Engagement policy

Draft for review — not yet in effect. Effective date to be announced.

About this policy

You accept this policy before you publish a project or join one, alongside the Terms of Service. It has two parts: Part A is what a project lead and a collaborator owe each other for the length of an engagement; Part B is how everyone behaves in the community, in messages and in calls.

Part A — Project engagements

What a project lead and a collaborator owe each other for the length of an engagement.

A1. Before you start

Leads describe the project honestly: its purpose, each role's duration and compensation class (equity or volunteer), the milestones, and — for equity roles — the project's total equity pool and whether the project is incorporated.
Collaborators apply honestly and only for roles they can commit to. You can have up to five active applications at a time, and you can withdraw an application while it is still under review.
Any equity terms are agreed between the project and the collaborator. Provenance is not a party to them and does not guarantee them (Terms §5).

A2. Scope

The lead sets and keeps tasks and milestones clear, assigns work fairly, and says when scope changes.
The collaborator does the work they took on, keeps its status up to date, and raises blockers early.
Either side can raise a disagreement about scope in project chat; unresolved disputes follow A6.

A3. Credit

Record your contributions truthfully and attach real evidence.
Leads review contributions promptly and decide: verify, reject, or request an amendment, with a reason. A contribution left unreviewed for 30 days is escalated to Provenance administrators.
Nobody verifies their own work, directly or through another account. Solo contributions earn evidence-based credit only.
Verified contributions stay on the collaborator's profile after they leave the project.

A4. Tools and confidentiality

Joining a project may give you access to its GitHub repositories and Penpot team. Use them only for the project. Access ends when you leave or are removed.
Keep project information confidential unless the lead says otherwise.

A5. Seats

The project lead pays for seats beyond the free allowance. If the plan lapses, the lead chooses who stays active; the others become read-only and lose tool access until seats return. Your verified record is not affected.

A6. Leaving and removal

A collaborator can leave at any time; this is recorded as "transitioned out".
A lead can roll a member off as transitioned out or removed, with a note the member can read.
A removed member may file one protest. Disputes that involve the lead are taken over by a Provenance administrator, who decides whether to uphold or dismiss the protest and gives a reason both sides can read.

Part B — Community conduct

How everyone behaves in the community, in messages and in calls.

B1. Be professional

Treat people with respect in chat, huddles, channels and comments. No harassment, hate, threats, sexual content, spam or scams. Keep discussion relevant to the channel.

B2. Keep the record honest

Do not fake work, trade verifications or vouches, or coordinate accounts to raise anyone's credibility, points or league position. Only verified work moves league position. Points for verified work are held for 7 days before they count.

B3. Calls

Only invite people who belong in the call. Do not record, screenshot or share a huddle without everyone's agreement. Group huddles are not end-to-end encrypted (Privacy Policy §6).

B4. Respect privacy

Do not share other members' personal information, private messages or share links without their permission. Recruiter and partner access is for recruiting only.

B5. Reporting

Report content or behaviour that breaks this policy using the report option. We review reports and act on them.

B6. What happens if you break this policy

Depending on how serious it is: a warning, removal of content, voiding of affected contributions, points or test results, freezing of credibility, removal from a project, suspension, or closing the account. Where we act, we tell you why and how to appeal (Terms §11).

Last revised 30 September 2026

Engagement policy

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