Code of Conduct

Interledger x WSU Hackathon

1. Purpose

The Interledger x WSU Fintech Hackathon is committed to providing a safe, inclusive, respectful, and productive environment for all participants, mentors, judges, organisers, volunteers, guests, and observers.

This Code of Conduct applies to all hackathon activities, including registration, workshops, team formation, mentoring, technical sessions, online communication, project submissions, judging, and post-event engagement.

2. Expected Behaviour

All participants are expected to:

• Treat others with respect, patience, and professionalism.

• Be inclusive of people from different backgrounds, cultures, skill levels, languages, ages, and disciplines.

• Work collaboratively and fairly within teams.

• Respect the ideas, time, and contributions of others.

• Communicate clearly and constructively.

• Ask for help when needed and support others where appropriate.

• Follow organiser, mentor, venue, and university instructions.

• Use hackathon systems, wallets, test funds, and technical resources responsibly.

• Respect privacy and avoid sharing personal information without consent.

• Follow all relevant WSU policies, event rules, and applicable laws.

3. Unacceptable Behaviour

The following behaviours are not acceptable:

• Harassment, bullying, intimidation, or threats.

• Discrimination based on age, race, culture, gender, sexuality, disability, religion, nationality, language, education level, or technical ability.

• Offensive, abusive, sexually explicit, or humiliating comments.

• Unwanted photography, recording, or sharing of personal information.

• Deliberate exclusion of team members.

• Plagiarism or claiming another person’s work as your own.

• Misuse of Interledger, Rafiki, wallet systems, APIs, or test funds.

• Attempting to access systems, accounts, wallets, or data without permission.

• Using real financial accounts, real cryptocurrency, or real money unless explicitly authorised by the organisers.

• Unsafe cybersecurity activity outside the approved hackathon environment.

• Disruption of workshops, presentations, judging, or team activities.

• Retaliation against anyone who reports a concern.

4. Cybersecurity and Technical Rules

Participants must only use approved systems, test environments, and provided resources.

Participants must not:

• Attack, scan, exploit, or disrupt university systems, public systems, or other participants’ devices.

• Attempt to steal credentials, tokens, wallet information, personal data, or private files.

• Use malware, phishing, credential harvesting, or social engineering against real people.

• Abuse APIs or test wallets beyond the permitted challenge scope.

• Bypass access controls unless the challenge explicitly allows it in a contained environment.

Any cybersecurity activity must remain within the approved hackathon scope.

5. Wallet and Payment Rules

The hackathon may involve Interledger, Rafiki, Open Payments, wallet simulations, or test payment flows.

Participants must understand that:

• Hackathon wallets are for demonstration, testing, or sandbox use only.

• Test funds have no real-world cash value.

• Participants must not use real money, real cryptocurrency, or personal financial accounts.

• Participants must not misrepresent test payments as real financial transactions.

• Any wallet-enabled AI agent or automation must include safety, consent, and user-control considerations.

6. Rules for Minors and Observers

Participants under 18 must follow all consent, supervision, and safeguarding requirements.

Participants or observers under 16 may be limited to observer activities unless organisers confirm otherwise.

All attendees must:

• Respect child safety requirements.

• Avoid collecting personal contact details from minors.

• Avoid one-on-one unsupervised interactions with minors unless authorised by the event organisers and consistent with WSU/school policy.

• Report any safeguarding concern immediately to the organisers.

7. Project Ownership and Academic Integrity

Teams should only submit work created during the hackathon or properly credited external resources.

Participants may use open-source tools, libraries, templates, or AI tools if allowed by the event rules, but they must disclose major external assistance or reused material.

Teams remain responsible for ensuring that their submission is honest, lawful, and respectful of intellectual property rights.

8. Reporting Concerns

Anyone who experiences or witnesses unacceptable behaviour should report it to an organiser, mentor, or designated event contact.

Reports will be handled respectfully and confidentially where possible.

Participants should include:

• What happened

• When and where it happened

• Who was involved

• Any screenshots, messages, or evidence, if available

• Whether immediate support is needed

9. Consequences

Organisers may take action depending on the seriousness of the issue.

Possible actions include:

• Verbal warning

• Removal from a team

• Restriction from technical systems

• Disqualification from judging

• Removal from the event

• Referral to WSU, school authorities, or relevant legal bodies where required

Serious misconduct may result in immediate removal without warning.

10. Agreement

By registering for or attending the Interledger x WSU Hackathon, participants agree to follow this Code of Conduct and support a safe, inclusive, and respectful event environment.