Dev Orientation

Hi 🙂 If you are reading this, you’ve most likely been invited to join our development Dream Team. Here are some useful tips and guidelines to help you get into our team groove.

SECURITY

Security is super important so we will start with that. The security of our team is paramount, and that includes you. It’s likely that you live and work somewhere our content is illegal. Even if it is completely legal where you are – it’s invariably better if others do not know what you are doing. People talk and talk travels.

You are hopefully already doing most of these things, but here are some important security precautions you should be taking:

• Get a Protonmail account for your pet stuff – don’t use work or personal email. Mainstream providers like Google or Yahoo have a track record of spying or being hacked – Protonmail is encrypted and it’s free
• Use a VPN – even if our content is legal where you are, using a VPN covers your tracks which is always preferable. We use Nord VPN but there are many others, some free some paid – Opera has a free VPN built-in for example
• Encrypt your devices – We use TrueCrypt V7.1a as later versions became vulnerable. Veracrypt is also good, but it’s a bit heavy. Use Bitlocker, use strong passwords, use anything you can to prevent people from getting into your devices

If you encounter any other team members doing anything suspicious, asking the wrong questions, or doing things likely to cause problems for them (and potentially the rest of the team by association), please let us know immediately so we can speak to them, or take appropriate action. We do not wish to create an atmosphere of distrust and snitching – situations do arise however, and a generally vigilant outlook is always encouraged.

TEAMWORK

We all come from different backgrounds, cultures, generations. We are all united in our passion for petfun, working together to build great things. Your teammates are your brothers – maybe sisters too – please do your utmost to maintain a friendly, positive and supportive environment within the team. We will get a lot more done that way.

Please be mindful of the hierarchy. We are an egalitarian team and everyone’s input is valuable. Even so, hierarchy is useful. In terms of maintaining a harmonious working relationship throughout the team, we would ask that you:

• Treat your seniors the way you would prefer your juniors to treat you
• Treat your juniors the way you would prefer your seniors to treat you

It’s been widely demonstrated that a suitable hierarchy within a group of chaps leads to far fewer disagreements and misunderstandings. This is important because we aim for a happy and constructive vibe that everyone is comfortable with.

THINGS TO AVOID

In any group, it’s preferable to focus on the things everyone has in common. A common mission is what ties people together. For that reason, please try to avoid things that divide, such as:

• Politics – we all have views, none of them make a damned bit of difference
• Anger – we all get angry sometimes, but anger serves no constructive purpose. Please keep things anger-free
• Pissing contests – nothing we do here is a competition, at least not amongst ourselves. Everyone’s view is valid, and we all have the right to be stupid occasionally
• Drama – is for people with nothing else going on. Working with us you’ll likely have lots going on – so no drama please

Avoiding those things will lead to a happier and more effective team.

WRAPPING UP

We will expand on this document as we progress, and as other things arise. We hope you will enjoy working with us, and working on some of the interesting projects we have planned. IF you have any problems or concerns, please speak to me (Adam) or your Group Leader. We will always do what we can to smooth things out and keep everyone positive and motivated.

Thanks for reading, now let’s get building already 🙂