Code of Conduct
Purpose
The Smart Cities SIG is intended to support open, respectful, and productive collaboration between cities, industry participants, academia, standards organizations, and ecosystem contributors.
This Code of Conduct establishes lightweight collaboration expectations intended to support constructive participation, interoperability-focused discussions, and successful execution of the initiative objectives.
Expected Behavior
Participants are expected to:
- collaborate respectfully and professionally,
- support constructive and practical discussions,
- remain aligned with the scope and objectives of the initiative,
- contribute in good faith,
- respect differing perspectives and experiences,
- and help maintain a productive and welcoming collaboration environment.
Collaboration Principles
The initiative is intended to remain:
- lightweight,
- execution-focused,
- implementation-neutral,
- and interoperability-oriented.
Participants are encouraged to:
- prioritize reusable and ecosystem-oriented approaches,
- avoid unnecessary complexity,
- support transparent collaboration,
- and contribute toward practical and achievable outcomes.
Implementation Neutrality
The Smart Cities SIG focuses on interoperability requirements, reusable profiles, semantic mappings, validation approaches, and ecosystem alignment.
Participants should avoid using the SIG as a venue for:
- product promotion,
- competitive positioning,
- vendor marketing,
- or attempts to prescribe proprietary solutions.
Technical examples and implementation experiences may be shared for interoperability and validation purposes but should not be interpreted as official recommendations or endorsed implementations.
Respectful Participation
The following behaviors are discouraged:
- disruptive or hostile interactions,
- personal attacks,
- discriminatory or abusive behavior,
- repeated off-topic discussions,
- intentional obstruction of collaboration activities,
- or behavior that negatively impacts productive participation.
Constructive disagreement and technical discussion are expected and encouraged when conducted respectfully and within the scope of the initiative.
Public Collaboration
This initiative operates using publicly accessible collaboration repositories and communication channels.
Participants should not submit:
- confidential information,
- proprietary restricted material,
- or content that cannot be publicly discussed or reused within the initiative.
Scope Discipline
Participants are encouraged to maintain focus on:
- interoperability,
- reusable profiles,
- ecosystem alignment,
- and agreed Proof of Concept objectives.
The initiative may defer discussions or proposals that significantly expand scope or negatively impact agreed timelines and deliverables.
Reporting Concerns
Concerns regarding collaboration behavior or participation issues may be raised with the initiative coordinators or designated SIG leadership.
Concerns may be reviewed and addressed by the initiative coordinators, including the Chair and Vice-Chair(s).
The initiative coordinators may moderate discussions or participation activities when necessary to maintain productive and respectful collaboration.
Enforcement
The Smart Cities SIG operates as a lightweight collaborative initiative.
Participants are expected to act in good faith and support constructive collaboration aligned with the objectives of the initiative.
The initiative coordinators reserve the right to moderate participation or remove disruptive contributions when necessary to protect the integrity and effectiveness of the collaboration environment.