Values

Foundational Values

Graceful with Failure

Mistakes happen. But humans learn through failure. We can not walk directly after birth. We have to fall over and over again to learn how to stand up and keep our balance.

Failure is not bad, it is an opportunity to learn and improve. Giving up after failing is not an option. We have to break stuff, but then recover, learn from our mistakes and learn to walk at some point.

Open by Default

Our projects should benefit everyone independent of income. Open Source, Open Data, Open Standards and Open Knowledge are our core building blocks for inclusion. We build in public and integrate ideas, feedback and suggestions by anyone regardless of heritage or cultural background.

(However, Licensing, Copyright and Patents still allow us to operate as a profitable business and hold intellectual property with some proprietary internal processes, tooling and pipelines. We still have to play the capitalism game somewhat)

No Stupid Questions

Remember when you were a child. You were curious and wanted to learn how the world works. You asked a lot of questions. And sure, some of them may have been naive or stupid. But you were not stupid, you learned something. When you need something, do not hesitate to ask. When you do not want to do something, do not hesitate to say no. When you can not promise something, then do not make promises. When you do not know something, do not hesitate to say so and learn from others. We listen and respect each others opinions as equal and do not judge. No one can be perfect and know everything. Communicating truthfully and openly makes all our life’s easier, so stop pretending.

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Operational Values

Iterate & Ship Fast

We can not possibly know what our users want or need, without listening to them. We need to see what sticks, what issues arise and iterate on our ideas. We are living in the realistic present and not in some uncertain future or inaccurate past that we imagine ourselves. There is no need to be perfect, solutions can have rough edges and incomplete features. But in the end, finding out empirically what works and especially what does not is more valuable than perfecting something nobody needs.

Simplicity First

No unnecessary external services. No ads or third-party trackers. No bloat. Our world as a whole is moving in a direction where solutions get more and more beefed up with things that nobody asked for.

We strive for minimal solutions that do the job asked for, nothing more. Modularity and isolation make this happen. Performance, simplistic design and usability are of highest value. We should not be afraid to kill and delete something that does not work or becomes too complex.

Experimental by Core

We are scientists at heart. We need to test stuff, measure the impact and see if it works or not. We explore novel directions and report results truthfully and with evidence. Something that does not work out as thought is as valuable as surprising breakthroughs. We need to be open to alternative ideas and approaches and explore without hard feelings and prejudice.

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Our Responsibilities

Human Rights, Consequences on Society and Ethics in Mind

Computers are shaping humans faster that we shaped computers. We need to be aware of our responsibility in how and for what humans use our tools. The job landscape is changing, misuse is increasing, creatives are in danger. No one can tell what is real or fake anymore. We need to ensure that technology benefits humans and our society and does not work against it, simply because it is the steepest improvement step in some abstract optimization environment. We need to retain a human touch, verify outputs by hand with care and keep consequences on our life on this precious planet in mind.

Safety, Privacy & Personal Rights

Data can be a weapon. We only store what we need and operate securely. End to end Encryption, Network Security and access rights should not be after thoughts.

We need to ensure that users can trust us and treat their data responsibly and with care.

Graceful with Limited Resources

The world is running on one-time-use fossils and limited amount of fresh water. We are mindful of the environment, reduce pollution and only consume resources that we need. Sustainability and renewable sources are key to sustain life on earth. We want to live with nature and circular ecosystems and not oppose them just for the sake of profitability.