first and foremost, as individuals working together. Our + priority here is to work on Nix projects for the benefit of all their + contributors and users. We value building excellent software with a + vibrant and diverse community. Individuals gain trust and status by + doing the work. Organisations gain prestige by funding the work of + individuals and providing resources to support the project. +
+ ++ Nix projects are and will always remain free software. We value working together with the broader free software community. + Free software is our priority, but we also support our users' needs to + use non-free software, when practical. +
+ ++ We are a synthesis of varied but overlapping communities. We rely on + distributed approaches: asynchronous communication, clear ownership, + deep-dive taskforces, and local decisionmaking. We focus our attention + on working together on our shared goals and working separately in a + non-interfering way when our goals are independent. We build trust + primarily by working together on Nix projects. +
+ ++ We are a global community, and disseminating information and maintaining + processes can be difficult. We are also a large project with a lot of + hard and repetitive work. Therefore, we value automation over toil, + while recognizing that not all toil can be automated. Automation reduces + toil, but people are still accountable. Adding new toil needs a very + strong justification. We build automation and processes that make the + best use of our contributors' limited time and energy. +
+ ++ Openness to new ideas and evolution is part of what made Nix great. We + continue to foster that evolution while encouraging development of + re-usable building blocks and well-defined, stable interfaces. We value + experimenting with designs and concepts, and folding successful + experiments back into continuous improvement for stable components. The + larger the impact an action has, the more care and discussion is + warranted before taking the action. Our leaders have a duty to find, + support, and promote new contributors β and eventually step aside for + new leaders. +
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