The Replimat community is made up of a mixture of professionals and volunteers from all over the world, working on every aspect of the project from computer aided design to marketing. Diversity is one of our huge strengths, but it can also lead to communication issues and unhappiness. To that end, we have a few ground rules that we ask people to adhere to when they’re using project resources.

This isn’t an exhaustive list of things that you can’t do. Rather, take it in the spirit in which it’s intended - a guide to make it easier to be excellent to each other.

• Be considerate. Your work will be used by other people, and you in turn will depend on the work of others. Any decision will affect users and colleagues, and you should take those consequences into account when making decisions.

• Be respectful. Not all of us will agree all the time, but disagreement is no excuse for poor behavior and poor manners. We might all experience some frustration now and then, but we cannot allow that frustration to turn into a personal attack. It’s important to remember that a community where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one. Members of the Replimat community should be respectful when dealing with other contributors as well as with people outside the Replimat community and with users of Replimat.

When we disagree, we try to understand why. Disagreements, both social and technical, happen all the time and Replimat is no exception. It is important that we resolve disagreements and differing views constructively.

Remember that we’re different. The strength of Replimat comes from its varied community, people from a wide range of backgrounds. Different people have different perspectives on issues. Being unable to understand why someone holds a viewpoint doesn’t mean that they’re wrong. Don’t forget that it is human to err and blaming each other doesn’t get us anywhere, rather offer to help resolving issues and to help learn from mistakes.