| 1._Adoption_Badge.md | ||
| 2._The_FAQ_For_The_Moderators.md | ||
| LICENSE | ||
| README.md | ||
| The_Humane_Interaction_Standard.md | ||
🤝 Humane Interaction Standard (HIS)
A framework for preserving human dignity in digital critique and collaboration.
🧭 Purpose
Online communities too often reward outrage, cynicism, and personal attacks over honest critique. The Humane Interaction Standard (HIS) is a social contract that helps communities draw a clear, enforceable line between robust critique of work and dehumanising abuse of people.
It is not a copyright license – it's a code of conduct that any forum, repository, Discord server, or creative space can adopt to foster healthier digital interaction.
📜 The Standard (v1.0)
1. Purpose and Scope
The Humane Interaction Standard is designed to foster digital environments where rigorous critique of creative and technical work can occur without sacrificing the physical or mental well-being of the people involved.
By adopting this standard, your community commits to separating evaluation of the work from degradation of the human behind it.
2. Core Tenets
Participants in spaces governed by the HIS agree to:
-
Focus on the work, not irrelevant personal attacks
Critique must be directed at the structural integrity, execution, or concepts of the work itself. Personal attacks, baseless defamation, and insults that are unrelated to the validity of the work are prohibited. -
The boundaries of free expression
Harassment – defined as repeated, unwanted contact intended to intimidate or distress – is not protected expression. Doxxing and credible threats of violence are never permitted. -
Medium agnosticism and tool choice
The tools a creator uses do not diminish their humanity. Whether a project uses traditional methods, AI‑assisted workflows, or AI‑generated systems, the ethical obligation to treat the creator with dignity remains absolute.
Equally, critics discussing the ethics or impact of those tools must also be treated with respect, provided their critique remains civil. Tool choice is never a justification for abuse.
3. Unacceptable Behaviours
The following actions are explicit violations of this standard:
- ❌ No retaliatory abuse – Harassing someone under the guise of "counter‑trolling" or righteous anger is still abuse. Two wrongs don't make a right.
- ❌ Discriminatory conduct – Racism, ableism, sexism, religious bigotry, or any discriminatory rhetoric used to attack a creator or community member.
- ❌ Harassment campaigns – Organising, encouraging, or participating in coordinated efforts to overwhelm a person's digital or physical spaces with malicious intent.
4. Adoption and Enforcement
Communities that adopt the HIS agree to apply these rules equally to all participants, including creators and administrators.
Moderators are empowered to enforce the guidelines proportionally:
- First violation: warning and explanation
- Repeated or severe violation: content removal, temporary mute, or permanent ban
💡 Add a local reporting contact when you adopt the standard, e.g., “Report violations to
mods@example.comor via DM to @mod.”
🛡️ Adoption Badge
Show that your community follows the HIS. Copy one of the snippets below into your README, wiki, or server rules channel.
Markdown (GitHub, GitLab, etc.)
[](https://github.com/yourusername/humane-interaction-standard)
Plain text (for any space)
[ We follow the Humane Interaction Standard (HIS) ]
Critique the work. Respect the human. Tool choice is not abuse.
Full text: https://github.com/yourusername/humane-interaction-standard
HTML (for websites)
<a href="https://github.com/yourusername/humane-interaction-standard" style="display:inline-block; background:#1e293b; color:#3b82f6; padding:4px 12px; border-radius:20px; font-family:sans-serif; font-size:12px; text-decoration:none;">🤝 Humane Interaction Standard</a>
❓ Moderator's FAQ (common edge cases)
Q1: What if the creator is a known bad actor – hate speech, scams, etc.?
The standard prohibits irrelevant personal attacks. If the creator's character is directly relevant to evaluating the work (e.g., the work itself is hate speech or the scam), then critique of that character is allowed.
The test: Would a reasonable person need to know this about the creator to evaluate the work?
- Yes → allowed.
- No (e.g., attacking appearance, unrelated past mistakes) → violation.
Q2: Someone is harsh but civil – repeatedly pointing out flaws. Where is the line?
The line is harassment: repeated, unwanted contact intended to intimidate or distress. A single harsh critique is not harassment. Five critiques across five threads, each tagging the creator after being asked to stop – that is harassment.
Moderator action: First, ask them to consolidate feedback or step back. If they persist, warn; then ban if needed.
Q3: Does the standard protect AI‑generated harmful content (e.g., deepfake nudes)?
No. The standard says tool choice is never a justification for abuse against the creator. It does not protect the content of the work. If the work itself is illegal, harassing, or deceptive, remove it under your existing content policy. HIS governs interaction, not content legality.
Q4: He‑said‑she‑said – both claim violations. What do we do?
Look for patterns, not single incidents. The standard explicitly bans retaliatory abuse – if A insulted B and B insulted back, both can be warned. The correct response to a violation is to report, not retaliate. First person to report gets no special immunity.
Q5: Do we have to ban people for every minor insult?
No. The standard is a framework, not zero‑tolerance. Moderators have discretion. Warnings and education come first. Permanent bans are for severe or repeated violations. The goal is to change culture, not maximise bans.
📋 How to Adopt the HIS in Your Community
- Copy the standard text into a visible location (your
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md, server rules channel, or wiki). - Add a reporting contact (email, mod team, Discord handle).
- Place the adoption badge in your README or sidebar.
- Educate your moderators using the FAQ above.
- Review after 90 days – adapt the standard to your community’s needs (it's CC0, you can fork it).
🤝 Contributing
This is an open, living standard. We welcome improvements that keep it practical, clear, and humane.
- Report issues – Open a GitHub issue for ambiguities or edge cases.
- Propose changes – Submit a pull request with a clear rationale.
- Share adoption stories – Let us know how the HIS works in your community.
📄 License
This document is released into the public domain under CC0 1.0 Universal. You can copy, modify, distribute, and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.
🙏 Acknowledgments
Inspired by the Contributor Covenant, the Hippocratic License, and the many community moderators who work tirelessly to keep digital spaces humane.
Drafted by Kalvin (kalvin0x8d0) – IT student & humane‑tech activist.
Refined with feedback from open‑source communities and AI collaborators.
“Critique the work. Respect the human. Tool choice is not abuse.”