Principle: Conduct Toward One Another

What this means in practice

Every member treats every other member with respect. Every post passes safety checks before ordinary visibility. Crisis-flagged content routes to human review. The community holds space for difficulty and disagreement, and it keeps that space safe from harm.

In practice, this means Conversations are organized by concern and tradition. Each person speaks under a chosen name, on the same footing as everyone else, and private messages in Connect stay between the people in them. What is shared in a Circle stays in the Circle. When something is wrong, you flag it and let the process hold it.

It also means you bring your best self even when you disagree. You can challenge an idea and still honor the person who holds it. You can name what is wrong and leave every person their dignity. The community holds the space. Your part is to fill it with care.

A passage

For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by love, this is an old rule.

Source: The Dhammapada, v. 5, F. Max Muller (Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 10), 1881

A question to sit with

When I disagree with someone in Conversations, do I keep my response to the idea itself?

A practice to try

Before you post a reply that disagrees with someone, read it back to yourself. If the words were directed at you, would you feel met? If the answer is anything less than yes, rewrite. The goal is disagreement that is honest and kind at the same time.