SME Server:Constitution:Social Contract

Social Contract with Contribs.org

Ruffdogs (Ruffdogs Inc) has agreed to accept the stewardship of the Contribs.org website, the Contribs.org database, all of the content there-in, and all rights associated with such information and content. Ruffdogs has also agreed to accept the stewardship of Contribs.org community at large. Ruffdogs understands that with this stewardship comes responsibility. The following is a social contract that we created to reflect Ruffdogs' commitment to the Contribs.org community and to keep it a free and open resource. Our contract has been inspired by and derived from, the Debian Social Contract, and that of the ODP.

1. Contribs.org Will Remain 100% Free We promise to not charge money for access to the information contained on Contribs.org.
2. We Give Back to the Web Community We license our content as free with attribution back to the Contribs.org We will protect the Contribs.org intellectual property from infringement. Contribs.org owns the rights to the compilation of Contribs.org, and will exercise these rights in a manner that Ruffdogs (as steward) feels is in the best interest of the community at large, and in the spirit of Open Source. Each individual contributor also owns and maintains rights to their personal contributions, so, they can present their material to the greater Web community in other ways if desired. While Ruffdogs cannot and will not be responsible for assembling part or all of the website, or all of an individual's contributions in a portable manner, the principle of open access to the content of Contribs.org will be followed as much as is practicable.
3. We Won't Hide Our Official Editorial Policies We will keep all official Contribs.org editorial guidelines and policies open for public view at all times.
4. We provide an open invitation to join We extend an open invitation to the general public to join Contribs.org. Our community is a diverse group of individuals that add to the flavor of what Contribs.org is, and bring value to Contribs.org as an Open Source based community.
5. We encourage a Self Regulating Community We foster a self-regulating community governed by community-driven standards. We encourage the community to regulate itself, and to provide the checks and balances needed to ensure that its members follow mutually accepted codes of conduct and editorial standards. It is our intention to encourage the community to operate in a manner that is as open, transparent, and inclusive as possible, and to operate in that manner ourselves, relative to the Contribs.org community.
6. Our Priorities are our Community, our Users and their Contributions We will be guided by the needs of the community, our users and the protection of their contributions. We will place their interests first in our priorities.

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