We would like to thank you for your interest in contributing to our open-source projects. At Ocean Apocalypse, we're focused on FOSS-first software, but, as a small organization, it's hard to maintain all of our repositories. That way, we value contributions a lot. Below, you'll find instructions on how to contribute, ensuring respect and effectiveness.
We expect contributors to be respectful and civil at all times.
- Contributions must respect the project's guidelines and scope.
- Contributions must follow Ocean Apocalypse's LLM Policy.
- Contributions must follow Ocean Apocalypse's CI Policy.
- Contributions can be made via the use of code quality tools, as long as they don't violate the LLM Policy.
- Pull requests, issues, documentation changes and feedback are all forms of contributions we accept.
- Contributions must follow Ocean Apocalypse's conventions, if applicable.
- Contributions should inform of licensing issues, if applicable.
Note
As of 17 September 2026, we have decided to make this policy even stricter. The reasons for it are stated below:
- the constant growth of overly pro-AI behavior that is dangerously close to opposition to human interests and the environment; and
- the amount of AI-generated and AI-assisted contributions that steal precious time from overworked maintainers; and
- the dangers and ethical problems of AI and AI companies.
We still maintain this as our source of information for why this policy was created in the first place.
At Ocean Apocalypse, we strongly believe LLMs and generative AI harm FOSS more than they help, for multiple reasons.
Therefore, we do not accept any form of contributions created or assisted by LLMs, code generation tools and/or generative AIs. This includes:
- Changes to source code and documentation
- Changes to tests, scripts, workflows and benchmarks
- Changes to localization and translations
- Changes to assets, artwork, design and other creative content
- Issues and pull request descriptions and/or comments
Even if reviewed by a human, AI-generated and AI-assisted contributions will be rejected, possibly without review (as we believe that if you break the rules boldly, we have no obligation in giving you a formal explanation) and are likely to result in a temporary or permanent ban if done several times. Reviewing doesn't make the contribution yours.
Additionally, when preparing to contribute to an Ocean Apocalypse project, do not:
- Ask an AI to explain or analyze the project or any part of it*
- Ask an AI to make changes to project material even if they seem "harmless"
- Conceal the use of AI (it's preferable to be honest than waste everyone's time with clear lies)
Note
*This restriction is here because we have no reliable way of enforcing a distinction between feeding the project to an AI and asking it general questions, and asking specific questions regarding specific parts of the source code.
Compilers, interpreters, analyzers, syntax highlighters, LSPs, non-generative auto-complete (usually provided by LSPs), linters, code formatters, Dependabot, SonarQube (without agents) and code editors with AI settings disabled are all allowed. If you're unsure whether a tool you wish to use is considered AI, it's preferable to ask first.
For more information on why we have added this policy, click here.
When we discard a contribution, we always do our best to present a reason as to why it was discarded. If you're not given any reason as to why your contributions was not accepted, it can be because the contribution breached an obvious rule in the contribution guideline (such as the LLM Policy or failing to be civil).
Thanks for assisting us in building great open-source software!