# Code of Conduct

## Our Pledge

We, as contributors and maintainers of JabRef, pledge to foster an open, welcoming, respectful, and inclusive community.
Our goal is to make contributing to JabRef a positive learning experience especially for students, while ensuring that volunteer-driven maintenance of the project remains sustainable and enjoyable.

## Context of the Project

JabRef has a unique community of contributors. Many contributors participate as part of university courses, theses, or open source programs such as Hacktoberfest and Google Summer of Code.
Contributions are often made to issues described by others, not necessarily to problems personally experienced.
As a result, many contributors are early in their software engineering journey.
At the same time, JabRef maintainers contribute voluntarily in their free time.
They are not employed by the project and are not obligated to provide individual tutoring, grading-style feedback, or guaranteed response times.

This Code of Conduct exists to balance learning opportunities for students with fairness and respect for maintainers’ time.

## Our Standards

While acknowledging differences in social norms, we all strive to meet our community’s expectations for positive behavior. We also understand that our words and actions may be interpreted differently than we intend based on culture, background, or native language.

With these considerations in mind, we agree to behave mindfully towards each other and act in ways that are centered around our shared values.

Examples of behavior that contribute to a positive environment include:

* Being respectful, polite, and constructive in communication
* Following contribution guidelines, templates, and project conventions
* Acknowledging feedback and responding thoughtfully
* Being honest about what you have done, what you understand, and what you do not
* Acknowledging that JabRef as a real open-source project used by people across the world, and not treating it as an exercise submission system

Examples of unacceptable behavior include:

* Ignoring feedback while repeatedly opening new pull requests
* Disrespectful, dismissive, or demanding communication
* Lacking self-sufficiency (e.g. treating maintainers as instructors with an obligation to provide extensive guidance or hand-holding)
* Submitting low-effort or automated contributions without prior review
* Misrepresenting work (e.g., claiming to have tested, while that did not happen)
* Misrepresenting your communication (e.g., passing off AI-generated responses as your own genuine understanding or words)

## Expectations for Students

If you contribute to JabRef as part of a university course or academic requirement:

* You are expected to follow the same standards as all other contributors
* Academic deadlines do not impose urgency on maintainers
* Learning is encouraged, but self-driven effort is expected
* Asking questions is welcome; expecting step-by-step supervision is not

JabRef is neither a classroom, and its maintainers are not graders or supervisors, nor is it a factory where code contributions are pushed along a conveyor belt. Instead, JabRef is an opportunity for learners to take some coding steps in a real-world application, with support from experienced guides.

## Use of AI-Generated Contributions

AI tools may be used as assistance, but contributors remain fully responsible for all submitted content.
Submitting unreviewed, low-effort, or misleading AI-generated contributions is not acceptable.
This includes code, documentation, reviews, or explanations that the contributor does not understand or cannot justify.
Maintainers may close pull requests immediately if they appear to consist primarily of unreviewed or misrepresented AI-generated content.
Repeated or deceptive use may lead to temporary or permanent exclusion from the project.

Transparency is expected: contributors must clearly disclose whether and which AI tools were used, and must be able to explain and defend the resulting changes when questioned.

## Responsiveness

Contributors receive feedback through automated checks (CI) and maintainers’ reviews.
Responding within a reasonable timeframe is part of responsible participation. Prolonged inactivity may result in pull requests being closed to keep the project manageable.

## Enforcement and Consequences

Project maintainers are responsible for clarifying standards and enforcing this Code of Conduct.

In cases of persistent dishonesty, disrespect, or disruptive behavior, maintainers may take actions including:

* Closing pull requests
* Temporarily restricting issue assignment
* Revoking access to the project and/or the organization

Maintainers act to protect a respectful, sustainable, and welcoming project community.

## Scope

This Code of Conduct applies to all project spaces, including issues, pull requests, discussions, reviews, and other community interactions related to JabRef.

Academic or institutional requirements do not override this Code of Conduct.

## Acknowledgement

This Code of Conduct is inspired by the [Contributor Covenant](https://www.contributor-covenant.org/).
Enforcement and interpretation are the responsibility of the JabRef maintainers.
