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Code of Conduct

Our Pledge

We as members, contributors, and maintainers of the TRAIL Protocol pledge to make participation in our project and community a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, visible or invisible disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, level of experience, education, socio-economic status, nationality, personal appearance, race, caste, color, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.

We pledge to act and interact in ways that contribute to an open, welcoming, diverse, inclusive, and healthy community.

Our Standards

Examples of behavior that contributes to a positive environment:

  • Using welcoming and inclusive language
  • Being respectful of differing viewpoints and experiences
  • Giving and gracefully accepting constructive feedback
  • Focusing on what is best for the community and the protocol
  • Showing empathy toward other community members
  • Prioritizing technical merit and evidence-based reasoning in protocol discussions

Examples of unacceptable behavior:

  • The use of sexualized language or imagery, and sexual attention or advances of any kind
  • Trolling, insulting or derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks
  • Public or private harassment
  • Publishing others' private information without explicit permission
  • Misrepresenting your contributions, credentials, or affiliations
  • Using the project's reputation or community channels for commercial promotion unrelated to TRAIL
  • Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting

AI-Specific Standards

Because TRAIL Protocol exists at the intersection of AI and identity, we hold ourselves to additional standards:

  • Transparency over obscurity. We build infrastructure that makes AI systems more accountable, not less. This principle extends to how we work together.
  • No surveillance by design. We reject contributions that would enable mass surveillance, social scoring, or discriminatory profiling through AI identity infrastructure.
  • Human agency first. AI identity systems must enhance human oversight, not replace it. Contributions that undermine human control over AI systems will not be accepted.
  • Honest about limitations. We document what TRAIL can and cannot do. Overstating the protocol's capabilities - especially regarding regulatory compliance - is unacceptable.

Scope

This Code of Conduct applies within all project spaces, including GitHub repositories, issue discussions, pull requests, W3C CCG mailing lists, DIF Discord channels, and any other space where the TRAIL Protocol community interacts.

It also applies when an individual is officially representing the project in public spaces, such as using an official project email address, posting via an official social media account, or acting as an appointed representative at an online or offline event.

Enforcement

Reporting

Instances of abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior may be reported to:

All complaints will be reviewed and investigated promptly and fairly. The project team is obligated to maintain confidentiality with regard to the reporter of an incident.

Enforcement Guidelines

Project maintainers will follow these guidelines in determining consequences for any action they deem in violation of this Code of Conduct:

1. Correction

  • Impact: Minor, unintentional violation.
  • Consequence: A private written warning, providing clarity around the nature of the violation and an explanation of why the behavior was inappropriate. A public apology may be requested.

2. Warning

  • Impact: A violation through a single incident or series of actions.
  • Consequence: A warning with consequences for continued behavior. No interaction with the people involved for a specified period. This includes avoiding interactions in community spaces as well as external channels. Violating these terms may lead to a temporary or permanent ban.

3. Temporary Ban

  • Impact: A serious violation of community standards, including sustained inappropriate behavior.
  • Consequence: A temporary ban from any sort of interaction or public communication with the community for a specified period. No public or private interaction with the people involved is allowed during this period. Violating these terms may lead to a permanent ban.

4. Permanent Ban

  • Impact: Demonstrating a pattern of violation of community standards, including sustained inappropriate behavior, harassment of an individual, or aggression toward or disparagement of classes of individuals.
  • Consequence: A permanent ban from any sort of public interaction within the community.

Relationship to Other Codes

This project participates in the Decentralized Identity Foundation (DIF) and the W3C Credentials Community Group (CCG). When participating in those communities on behalf of TRAIL, their respective codes of conduct also apply.

Attribution

This Code of Conduct is adapted from the Contributor Covenant, version 2.1, with AI-specific extensions reflecting TRAIL Protocol's mission.

Version 1.0 - April 2026