Developers do not only represent the sites they are hosted by, but represent the Android community as a whole. RootzWiki only chooses to recognize those developers who have developed (or are developing) a track record of respect and admiration not just through their work in code but also their work in the greater Android Community The following rules and guidelines outline the expectations we have for those who wish to become officially recognized by RootzWiki as true leaders in Android development in their respected field.
Section One: Requirements
RootzWiki Endorsement Badges are earned, not given. They are reserved for those developers and themers who have earned a reputation for both quality work and quality community citizenship. The Recognition Badge is a guarantee to the end user that the person whose work they are installing on their device is competent, present, and approachable. As these tags ultimately reflect on the quality of community hosted by RootzWiki, their provision will be strictly monitored and reviewed over time. We will only confer what amounts to an official "RootzWiki Seal of Approval" to those people who have already earned their place in the community or who demonstrate significant progress towards doing so.
I. General Requirements
These requirements are for all classes of endorsed members, regardless of their specialty.
A. Must have been an active member for thirty (30) days.
- Exceptions may be made to this requirement on a case-by-case basis.
- Posting and promotion of quality content on RootzWiki, a quality portfolio of work openly available to the general user, or strong recommendations by current RootzWiki-recognized developers may act as cause for a case-by-case review of this requirement
- Failure to provide proof of compliance with the GPL v2 and other standard governing principles upon request will result in reconsideration of both developer and forum membership statuses.
- While RootzWiki has no desire to act as the "Morality Police", the actions of a RootzWiki endorsed member ultimately reflects on themselves, their team, and their host site. It is our intent to encourage and reward appropriate and effective communication and professional demeanor, but action will be taken towards those who harm the community through actions of malicious intent or lack of professionalism.
- Situations brought to our attention where a developer fails to meet a basic level of professionalism, courtesy, and/or maturity will prompt a review of endorsement by RootzWiki's administrative staff depending on the severity of the findings.
A. Application Developers
- Must have original work published in the Google Play store.
- If no work is published in the Google Play Store, then work must be reliably hosted and have clear instructions for obtaining and installing along with elaborate changelog and/or purpose of application. (I.E. Sourceforge, GitHUB, bitbucket etc.)
- Must be willing to provide basic application support for threads made.
- Must have a majority of your work posted and maintained at RootzWiki.
- For content posted at other sites, an equal effort at maintaining and curating your RootzWiki-based content is expected.
- Product must show more than the ability to compile other developers' work; contributions to the community in the form of gerrit commits and github contributions are expected.
- Work posted that falls under General Public License V2 must have a legitimate source available. Failure may result in endorsement removal.
- Must have a majority of your work posted and maintained at RootzWiki.
- For content posted at other sites, an equal effort at maintaining and curating your RootzWiki-based content is expected.
- Must properly credit when using anyone else's work without infringing any licenses unless licensed otherwise (i.e. creative commons)
- Must have a majority of your work posted and maintained at RootzWiki.
- For content posted at other sites, an equal effort at maintaining and curating your RootzWiki-based content is expected.
- Source for completed projects must be clearly noted in the original post.
- Work posted that falls under General Public License V2 must have legitimate source available. Failure may result in title removal.
Section Two: Endorsed Member Benefits
A. Physical Benefits
- Developers and themers may qualify to receive an Android device for the purpose of continued or enhanced development at the discretion of site administrative staff.
- Endorsed members may have their work hosted by Goo.im.
- Endorsed members experience the site without ads.
- Private forums have been set up for the discussion of issues relevant to endorsed members.
- Endorsed members will have priority access to the News Team for posting of breakthroughs and major developmental release news.
Section Three: Conduct and Behavior
The development of a trustworthy, advancing community requires that all parties involved commit to a covenant of expectations. Without a series of rules and consequences, maintaining a rich development community is not possible. All RootzWiki endorsed members are subject to the following code of conduct, especially where ROM, theme, and application development are concerned. Failure to comply with the following codes of conduct could result in loss of membership status/title and/or loss of site membership.
A. Inclusion of Software, Mods, Themes, Etc.
- Inclusion of paid/licensed content (i.e. Google Play applications, subscription themes, etc) in any ROM, theme, application, etc. is not allowed without express written and verifiable permission of the original author.
- Inclusion of code, images, themes, or kernels without a widely accepted form of recognition is not allowed.
- Inclusion of applications, themes, images, kernels, etc. must be accompanied by acknowledgement of the providing individual or team for each included feature.
- Failure to produce documentation of permission/credit or failure to properly acknowledge contributions may be met by removal of the offending work pending administrative review.
- It is understood that alternative hosting (such as Goo.im) is necessary for files too large to be hosted by RootzWiki's forum service.
- Applications, ROMs, themes, Kernels, or other modifications may not be hosted in a manner that compels the user to sign up for another forum in order to access or download the file(s).
- Applications, ROMs, themes, Kernels, or other modifications may not be hosted in a manner that compels the user to pay or donate in order to access or download the file(s). The exception is the use of legitimate and recognized entities such as the Google Play Store, Amazon App Market, etc.
- It is acceptable to include a Donate button or link as part of a post pertaining to individual or team work that meets the above criterion.
- Requiring a donation in order to download or access content (outside of the Google Play Store or the Amazon App Store) is considered sale of goods and is not permissible.
- Requesting or heavy suggesting of donations is considered pandering and is not permissible.
- RootzWiki endorsed members are expected to represent themselves and the site with the highest possible character and behavior.
- Use of the Report Button is expected in situations where handling of conflict could reflect poorly on the individual, team, or site.
- Malicious, condescending, or intentionally rude behavior (commonly known as “trolling”) towards other developers or members is expressly prohibited.
- Inappropriate actions outside of RootzWiki that negatively affects the reputation of the offending member or the site as a whole that is reported in a verifiable manner will dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
- RootzWiki-endorsed members who repeatedly draw negative attention to themselves and/or the site may have their status and/or membership reviewed by site administrative staff and potentially revoked.
Section Four: Grievances and Issues
Should a situation arise where there is a question with one of the aforementioned sections or subsections, endorsed members should contact one of the following administrative members with their greivance: B16, DesignGears, natemz, Poontab, or AshG
