Tester Code of Conduct

The purpose of our Tester Code of Conduct is to ensure that all testers in the tester community, Rainforest Admin, and Rainforest customers have the best possible experience.

As a worldwide tester community, diversity is one of our huge strengths, but it can also lead to communication issues and unhappiness. To that end, we have a few ground rules that we ask people to adhere to, to ensure that the tester community continues to be an excellent space in which to communicate, collaborate, and contribute.

This isn't an exhaustive list of things that you can and can't do. Rather, take it in the spirit in which it's intended — a guide to make it easier to be excellent to each other and our customers. We expect it to be followed in spirit as much as in the letter.

General Tester Code of Conduct

Overall behavior expected of you

• You’re expected to read all rules and documentation and keep up to date with them; we are responsible for letting you know whenever there are updates to the training materials or other guidelines available so you can familiarize yourself with them in due time. 
• You’re expected to show polite and courteous behavior towards other testers, Rainforest staff and customers throughout all the properties owned by Rainforest: the forum, the VM terminals you work on, the support tickets that you file, etc. Rude, intimidating or aggressive behavior may result in your account being blocked and other consequences, including the termination of your engagement.
• You are expected to be respectful toward other testers, Rainforest staff and customers.  Not all of us will agree all the time, but disagreement is no excuse for poor behavior and poor manners. We might all experience some frustration now and then, but we cannot allow that frustration to turn into a personal attack. It's important to remember that a community where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one. We expect members of the tester community to be respectful when communicating with other community members, as well as Rainforest staff and customers.
• You will not disparage Rainforest, Rainforest clients, or other testers in the forum or any other property owned by Rainforest. While we understand your frustration with certain situations, we encourage you to make contact and resolve the issue through official means (e.g.,  support tickets), so that an Rainforest Admin can look into it and take appropriate action.
• You will not incite or encourage other testers to engage in behavior that would undermine Rainforest or its clients; this includes (but is not limited to) encouraging other testers to:
• Abandon jobs based on the client;
• Act rudely or otherwise unacceptably toward another tester, Rainforest Admin, or a customer of Rainforest; and
• Answer “Yes” without completing any actions 

• You’re expected to do your job and follow Rainforest testing rules as described in your Tester Agreement; if you’re caught cheating, trying to game the system, or encouraging others to do so - you will be banned.
• You’re expected to communicate effectively. We don't all speak the same language at the same skill level. Clear communication can help to avoid misunderstandings, as can remembering that our interpretations of words can be different depending on our backgrounds. Having context is important. It's better to ask for clarification than to make assumptions. Disagreements, social and technical, are normal, but we expect participants in the community to resolve disagreements constructively — so please avoid flamewars, trolling, personal attacks, and repetitive arguments.
• You’re expected to ask for help when unsure. Nobody is expected to be perfect in this community. Asking questions early avoids many problems later, so questions are encouraged, though they may be directed to the appropriate forum. Those who are asked should be responsive and helpful.

As a reminder of the Tester Agreement you signed at the beginning of your engagement:

• You are not allowed to share your account with anyone else.
• You are not to share or use any proprietary or confidential information accessed or obtained while performing work with Rainforest. All confidential or proprietary information disclosed by Rainforest, a Rainforest customer, or through a Rainforest job is to be treated and protected as confidential in strict accordance with the terms of the Tester Agreement.  Essentially, everything you see or do on behalf of Rainforest is deemed confidential information.

We don’t want this to sound harsh, but anyone found in violation of the above may be subject to legal action under international, United States and/or California law.

Forum behavior

This Code of Conduct lays out what behavior is expected of you, other testers participating in the forum, and Rainforest Admin moderating the forum.

• Rainforest Admins may but do not have an obligation to monitor this forum. Their word is final regarding any content posted in the Rainforest forum, including flagged posts, or content that can result in a ban. We reserve the right to close threads that stray too far from their original purpose, or if activity has died down after a certain period.
• Be polite and respectful to each other and Rainforest Admin.
• Do not send Rainforest Admin private messages in the forum re: support issues — these messages are practically impossible to keep up with in an organized way. Instead, submit a ticket via the “Help” tab if it’s something that needs attention quickly or shouldn’t be addressed publicly in the forum.
• Be polite when posting about issues you are facing with a customer, even if you are frustrated. Rude or inappropriate forum posts about customers will result in a forum ban, and possibly a ban from Rainforest. When facing consistent or severe issues with a customer, please submit a ticket via the “Help” tab in your portal profile so Rainforest Admin can address it more quickly. Use the “Other” category, and include the customer’s name along with a description of the problem.
• Only post questions or topics related to Rainforest.
• Keep threads dedicated to one topic at a time.
• Do not post questions related to NDA customers - submit your questions about NDA customers directly to Rainforest Admin via the portal “Help” tab using the “Other” category.
• If you knowingly suggest or encourage others to purposefully break Rainforest’s testing rules, you will be banned from the forum and Rainforest. If you have suggestions for how the platform can be better, please reach out to us by submitting a ticket via the “Help” tab in your portal profile.
• Offensive language or discussions involving race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, illegal activities, or inciting violence will result in a ban from the forum and Rainforest.
• Use of curse words, vulgar language, vulgar images, and sexual harassment of any nature will result in a ban from the forum and from Rainforest regardless of intent or context in the post.
• Should you have a question, utilize the forum’s search feature first to find an answer. It’s likely the question has been asked before, but if you don’t find an answer then a new thread can be created.
• Be safe! Do not provide your full name, email, home address, phone number, or other personally identifying information unless you want people to know this information.