CTO Circle

Respect

The CTO Circle is an encouraging community dedicated to developing the craft of technical leadership. We are an inclusive environment that treats all individuals respectfully, regardless of gender or gender identity (including transgender status), sexual orientation, age, disability, nationality, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), political affiliation, or career path.

We value respectful behavior above individual opinions.

Respectful behavior includes but is not limited to:

Be considerate, kind, constructive, and helpful.
Avoid demeaning, discriminatory, harassing, hateful, or physically threatening behavior, speech, and imagery.
Due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, and traditions of others.

Note: Disrespectful behavior outside this community by active members may be considered a violation of this code of conduct at the administrators' discretion.

Privacy, attribution, and aggregation

Protect IP and legally protected information. This community is not a public space. However, no one has signed a non-disclosure agreement ("NDA") to participate, and you should not presume anything you say here will remain private, so act accordingly.

If you want to disclose any content from a public channel outside this community, including submission to LLMs, we use a modified version of the Chatham House Rule as a guideline:

“Members are free to use information received from public channels, but the individual source of the information may not be revealed.”

For attribution of specific content found in this community on public channels, we ask that you ask the originator of the content for permission. If you don't receive consent promptly, we ask that you credit the "CTO Circle."

Read the room

Once onboard, you will likely find yourself in a popular channel with many members who sound like we've figured it out. We haven't. While advice on one channel might read definitive, it is one member's lessons, interpretation, and learning from their leadership experience.

This is a large community with many different humans populating hundreds of channels. Different channels have organically developed distinct personalities. Before posting in a channel with hundreds of members, we recommend taking the time to read the room.

Specifically:

Read the last couple of days of messages.
Examine the channel topic for helpful tips.
Click on the channel name, read the topic and description (if available).

Important: Posting the same message to multiple channels is spamming. Don't spam.

Not for profit

This community is hyper-allergic to unwanted commercial behavior. If you join this community to take value rather than contribute, the community will quickly notice and react.

Obvious commercial activities such as recruiting, lead generation, marketing, and other solicitation are prohibited except in channels dedicated to that purpose.

If you are wondering if a post is commercially appropriate:

Ask permission from the channel before posting a message that might be considered commercial, stating clear intent for the post.
Listen to the response of your peers in the channel and act accordingly.

Violations: Using member contact information outside this community without permission, emailing members with unsolicited commercial offers, or aggressive message spamming are Code of Conduct violations.

Direct message etiquette

A direct message ("DM") is a private message to one or more other members. Before sending a DM to a member you've never contacted, consider the following:

Is it obvious to the other member why I am contacting them privately? If not, should I provide context, such as a public post?
Could this message be considered unsolicited spam?

Warning: Unsolicited DMs can be Code of Conduct violations, especially those with a commercial flavor.

In-person events

CTO Circle hosts various in-person events including networking meetups, workshops, and conferences. These events are an extension of our online community and follow the same principles of respect and professionalism.

Event behavior guidelines:

Professional conduct: maintain professional behavior appropriate for a business networking environment.
Respect personal space: be mindful of personal boundaries and respect others' comfort levels.
Inclusive participation: ensure all attendees feel welcome and included.
No harassment: any form of harassment, including unwelcome advances, inappropriate comments, or discriminatory behavior, is strictly prohibited.
Business cards & networking: exchange contact information respectfully and only when mutually agreed upon.
Event photography: always ask for permission before taking photos of other attendees.

Reporting: If you experience or witness inappropriate behavior at an event, please report it immediately to event organizers or contact our administrators.

Resolve peacefully

As a leadership community, we believe peer-to-peer discussions, feedback, and corrections can help build a stronger, safer, more informed, and more welcoming community.

If you see someone violating any part of this Code of Conduct, we urge you to respectfully dissuade them from such behavior using specifics from this document as guidelines. Expect that others wish to help keep the community respectful and welcome your input.

If you experience disrespectful behavior toward yourself or anyone else and feel unable or unwilling to respond or resolve it respectfully, please immediately bring it to the attention of an Administrator.

Don't be a troll

A troll is a member who starts flame wars or intentionally upsets other members by posting inflammatory, digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages to provoke members into displaying emotional responses and normalizing tangential discussion either for the troll's amusement or a specific gain.

The determination of whether a message is trolling is often a subjective assessment by administrators. If you cannot resolve a situation, trolling can be handled via the Content Review Process.

Content review process

Admins may come across or be notified of content violating the Code of Conduct. In some situations, this may lead to an Administrator deleting the message (or messages) that violate the CoC.

Messages most likely to be deleted are commercial solicitations, disrespectful messages to other members, or links to disturbing or distressing content without appropriate measures to warn of or hide the content.

Ideally, another member will notice this content and contact the original poster, who will modify or delete the message so it is no longer problematic. In this case, no further Administrator action is required.

Administrators

Administrators serve two-year terms with an option for a second term. They are responsible for maintaining the community standards and ensuring all members feel safe and welcome.

If you cannot resolve a situation peacefully, please contact the Administrators. They will seek to resolve conflicts peacefully and in a manner that is positive for the community.

As Administrators, we will seek to resolve conflicts peacefully and in a manner that is positive for the community. This Code of Conduct documents everyday situations we've seen, but we can't foresee every situation.

Code of conduct.