Last updated June 12, 2025
Our Commitment
Creative Commons (CC) is an organization and global community that champions openness, sharing, and creativity. We are committed to fostering a safe, inclusive, respectful, and harassment-free environment for everyone—regardless of age, ability, disability status, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, level of experience, nationality, personal appearance, race, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.
We pledge to act in ways that contribute to a welcoming, diverse, and healthy community across all CC activities—whether online or in person, formal or informal.
Guiding Principles
Be Welcoming
Creative Commons is a diverse and multilingual global network. Make extra effort to welcome new participants, especially those who may be new to CC, the open movement, or digital collaboration.
Be Respectful
Disagreements and different perspectives are normal—and healthy. Disagreement is no excuse for disrespectful behavior. Express disagreements with curiosity and empathy, not hostility. Personal attacks, name-calling, or any form of harassment will not be tolerated.
Be Inclusive and Considerate
Your contributions may impact others—so consider the broader community in your communication, collaboration, and decision-making. Be mindful that English is not the first language for many community members, and we come from many levels of education and expertise. Always try to pick the simplest way to express the idea you are trying to share, considering the language, educational and cultural barriers always present.
Be Collaborative
Work transparently and involve others early. Seek feedback, listen deeply, and give credit where it’s due. The strength of CC lies in collective leadership, not individual dominance.
Ask for Help When Unsure
No one is expected to know everything. Asking questions and offering help are both encouraged.
Share Leadership
Mentor, uplift, and empower others—especially those who may be newer to the community or from historically and systemically excluded groups.
Unacceptable Behavior
Unacceptable behaviors include (but are not limited to):
- Harassment, bullying, or intimidation in any form.
- Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, or otherwise discriminatory language or behavior.
- Sexual language, imagery, or attention, including unwelcome advances.
- Deliberate misgendering or use of deadnames.
- Violent threats or incitement.
- Doxing (publishing others’ private information without consent).
- Sustained disruption of events or communications.
- Trolling, insults, or inflammatory comments.
- Self-promotion unrelated to the topic or community space.
Scope of This Code
This Code applies in all Creative Commons spaces—including events, chat, forums, GitHub, mailing lists, platforms, chapters, community, and social media—whether those spaces are managed by staff, community leaders, or partners.
It also applies when individuals represent CC in any official capacity (e.g., facilitators, speakers, ambassadors, staff, board members).
Reporting Incidents
If you witness or experience behavior that violates this Code, or have other concerns, please report it promptly. You can contact: conduct@creativecommons.org
Reports should include (as appropriate):
- Your contact information (kept confidential).
- Names of individuals involved and any witnesses.
- A description of what occurred.
- Links to relevant public records (if applicable).
All reports will be handled promptly, fairly, and confidentially by designated staff or governance bodies. Reporters will receive updates about next steps and resolution.
Enforcement and Consequences
Creative Commons reserves the right to take any action we deem appropriate in response to a Code of Conduct violation, including but not limited to:
- Verbal or written warnings
- Temporary or permanent removal from CC spaces
- Removal from leadership or facilitation roles
- Revocation of credentials or access to CC programs
Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately. Appeals or questions about enforcement decisions can be directed to conduct@creativecommons.org or legal@creativecommons.org.
Attribution
This Code of Conduct draws from and is inspired by multiple community-driven documents including previous Creative Commons Codes of Conduct for the CCGN, the CC Open Source CoC, the Slack CoC, and the CC Certificate Code of Conduct. These codes have cited others including: the Contributor Covenant v2.1, Geek Feminism’s anti-harassment policy, Ubuntu Code of Conduct, Stumptown Syndicate Citizen Code of Conduct, Mozilla’s enforcement ladder, and other open movement communities’ codes of conduct.
It is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.