Community Code of Conduct

It’s simple. Respect each other.

Topcoder is a competitive platform filled with people who love to learn, show their skills, and work with some of the best companies around the world. We know our community members feel strongly about the importance of the processes, the platform, and individual challenge results. We ask that you show your fellow community members, competitors, customers, and Topcoder staff the same respect and courtesy you would show them when meeting face-to-face. Following the values and rules below, we can all expect to be treated with respect. This code of conduct applies to all forums and interactions, including community and challenge forums.

Please adhere to the following:

Respect the process and the final results

We know how hard you worked on your submission, and we respond to disputes. Take a careful look at the spec, scorecard, and forum clarifications and then convey your issue concisely and using objective evidence by using the approved channels: clicking the “Contact Manager” button in Online Review or emailing support@topcoder.com.

Disputing competition rules or results doesn’t belong in the forums.
Using the forums to dispute a result or disagree with a copilot or review will not result in a response or case review. Use the correct process if you need to appeal something or you believe a mistake has been made.

Data Security and compliance

As a competitor, you must properly comply with data privacy/confidentiality while using your devices.

When using any code/data that is provided to you there are a few best practices to follow to make sure you are complying with the proper data/code handling principles.

1. Keep all code/data on your local machine.

2. Keep code/data in a Topcoder-approved private repo.

3. In some cases, a Topcoder client will provide a repo for a project. When this is the case, ensure you are following all client requirements and processes for using that repo securely.

4. All community members are expected to delete code from their machines as soon as the project is over.

Publishing any code or data into a public repo (I.e. public GitHub) will constitute a violation of the above principles and be subject to the consequences outlined in this document in the section entitled: Consequences for Inappropriate Behavior.

Be open to people from different backgrounds and different experience levels

New members, people from other crowdsourcing backgrounds, and even staff members and clients can offer valuable insight and ideas. Keeping an open mind helps everyone keep emotions at bay and keeps the topic in focus.

Don’t personally attack or harass others because you disagree with them.
All community members new and old, copilots, reviewers, Topcoder staff and customers should never come under personal attack or feel reluctant to share their ideas, opinions, submissions or work with the community. Name-calling, accusing someone of malicious behavior, insulting someone’s work, or other personal attacks will not be tolerated.

Be constructive and facilitate meaningful discussions

We respect and encourage excitement and spirited debate in the forums! If you see a topic spiraling into a negative debate, jump in and bring some positive focus. However, if you encounter someone who is purposely trying to antagonize you, ignore it and report it (see below).

Don’t be a troll.
Posting with the direct intention of inflaming a topic for the sole purpose of provoking a negative emotional response from the readers is not acceptable.

Leave your intolerance at the door

You may have feelings and opinions about religion or politics, but this is a crowdsourcing competition platform. Keep the discussions on topic and away from controversy.

We don’t tolerate hate speech or bigotry of any kind.
Do not post anything that alienates or offends individuals based on race, sexual orientation, gender, country, religion, etc. These types of posts, whether directed at an individual or a group, will not be tolerated. As per our Terms, you may not post anything that is obscene, illegal, defamatory, libelous, threatening, pornographic, harassing, hateful, encourages criminal conduct, gives rise to civil liability, violates any law, harms minors, impersonates others, disparages Topcoder or our affiliates and partners, or is otherwise inappropriate.

No Solicitation

Your fellow community members would love to hear about the newest trends, latest technologies, and great tools you use to enhance your skills and productivity! Share these in the relevant track forums. You can also share upcoming info or find teams for competitions such as ACM ICPC. We do not allow solicitation/spam messages within any channel.

Example solicitations “seeking developers for my new cool project” or asks of that sort. Nor do we allow spam. If you see this kind of post, please report it for removal.

Consequences for inappropriate behavior

The following actions will be taken at the sole discretion of the appropriate Topcoder employee in the noted situations. The first action will be taken at the first offense; subsequent actions will be taken if repeat offenses.

• Falsifying your identity or your work, breaking the Topcoder terms, or challenge rules
  i. Immediate ban for six months
  ii. Permanent ban

• Violation of data security and compliance rules

  • i. First offense: Immediate ban for six months

  • ii. Second Offense: Permanent ban

  • Additionally, Topcoder retains the right to pursue all measures available to the company to recoup losses or damages, as governed by the Terms and Conditions.

• Breaking NDA (publishing/sharing data or results from an NDA challenge, discussing NDA challenges outside of the challenge, falsifying NDA materials)
  i. Immediate ban for six months
  ii. Permanent ban

• Submitting copyrighted material (design or code that is not your own)
  i. Immediate ban for six months
  ii. Permanent ban

• Forum issues: trolling, hate speech (including sexism, racism, etc.)
  i. Possible warning based on minor severity or intention (language/cultural issues), skipped for more severe issues at the discretion of Topcoder. Posts in question will be deleted
  ii. Ban for six months
  iii. Permanent ban

We encourage you, the community, to report problems when they arise. Please email support@topcoder.com with a link to any post you feel violates the rules. Violations will be edited or removed, and violators may have action taken against their account.

We strive to be a respectful, lively community where opinions can be expressed, and members can learn and grow. It’s up to all of us to make the Topcoder a place where like-minded individuals can thrive.