The Buffer team is committed to providing a welcoming and safe environment for all. Discrimination and harassment are expressly prohibited. Furthermore, any behavior or language that is unwelcoming—whether or not it rises to the level of harassment—is also strongly discouraged.
Additionally, there are a host of behaviors and language common on tech teams which are worth noting as specifically unwelcome:
- : At Buffer, we believe in the value of a beginner’s mind . It’s always acceptable to say “I don’t know” or “I don’t understand.” All questions are great questions! So please don’t act surprised when people aren’t familiar with a tool, person, place or process. This applies to both technical things (“What?! I can’t believe you don’t know what the stack is!”) and non-technical things (“You don’t know who DHH is?!”).
- A well-actually happens when someone says something that’s almost – but not entirely – correct, and you say, “well, actually…” and give a minor correction. We strive to let others save face as part of our values, and most well-actually’s aren’t crucial to the overall conversation. If it’s critical to add your correction, use language that leaves room for the idea that you might be wrong or missing some context, too.)
- Be careful in the words that you choose, even if it’s as small as choosing “hey, everyone” over “hey, guys.” Sexist, racist, ableist, and other exclusionary jokes are not appropriate and will not be tolerated under any circumstance. Any language that is unwelcoming—whether or not it rises to the level of harassment—is also strongly discouraged.
- Much exclusionary behavior takes the form of subtle -isms, or microaggressions – small things that make others feel unwelcome. For example, saying “It’s so easy my grandmother could do it” is a subtle -ism with tones of both sexism and ageism. Regardless of intent, these comments can have a significant demeaning impact on teammates. If you see a subtle -ism, you can point it out to the relevant person, either publicly or privately, or you can ask a lead or People Team member to say something. (If you are a third party, and you don’t see what could be biased about the comment that was made, feel free to talk to the People Team.)
Please don’t say, “Comment X wasn’t sexist!” or “That’s not what they meant. You’re being too sensitive.” Similarly, please don’t pile on someone who made a mistake. It’s not a big deal to mess up – just apologize and move on.