Last updated: July 31, 2024

These guidelines are up to date as of 7/31/24 and, like the community, evolve and are subject to change.

1. Respect: Members should engage in respectful and courteous communication. No insults, harassment, or demeaning language – ever. Hate speech or discrimination is NOT ok. Content promoting hate or discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or disability is strictly prohibited.

2. Yes To Privacy – No To Spam: Members must respect the privacy of others and not share personal information without consent. Members may choose to make certain information about themselves available in the chat or in the member’s directory to allow themselves to be more easily identified or to share their expertise. Please do not abuse this act of trust.

3. Selling is OK (within reason!): It is OK to market yourself or your company. This is a professional networking group and it’s assumed many people have something to offer. Try not to cross the line.

  • It is OK to share your services if someone, tags you, openly asks for recommendations of service providers, or help in a particular discipline.
  • It is NOT ok to Slack message everyone with your offering who you can find in the member’s directory who fits your target market.
  • It is OK to hand someone your business card at an event or to ask them if they would like to schedule a call to discuss more details.
  • It is NOT ok to corner someone at an event for an excessive amount of time while you awkwardly talk to them about your services, forcing them to choose between politely listening or feeling rude by trying to get out of the conversation.

4. Lead with value: This is a free community and thrives on the generosity of its members. Please have a value-first mindset. Think about ways you can improve the community, share knowledge or expertise, introduce someone or make a connection, or just help someone out. We also have a number of community channels where we’re always looking for assistance, such as:

  • Writing on our blog
  • Being a guest on the podcast
  • Hosting a webinar
  • Running an event

5. Report rule violations: The community only gets better when people speak up. These guidelines are here because a community member suggested we have them.