Community Guidelines

SVHacks is committed to providing a harassment-free, inclusive experience for everyone. We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on age, body size, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, level of experience, nationality, personal appearance, race, religion, or sexual identity. Participants who violate these standards may be removed from the event at the organizers' discretion without refund or recourse.

• Treat all participants, judges, mentors, and organizers with respect.
• Use welcoming and inclusive language in all communications.
• Gracefully accept constructive feedback.
• Focus on what is best for the community.
• Show empathy towards other community members.

All submitted work must be created during the hackathon window. Using pre-existing projects is strictly prohibited. However, you are encouraged to use open-source libraries, publicly available datasets, and AI tools, as long as you disclose them.

• All code must be written during the official hackathon period.
• Disclose any AI tools, pre-built APIs, or open-source libraries used.
• Submitting another team's work as your own is grounds for immediate disqualification.
• Multiple submissions that are substantially identical are not allowed.
• Judges' decisions are final and not subject to appeal.

SVHacks embraces AI-assisted development. You may use tools like GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Midjourney, or any other AI system. The expectation is that your team authors the project concept, architecture, and final integration.

• AI tools may be used freely for code generation, design, and research.
• You must disclose which AI tools were used in your submission.
• Projects must demonstrate your own creative and engineering contribution.
• AI-generated content must be reviewed and understood by your team.

Whether you're posting in Discord, leaving comments on submissions, or messaging fellow participants, maintain a professional and constructive tone at all times.

• No spam, self-promotion, or unsolicited DMs to other participants.
• Keep discussions relevant to the channel or thread topic.
• No sharing of misleading, false, or harmful information.
• Report inappropriate behavior to the organizers immediately.

You retain full intellectual property rights to your project. SVHacks does not claim ownership over anything you build. By submitting, you grant SVHacks a non-exclusive license to showcase your project on our platform, social media, and promotional materials.

• You own the code, designs, and IP you create.
• SVHacks may feature your project publicly with attribution.
• You are responsible for ensuring your project does not infringe on third-party IP.