Code of Conduct

1. Our Pledge

TIL Insights is operated by The Interesting Lab as a learning platform for developers — in-depth technical articles, learning paths, quizzes, an arcade of daily coding games, live events, and a community where people read, comment, react, and follow the authors they trust. We want everyone to feel welcome here, whatever their background or experience level.

We pledge to make participation a harassment-free, respectful experience for everyone. In return, we ask every member to help keep it that way. This Code of Conduct describes the behavior we expect, the behavior we will not tolerate, and what happens when the line is crossed.

2. Scope

This Code applies everywhere you interact with the platform and its community, including:

• Comments, replies, and reactions or claps on articles, learning paths, and quizzes.
• Articles and other content you contribute as an author or contributor.
• The arcade — daily coding games, leaderboards, XP, and any display names used there.
• Live events, event chat, and anything tied to earning a verified certificate.
• Public profiles, bios, avatars, and the act of following other members or authors.
• Newsletters and any direct communication that happens through the platform.

It also applies when your conduct off-platform directly affects the safety of the TIL Insights community — for example, harassing another member elsewhere because of an interaction here.

3. Expected Behavior

We are all here to learn. We expect every member to:

• Be respectful. Treat others with courtesy, even when you disagree. Assume good faith and remember there is a person on the other end.
• Be constructive. Critique ideas and code, not people. If you point out a problem, try to suggest a path forward.
• Stay on-topic. Keep comments and discussion relevant to the article, event, or game at hand.
• Give credit. Acknowledge the sources, libraries, and people whose work you build on or reference.
• Be welcoming. Make room for beginners. Questions that seem basic to you may be the exact thing someone else needed to ask.
• Respect the rules of play. Engage with the arcade, quizzes, and leaderboards honestly, without cheating or gaming the system.

4. Unacceptable Behavior

The following behavior is not allowed anywhere on TIL Insights:

• Harassment. Threats, intimidation, stalking, unwanted contact, or sustained disruption of discussion or events.
• Hate speech and discrimination. Demeaning, exclusionary, or hateful conduct based on race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, age, or any other protected characteristic.
• Personal attacks. Insults, name-calling, trolling, and deliberately inflammatory comments.
• Doxxing.Publishing or threatening to publish someone's private or identifying information without their consent.
• Spam and self-promotion abuse. Repetitive, irrelevant, or excessive promotional content, link-dropping, affiliate spam, or manipulating reactions, claps, follows, or leaderboards.
• Impersonation. Pretending to be another person, an author, an event host, or a representative of The Interesting Lab.
• Illegal or infringing content. Anything unlawful, or content that violates copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights.
• Sharing others' private information. Posting confidential or personal data that is not yours to share.
• Sexually explicit or violent material where it has no place — including in comments, profiles, event chat, or display names.

5. Author & Contributor Standards

Authors and contributors — including those in our author-application program — carry extra responsibility because their work reaches and teaches a wide audience. If you publish on TIL Insights, we expect you to:

• Be accurate. Make a genuine effort to get the technical details right, and correct mistakes when they are pointed out.
• Attribute properly. Cite sources, quote responsibly, and credit code, images, and ideas that are not your own.
• Never plagiarize.Do not pass off someone else's writing, code, or work as your own. Submit original content or content you have the right to publish.
• Disclose conflicts. Be transparent about sponsorships, affiliations, or financial interests that could influence what you write.
• Respect licenses. Only include code, libraries, and assets under terms that permit their use.

6. Reporting

If you see something that breaks this Code, or you experience it yourself, please report it. You have two options:

• Use the in-product report action available on comments to flag specific content for our moderation team.
• Email conduct@tilinsights.com for anything that needs more context, or for issues that fall outside the comment system — such as profiles, events, or off-platform conduct.

Reports are reviewed confidentially. We will not retaliate against anyone who reports a concern in good faith, and we ask that reports be made honestly — knowingly false reports are themselves a violation.

7. Enforcement

When we determine that this Code has been violated, we respond in a way that is proportionate to the behavior. At our discretion, and depending on severity and repetition, that may include:

• A warning explaining what was wrong and what we expect going forward.
• Content removal — editing, hiding, or deleting comments, contributions, or other material.
• Temporary suspension of some or all account features, such as commenting, the arcade, or publishing.
• Permanent ban from TIL Insights for serious or repeated violations.

For severe behavior — threats, doxxing, or anything that puts someone's safety at risk — we may skip earlier steps and act immediately, including removing content, revoking certificates obtained through misconduct, or involving the appropriate authorities.

8. Appeals

If you believe an enforcement action was a mistake, you may appeal by emailing conduct@tilinsights.com within 30 days of the decision. Tell us what happened and why you think the outcome should change. We will review the appeal fairly, and where possible a different member of the team than the one who made the original decision will take a fresh look. Our decision on an appeal is final.

9. Changes

We may update this Code of Conduct as our community and platform evolve. When we make significant changes, we will update the “Last Updated” date above. Continuing to use TIL Insights after a change means you accept the revised Code.

10. Contact

Questions about this Code of Conduct, or a concern you want to raise with our team?