Information for Content Creators

What is this Document?

This document discusses the project's governance and is primarily aimed at readers who are interested in becoming part of the team effort which runs BitBusters.club. More general information about this project can be found on the about page.

Definitions

This refers to anyone making significant contributions to the website, but without direct access to the server backend. Collaborators have a say in the operations of their section of the website and may have access to certain content management functions through the frontend website. Collaborators are not expected to have any significant technical skills.

This currently includes people like the scores.bitbusters.club scorekeepers and the wiki.bitbusters.club administrators.

This refers to anyone with limited access to the BitBusters.club server backend. Content managers are responsible for specific sections of the website or server and are involved in any discussions and changes affecting their content.

Content managers hosting personal projects on BitBusters.club have autonomy over their own project provided it is in line with the BitBusters.club project's principles. Prospective content managers must have sufficient technical knowledge pertaining to operating their content and be technically competent in web security.

Currently, content managers include the editors for cccreator.bitbusters.club, supercc.bitbusters.club and tw2.bitbusters.club.

This refers to anyone with full control of the BitBusters.club server. By the nature of their access to the server, each server operator has equal authority in decision making and is responsible for the overall operations of the BitBusters.club server. All server operators work together on decisions impacting the whole site and regularly seek content manager, collaborator and community input in decision making.

Server operators are also responsible for core pages of the website and often assume the role of content manager on various parts of the website. See contact page for more information.

Principles

The BitBusters.club project is guided by the six overarching principles listed below. If you are interested in becoming a content manager on this project, you should ensure your vision is in line with these principles. In this section, "we" refers to the server operators.

We want as much content as possible to be freely available to the public. To this end, we do not wish for any content to be behind a login wall unless there is a compelling reason to do so (e.g. for security reasons, or practical reasons).

Example 1: Logging in may be required in the future for users to submit and edit scores to the scoreboard – both for security (users should only have access to their own scores) and practical reasons (we need to associate a person with score reports)

Example 2: Downloading level sets may be subject to a CAPTCHA for security reasons, however there is no need to require a login to download what would otherwise be publicly accessible.

In granting content managers the ability to host personal Chips-related projects at BitBusters.club, we also wish to offer as much autonomy over that content as possible. Unless it comes to our attention that the hosted content goes against the principles outlined in this document, we have no intention or interest in micromanaging privately managed projects.

We invite and are actively interested in collaboration from the community where feasible, provided the collaboration is in the spirit of the principles outlined in this document.

We wish to maintain a professional site in terms of appearance and content. This project should not be used to host content which could reasonably be expected to cause offense or controversy. When in doubt, err on the side of caution and remember the focus on Chip's Challenge content.

The same security standard must be upheld across the server. The server operators reserve the right to directly intervene where hosted content introduces any form of security threat to the server. Content managers must make reasonable effort to follow modern security best practices and must not allow others to connect to the server with their credentials.

Security threats include any actions, intentional or unintentional, which introduce unnecessary security risks to the server or its users. This could include unauthorized changes to the server configuration (e.g. opening firewall ports, circumventing server security mechanisms, granting overly permissive file permissions, etc.), use of insecure protocols (e.g. unsecure FTP, HTTP, etc.), use of unvetted third-party code/software and more.

"Less is more" is our guiding principle when granting access to new content managers or collaborators. The more access granted; the more security risk introduced. The server operators will evaluate the access needs for each content manager or collaborator on a case by case basis and offer access which balances usability with security risk.

In granting access, we wish to balance the principle of collaboration with the principles of security and stability. We don't want community members to feel excluded from being able to contribute to this project, but also recognize there is a realistic limit to how many people can and should have access to the project server for security reasons.

From both a technical and operational perspective, stability is critical to the ongoing success of this project. At the technical level, we wish to maintain the best server uptime possible and limit the impact of software updates and server upgrades on end users. The server owner will take responsibility for taking regular database and full server backups, balancing frequency with cost considerations. Content managers must not host content which has a negative effect on the BitBusters.club website's search engine rankings.

At the operational level, it is important everyone involved with the project remain focused on the principles outlined in this document and not become embroiled in drama. Personal disputes and differences must be put aside when working on this project. Prospective content managers and server operators must have a proven track record of team work and keeping a level head in collaborative projects.

Conditions of Hosting for Content Managers

If you have been granted content manager or server operator access to this project or otherwise provided with server space, this section outlines the conditions upon which this access is granted. Unless other arrangements have been made, you will not be charged to host your content on BitBusters.club and you retain all rights over your own uploaded content.

  • You agree with the six principles outlined in this document.
  • You agree that any personal information (real life names, addresses, credit card numbers, etc.) discovered as a result of your work on the project server, disclosed to you either intentionally or unintentionally, must be kept confidential perpetually unless you have permission from the individual(s) involved.
  • You agree not to deliberately conduct yourself in a way that harms the operations of this project or those involved with this project.
  • You agree not to use the BitBusters.club server for anything illegal under United States law (server geographical location) or Canadian law (server owner geographical location).
  • You agree that server operators reserve the right to ensure these conditions are being held and reserve the right to make emergency changes to any portion of the server (including areas hosting personal projects) which do not comply.
  • You agree that conduct violating these conditions outlined in this document will result in termination of backend access to the BitBusters.club server. Personal project content hosted on the server will be returned to its owner if permitted by law. Copies of the content will be made unavailable to the public and deleted from the server if requested.

Submit a Proposal

If you have read and understood the contents of this document and wish to submit a proposal for new content at BitBusters.club, please contact the server operators with your proposal.

Last updated 03-Mar-2023 by DeltaCore