Code of Conduct
v0.1.0-2025-06-19
In this document, we describe our intentions for Fosstodon, and set our expectations for all users on Fosstodon.
This is a living document, which may be amended at any time by the Fosstodon team to better communicate or adjust these goals.
What we are
Fosstodon is a Mastodon instance that federates with many other servers in the fediverse, also known as the open social web. The theme of this instance is Free/Libre/Open-Source software and adjacent communities. This is what the “FOSS” in our name represents.
Intentions
Fosstodon intends to provide a friendly environment for those who want a social media experience that prioritizes FOSS, where you can share your interests, passions, and achievements. Nobody should feel unwelcome on the basis of their skills, experience, or ability to read a manual; Fosstodon is not an experts-only space.
While using Fosstodon or engaging with Fosstodon members, everyone should be safe from harassment and similar antisocial behavior. As a community, we aim to curate a safe place for anyone, regardless of their characteristics including but not limited to: race, ethnicity, national identity, spoken language, sex, gender identity or expression, sexuality, sexual orientation, physical or mental health status, disability, other body characteristics, or age.
Additionally, as members, you should tolerate the values of others, provided those values do not conflict with this code of conduct or impact the safety of others. We do not want a paradox of tolerance on Fosstodon.
We understand that many members have strong opinions about “freedom of speech”, however this is not a feature we offer.
Expectations
Conduct
This section defines our expectations for all content on Fosstodon, regardless of whether it is public, unlisted, followers-only, or addressed to specific people.
The following are things we encourage while using Fosstodon:
- DO toot your own horn and show us your authentic self. We want to know about cool things you are involved with and things you have achieved.
- DO make use of blocking, muting, and labeling tools to tune out content you don’t want to see. Social media can be triggering, stressful, and anxiety-inducing.
- DO use hashtags and content warnings (CWs) to allow everyone else the opportunity to customize their feeds, too.
- DO use an alt text when uploading pictures or videos, to support users with visual impairment.
- DO respect the lived experiences, boundaries, and agency of others. This includes avoiding the tone-policing of protests or giving unsolicited advice.
- DO make a reasonable effort to respect how people identify themselves. It is good to check profiles before making assumptions!
- DO demonstrate empathy and kindness to others.
- DO accept accountability and responsibility, apologize to those affected by your mistakes, and learn from the experience.
- DO prioritize the health and cohesiveness of the community. Remember we’re all involved in FOSS; be collaborative here as well.
The following iterates the content that we absolutely do not want on Fosstodon:
- DO NOT disparage individuals or groups based on race, ethnicity, national identity, spoken language, sex, gender identity or expression, sexuality, sexual orientation, physical or mental health status, disability, other body characteristics, age, culture, religion, personal philosophy, or political affiliation.
- DO NOT use slurs, “dog-whistles”, coded pejoratives, or otherwise publish content that is bigoted, supremacist, or hateful.
- DO NOT harass, “dog-pile”, defame, intimidate, threaten, expose private information about (“doxing”), or intentionally cause distress to other users.
- DO NOT knowingly post misleading information or engage in deceptive or disruptive campaigns intended to incite alarm.
- DO NOT participate in engagement that is intended to antagonize, inflame, or cause confrontation.
- DO NOT post adult or age-restricted content. This includes nudity and other sexualized or violent content.
- DO NOT post commercial promotions, or advertise through posts that are exclusively links and/or which contain excessive hashtags. This includes repetitive self-promotion for profit. We don’t want spam.
- DO NOT use automated tools to post without also monitoring and/or interacting from your account.
Neither retribution, nor any sincerely-held belief or opinion, will be accepted as an excuse for any of the above.
In cases of behavior that conflicts with this document, we expect you to contact the moderation team via the report tool, rather than attempt to enforce it yourself.
Our local timeline
The local timeline consists of public listed posts and replies that our members make. To help fulfill our intention of prioritizing FOSS discussion, members should make use of labeling tools that Mastodon provides for improved reach and individual curation. Hashtags and content warnings (CWs) help people customize their timelines. By using these tools, you make it possible for others to shape their experiences by allowing them to filter or hide content they don’t want.
CWs are not a requirement for most content, however special care must be given for labeling topics that others may find overwhelming. This includes, but is not limited to:
- global and local politics,
- things likely to upset others such as graphic media, rants, etc.,
- activism that does not contribute to improving FOSS or its communities, and
- low-effort “shitposting”.
Using your best judgment with CWs is encouraged; however the moderation team may apply CWs to reported content they deem to fall into any of the above categories.
AI Generated Content & Slop
AI content on Fosstodon needs to be explicitly labeled with the hashtag #AI. Images that have been AI generated need to include an explicit statement in the ALT-text that it is AI generated. Our intention is to make this content unambiguous on Fosstodon, and allow users to easily filter this content from their timelines.
Examples of what qualifies as “AI content” are:
- posts that contain AI generated images or video
- text that has been generated by a LLM
- external links to content that has been generated by AI, such as videos, images, or text
Enforcement of this Code of Conduct
Moderation of Fosstodon is done collaboratively by a team that includes global representation from people of color, as well as LGBTQIA+ and disabled folk. All decision-making communication, including the audit log, are visible to everyone in the Fosstodon team. All team members are committed to the team covenant, and will take a pragmatic and individual approach to each report.
In egregious circumstances, including but not limited to hate speech, extremist affiliation, or other behavior that is a danger to others, activity outside of Fosstodon may result in the suspension of member accounts. This is not a decision that will be made lightly, solely by any individual moderator, or without notable investigation.