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Community Code of Conduct

The Grafter Community is a community for founders and leadership teams. We're here to support each other, share genuine insights, and help one another succeed. This is a professional community built on mutual respect and genuine contribution.

Our commitment

We're committed to making this community a welcoming, supportive, and harassment-free space for everyone, regardless of age, body size, disability, ethnicity, level of experience, gender identity and expression, nationality, personal appearance, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or any other dimension of diversity.

We expect all members to engage authentically, contribute meaningfully, and respect the boundaries of others.

What we encourage

Be genuine and supportive:

  • Share your real experiences, challenges, and lessons learned
  • Offer help without expecting anything in return
  • Ask thoughtful questions and listen to answers
  • Celebrate other members' successes
  • Admit when you don't know something
  • Use colourful fucking language to express your personality or emotions

Be respectful:

  • Treat everyone with empathy and kindness
  • Respect differing opinions, viewpoints, and experiences
  • Give and gracefully accept constructive feedback
  • Accept responsibility and apologise when you make mistakes
  • Focus on what's best for the community, not just yourself

Be collaborative:

  • Make introductions that genuinely help both parties
  • Share resources, tools, and knowledge freely
  • Participate actively in discussions
  • Support community initiatives and events

What's absolutely not acceptable

Commercial exploitation:

  • Unsolicited sales pitches or marketing – Don't DM people trying to sell them things. Don't use community spaces to promote your services to other members. If someone asks for recommendations, that's different.
  • Using member contact details for marketing – Member emails, LinkedIn profiles, or other contact details are not your lead list. Don't scrape, harvest, or bulk contact members.
  • Aggressive self-promotion – Mentioning your company in context is fine. Constantly promoting your services, posting affiliate links, or turning every conversation into a pitch is not.
  • Recruiting without permission – Don't use the community to recruit members' employees or poach their teams.
  • Pyramid schemes, MLMs, or dubious opportunities – If it sounds like a get-rich-quick scheme, it doesn't belong here.

Harassment and disrespect:

  • Sexualised language, imagery, or unwelcome advances
  • Trolling, insulting comments, personal or political attacks
  • Public or private harassment of any kind
  • Publishing others' private information without consent
  • Threatening, violent, or aggressive behaviour
  • Stalking or unwanted contact after someone's asked you to stop
  • Discrimination based on any protected characteristic

Bad faith participation:

  • Providing false or misleading information deliberately
  • Sharing confidential information from private community discussions
  • Creating multiple accounts or impersonating others
  • Disrupting conversations or community spaces
  • Retaliating against someone who reported a code of conduct violation
  • Plugging in a shitty bot or crappy AI tool to respond on your behalf and pretend to be you (we do warmly welcome tech innovation and experimentation, but not when it's used to mislead other members)

Scope

This Code of Conduct applies to:

  • All community spaces (online forums, chat groups, WhatsApp groups, events, workshops)
  • Direct messages between members when related to community interactions
  • Public behaviour when representing the community
  • Private events and gatherings organised through the community

Basically, if you're interacting with someone because they're a community member, this applies.

Appropriate business interactions

We understand that founders naturally discuss business, share opportunities, and sometimes collaborate – that's genuinely what we want to cultivate as part of this community. Here's what's acceptable:

You CAN:

  • Mention your company or role when it's relevant to the conversation
  • Share your expertise in your field when helping someone
  • Respond to specific requests for recommendations or introductions
  • Discuss potential collaborations when there's genuine mutual interest
  • Post relevant job opportunities in designated spaces
  • Share useful tools, resources, or content that genuinely helps others

You CAN'T:

  • Cold-message members with sales pitches
  • Use community discussions as advertising opportunities
  • Repeatedly bring conversations back to your product/service
  • Present yourself as "just helping" when you're really selling
  • Contact members outside community channels for commercial purposes (unless they've explicitly agreed)

When in doubt: Ask yourself, "Am I trying to sell something, or am I genuinely trying to help?" If it's the former, please stop.

Reporting violations

If you experience or witness behaviour that violates this Code of Conduct:

How to report:

  • Email us at hello@thegrafter.com
  • Contact any community ambassador or member of The Grafter staff directly

What to include:

  • What happened (please be specific)
  • When and where it happened
  • Who was involved
  • Any screenshots or evidence (if relevant)
  • How it affected you or others

What happens next:

  • We'll acknowledge your report within 5 business days
  • We'll investigate promptly and confidentially
  • We'll take appropriate action based on our findings
  • We'll keep you informed (within confidentiality constraints)

Anonymity: You can report anonymously if you prefer, though it may limit our ability to follow up with you. Feel free to use the contact form on this website to do so.

No retaliation: We take retaliation seriously. If someone retaliates against you for making a report, that's a separate violation and we'll address it.

Consequences

We handle violations on a case-by-case basis, but typical responses include:

Minor first offences:

  • Private warning and explanation
  • Required apology to affected parties
  • Temporary restriction from certain community spaces

Serious or repeated violations:

  • Temporary suspension from community (no refund)
  • Permanent removal from community (no refund)
  • Being banned from future membership

Immediate removal offences:

  • Harassment, threats, or violence
  • Systematic commercial exploitation (e.g., bulk emailing members)
  • Sharing member data outside the community
  • Any illegal activity

Appeals: If you believe a decision was made in error, you can appeal by emailing hello@thegrafter.com within 14 days. Appeals are reviewed by a different person from the original decision-maker.

Member responsibilities

By joining this community, you agree to:

Protect the community:

  • Don't share member contact details with non-members
  • Don't screenshot private discussions and share them publicly
  • Report violations when you see them
  • Support community moderators

Contribute positively:

  • Participate authentically and in good faith
  • Share knowledge and experiences generously
  • Help create a welcoming environment for new members
  • Give feedback to help us improve the community

Respect boundaries:

  • Honour others' time and attention
  • Accept "no" gracefully
  • Don't pressure people for introductions, investments, or opportunities
  • Recognise that membership doesn't entitle you to other members' business

Ambassador responsibilities

Our community ambassadors and staff will:

  • Enforce this Code of Conduct fairly and consistently
  • Investigate reports promptly and confidentially
  • Communicate decisions clearly (within privacy constraints)
  • Lead by example in community behaviour
  • Continuously work to improve the community experience

Ambassadors who violate this Code of Conduct will be held to a higher standard and may be removed from their position.

Your membership and this code

Acceptance: By joining this community, you agree to follow this Code of Conduct.

Changes: We may update this Code of Conduct to address new issues or improve clarity. We'll notify members of significant changes via email.

Non-compliance: Violating this Code of Conduct may result in suspension or termination of your membership without refund.

Not legal advice: This Code of Conduct establishes community standards but doesn't constitute legal advice. Illegal behaviour should be reported to appropriate authorities.

Give more than you take

Here's the mindset we want:

Good: "I've dealt with this exact problem. Here's what worked for me, and here are three resources that helped."

Bad: "I've dealt with this problem. My company solves this – let me send you a proposal."

Good: "I know someone brilliant at this. Would it be helpful if I introduced you?"

Bad: "I know someone – here's their email, tell them I sent you." (without asking either party)

Good: "We're hiring a CFO if anyone knows someone great."

Bad: DMing 50 members: "Are you interested in fractional CFO services?"

Good: "We fucking smashed it and finally broke £10m ARR!" (celebrate those wins with some colourful language, we love to see the emotion!)

The difference is intent. Are you genuinely helping, or are you extracting value from the community for personal gain?

Questions?

If you're unsure whether something violates this Code of Conduct:

Email us: hello@thegrafter.com

Ask first: It's always better to check than to cross the line.

We want this community to be useful, supportive, and drama-free. That requires all of us to act with integrity and respect. Thank you for being here and for helping make this community valuable for everyone.

Remember: The Grafter Community is a paid community of peers who face similar challenges. Treat them as you'd want to be treated – with respect, honesty, and genuine goodwill. That's how we all succeed.