Community Guidelines

HackIt is not trying to create a stiff environment. We are trying to create one where people, especially teenagers, can keep coming back to build, collaborate, and grow without having to guess whether they will be treated safely or fairly.

These guidelines make the baseline explicit. They explain what behavior is expected, what is out of bounds, and what support exists when conflict, harm, or power misuse shows up.

These guidelines apply to spaces that are clearly connected to HackIt. Even if something happens in DMs, off-site, in lodging, while traveling, or after an event, HackIt may still step in when the incident meaningfully affects participant safety, trust, or someone’s ability to keep taking part.

• HackIt websites, forms, email, social channels, and Discord spaces
• Events, workshops, meetups, and follow-up spaces hosted, co-hosted, or represented by HackIt
• Project tools, documents, chat rooms, and shared resources used for HackIt work
• Direct outreach, recruiting, or one-on-one contact carried out in HackIt’s name

A healthy community is not one without disagreement. It is one where disagreement still leaves room for dignity, clarity, and continued participation. HackIt expects people to work with maturity, generosity, and real respect for one another.

• Listen before reacting and assume good faith where possible
• Critique ideas, decisions, and execution without demeaning the people involved
• Make room for first-time participants, younger participants, and people still learning the environment
• Respect other people’s time, privacy, boundaries, bodily autonomy, and right to say no
• Give feedback that is concrete, useful, and actionable instead of purely emotional
• Help keep events, Discord spaces, and working channels accessible and usable

HackIt is a youth community, which means age gaps and role power cannot be treated as imaginary. Adults, speakers, mentors, staff, partners, and anyone with access to resources, admissions, reputation, or decision-making power carry more responsibility, not less.

We take minors’ safety seriously. If a younger participant feels pressured, tested, isolated, exchanged, or cornered because of someone else’s age, authority, status, or access, that will be treated as a major issue.

• Do not use age, role, reputation, technical skill, access, or opportunities to pressure younger participants
• Do not engage in sexualized, suggestive, manipulative, or otherwise inappropriate behavior toward minors
• If you need one-on-one communication with a minor, keep it in a visible, trackable, or staffed context whenever possible
• If you are unsure whether a conversation or interaction is appropriate, move it back into a public or staff-visible channel

Consent is not permanent and silence is not agreement. Whether the issue is physical contact, private messaging, photography, screenshots, or questions about personal background, people should be given a real chance to decline.

HackIt events may include photography and documentation, but that does not make every angle, private conversation, or close-up recording fair game without consent.

• Do not hug, touch, photograph closely, record privately, or capture one-on-one conversations without consent
• Do not pressure people to reveal school details, address, phone number, family situation, finances, trauma, or other sensitive information
• Do not forward private messages, screenshots, recordings, photos, or unfinished work without consent
• Follow local event rules about photography, badge systems, restricted areas, and venue safety instructions

The list below is not exhaustive. If something creates harm, fear, coercion, or exclusion, it may still count as a violation even if it is not listed word for word.

• Harassment, bullying, stalking, threats, humiliation, retaliation, sustained antagonism, or deliberate social isolation
• Discrimination or mockery based on age, gender, sexuality, gender identity, appearance, ethnicity, religion, disability, language, school, or background
• Any sexualized, coercive, manipulative, boundary-testing, or minor-safety-related misconduct
• Sharing someone’s personal data, photos, travel details, recordings, screenshots, or private messages without consent
• Encouraging hate, violence, self-harm, dangerous behavior, or ignoring event and venue safety instructions
• Stealing, damaging property, entering restricted areas, or creating unnecessary physical risk for other people

If something feels unsafe or clearly violates these guidelines, contact the HackIt team as soon as you can. If there is an immediate physical risk, contact on-site staff, venue staff, or local emergency services first, then tell us as soon as you can.

You do not need a perfect report. Start with what you know. Screenshots, timestamps, locations, names, photos, message links, and what kind of help you need right now are all useful, but incomplete information should never stop you from reaching out.

• You can report for yourself or for another person whose safety you are concerned about
• You can contact us even if you are not sure whether you want to make a formal report yet
• We try to share information only with people who need it to handle the situation

HackIt will prioritize safety first, then move into clarification, temporary protective action, and longer-term decisions. We cannot promise identical handling in every case, but we do aim for responses that are explainable, consistent, and safety-first.

Sometimes the team may need to take temporary action before every detail is fully confirmed. That does not always mean a final judgment has been made; it means we are containing risk first.

• We may isolate a channel, arrange accompaniment, ask someone to leave, limit contact, or suspend access while a situation is being assessed
• If minors, physical safety, lodging or travel safety, or legal issues are involved, HackIt may need to notify guardians, venues, partners, or relevant authorities
• Where possible, we preserve evidence, document key facts, and try to avoid causing secondary harm during the process

HackIt decides consequences based on severity, power difference, whether minors are involved, whether the behavior is repeated, and whether there is a continuing risk. The goal is not punishment theater; the goal is to protect the community and restore safety.

• A reminder, boundary reset, or verbal or written warning
• Content removal, speaking limits, required use of public channels, or a stop-contact instruction
• Loss of event eligibility, removal from a venue, loss of role access, or temporary suspension
• Permanent removal in serious, repeated, or minors-safety-related cases, with legal escalation where necessary