Notice: The WebPlatform project, supported by various stewards between 2012 and 2015, has been discontinued. This site is now available on github.

Pillars

This document lists a small number of principles intended to guide the development and maintenance of the Web developer center. This is a living document that the community will develop over time. Because it expresses a small number of abstract guiding principles, it is expected to evolve slowly and only with the consensus of the community. The specific tactical details that describe how the community currently implements these ideals are covered in the management document.

Note: This document draws from Wikipedia practices and the community is encouraged to continue to consider their best practices.

Three Pillars of the WebPlatform Site

The web developer site is founded on three pillars:

  • Pragmatism: Provide pragmatic, comprehensive, and trustworthy content to empower web developers.
  • Inclusion: Ensure the site is inclusive and accessible to all.
  • Consensus: Rely on consensus and good-faith collaboration to develop content and community practices.

Pragmatism

  • Content will be relevant for Web developers and designers, emphasizing practical solutions for the web ecosystem as it currently exists.
  • Content will be up-to-date.
  • Authors will seek to build high-quality content that is trustworthy and accurate.
  • The stability and implementation status of features will be clearly marked; however, there is no requirement that features be stable or widely deployed to be included.

Inclusion

  • Content will be available at no cost.
  • Content will be readable without requiring identifying information.
  • All people are invited to contribute content that is relevant to Web developers and designers in practice. Note, however, that:
    • This does not imply that all content is suitable for the site, and controversial content flagged by the community will be removed at the consensus of the administrators; controversial content may include (but is not limited to) false claims, subjective claims on the relative merits of browsers, code samples that favor one browser, and incorrect identification of the standardization status of a feature.
    • Disruptive behavior may lead to people losing editing or administrative privileges.
  • Content will be accessible.
  • Content will be translated into as many languages as possible.
  • Content will be available under a permissive copyright license to enable sharing and reuse.

Consensus

  • These principles are inspired by Wikipedia’s model, and are meant to change over time to best suit our community.
  • Contributors will assume good faith on the part of other contributors and treat others with respect.
  • People will aim for consensus while remaining attentive to practical considerations.
  • People will be respectful of the content that comes before them.
  • No organization or its representatives, including members of the Stewardship Committee, will exert undue influence.
  • Pages will not be locked for edits except if absolutely necessary.
  • Etiquette and norms are preferable to rules and processes.
  • Site administration will be done transparently.