We as members, contributors, and leaders pledge to make participation in our community a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, visible or invisible disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, level of experience, education, socio-economic status, nationality, personal appearance, race, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.
We pledge to act and interact in ways that contribute to an open, welcoming, diverse, inclusive, and healthy community.
Examples of behavior that contributes to a positive environment for our community include:
- Demonstrating empathy and kindness toward other people
- Being respectful of differing opinions, viewpoints, and experiences
- Giving and gracefully accepting constructive feedback
- Accepting responsibility and apologizing to those affected by our mistakes, and learning from the experience
- Focusing on what is best not just for us as individuals, but for the overall community
- Using EST only for authorized security testing and educational purposes
- Respecting the legal and ethical boundaries of security testing
- Providing clear warnings about the proper use of security tools
Examples of unacceptable behavior include:
- The use of sexualized language or imagery, and sexual attention or advances of any kind
- Trolling, insulting or derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks
- Public or private harassment
- Publishing others' private information, such as a physical or email address, without their explicit permission
- Using EST for unauthorized testing or malicious purposes
- Promoting illegal activities or encouraging misuse of security tools
- Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting
Given that EST is a security testing tool, we have additional standards:
- Authorization Required: Always obtain explicit written permission before testing systems you do not own
- Educational Focus: Use EST for legitimate security research, education, and authorized testing only
- Responsible Disclosure: If you discover vulnerabilities using EST, follow responsible disclosure practices
- Legal Compliance: Ensure your use of EST complies with local, state, and federal laws
- Clear Warnings: Always include appropriate disclaimers when sharing EST usage examples
- No Malicious Code: Do not contribute malicious payloads or encourage harmful use
- Privacy Respect: Do not share real email addresses, credentials, or sensitive information
- Professional Conduct: Maintain professional standards when discussing security topics
Community leaders are responsible for clarifying and enforcing our standards of acceptable behavior and will take appropriate and fair corrective action in response to any behavior that they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful.
Community leaders have the right and responsibility to remove, edit, or reject comments, commits, code, wiki edits, issues, and other contributions that are not aligned to this Code of Conduct, and will communicate reasons for moderation decisions when appropriate.
This Code of Conduct applies within all community spaces, and also applies when an individual is officially representing the community in public spaces. Examples of representing our community include using an official e-mail address, posting via an official social media account, or acting as an appointed representative at an online or offline event.
This Code of Conduct specifically applies to:
- GitHub repository interactions (issues, pull requests, discussions)
- Code contributions and reviews
- Documentation and wiki contributions
- Community discussions and forums
- Public presentations or demonstrations of EST
- Any use of EST that reflects on the community
Instances of abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior may be reported to the community leaders responsible for enforcement at [email protected].
If you observe misuse of EST or security-related violations:
- Immediate Threats: Contact law enforcement if there's immediate danger
- Tool Misuse: Report unauthorized use to [email protected]
- Code Vulnerabilities: Use private disclosure for security vulnerabilities in EST itself
All complaints will be reviewed and investigated promptly and fairly.
All community leaders are obligated to respect the privacy and security of the reporter of any incident.
Community leaders will follow these Community Impact Guidelines in determining the consequences for any action they deem in violation of this Code of Conduct:
Community Impact: Use of inappropriate language or other behavior deemed unprofessional or unwelcome in the community.
Consequence: A private, written warning from community leaders, providing clarity around the nature of the violation and an explanation of why the behavior was inappropriate. A public apology may be requested.
Community Impact: A violation through a single incident or series of actions.
Consequence: A warning with consequences for continued behavior. No interaction with the people involved, including unsolicited interaction with those enforcing the Code of Conduct, for a specified period of time. This includes avoiding interactions in community spaces as well as external channels like social media. Violating these terms may lead to a temporary or permanent ban.
Community Impact: A serious violation of community standards, including sustained inappropriate behavior.
Consequence: A temporary ban from any sort of interaction or public communication with the community for a specified period of time. No public or private interaction with the people involved, including unsolicited interaction with those enforcing the Code of Conduct, is allowed during this period. Violating these terms may lead to a permanent ban.
Community Impact: Demonstrating a pattern of violation of community standards, including sustained inappropriate behavior, harassment of an individual, or aggression toward or disparagement of classes of individuals.
Consequence: A permanent ban from any sort of public interaction within the community.
If EST is used for unauthorized or malicious purposes:
- Documentation: The incident will be documented and reported to appropriate authorities if necessary
- Community Ban: The user will be permanently banned from the community
- Legal Action: Legal action may be pursued if laws have been violated
- Public Warning: A public warning may be issued to protect others
Contributors who attempt to introduce malicious functionality:
- Immediate Removal: Malicious code will be immediately removed
- Account Suspension: The contributor's access will be suspended pending investigation
- Permanent Ban: Confirmed malicious contributions result in permanent community ban
- Security Advisory: A security advisory may be published if necessary
This Code of Conduct is adapted from the Contributor Covenant, version 2.0, available at https://www.contributor-covenant.org/version/2/0/code_of_conduct.html.
Community Impact Guidelines were inspired by Mozilla's code of conduct enforcement ladder.
For answers to common questions about this code of conduct, see the FAQ at https://www.contributor-covenant.org/faq. Translations are available at https://www.contributor-covenant.org/translations.
This Code of Conduct does not supersede any applicable laws. EST users and contributors are responsible for ensuring their activities comply with all applicable laws and regulations. The EST project maintainers are not responsible for how individuals use the software.
For questions about this Code of Conduct:
- General Questions: Open a GitHub Discussion
- Code of Conduct Violations: [email protected]
- Security Issues: [email protected]
- Legal Concerns: [email protected]
Last updated: June 2025