Add template to contact projects about their AI usage (#192)

A starting attempt at writing up a template for others to use to contact their favorite projects to ask them to implement a No AI Policy. This is incredibly bare bones right now, but I am 10000% open to feedback and suggestions. Please feel free to open a PR!

The idea is that each section can be added or removed depending on what angle you think the maintainers would be most amenable to.

- closes #116

This PR also cleans up some of the code of conduct and contributing doc.

Reviewed-on: https://codeberg.org/small-hack/open-slopware/pulls/192
Co-authored by: @cloudymax
Co-authored by: @Pixelo789

Co-authored-by: jessebot <jessebot@linux.com>
Co-committed-by: jessebot <jessebot@linux.com>

CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md

@@ -65,8 +65,14 @@ We're going to do a 2 strike rule here with an optional warning. You are out on
 
 - Do **NOT** use this repo as a witch hunting device in any direction. You may not reach out on social media, reddit, messaging apps, etc, especially not in a rude way, to maintainers of other repos to harass them and threaten them with this list. Doing so will result in a ban.
 
-This repo is specifically meant for identifying LLM usage in other projects, and coordinating on alternatives. You can also come here to ask others to please help you in chatting with another repo maintainer to sway them away from AI usage. But you need to do all of it *with kindness*. We have no interest in a reddit type atmosphere here and won't tolerate it. Please consider your words before you hit send.
+This repo is specifically meant for identifying LLM usage in other projects, and coordinating on alternatives. You can also come here to ask others to please help you in chatting with another repo maintainer to sway them away from AI usage. But you need to do all of it *with kindness*. We have no interest in a rage feedback atmosphere here and won't tolerate it. Please consider your words before you hit send.
 
 ## Accessibility
 
-Please provide alt text description for any images you post. This is so that users that are blind or low vision know what is being posted as their screenreaders can read it aloud. This is also useful for people who speak other languages so that they can translate any text from the screenshot and understand context. If you don't provide alt text after being asked to, we will count that as a warning, and if you still fail to do so, it will be a strike. We make exceptions if you yourself have a disability preventing you from doing so. Please just kindly ask that someone else provide alt text for you, and when they do, please update your image's alt text. (You do not need to disclose your disability. It is fine to just ask others to provide alt text for you for ANY reason.)
+### Alt Text
+
+Please provide alt text descriptions for any images you post. This is so that users that are blind or low vision know what is being posted as their screenreaders can read it aloud. This is also useful for people who speak other languages so that they can translate any text from the screenshot and understand context. If you don't provide alt text after being asked to, we will count that as a warning, and if you still fail to do so, it will be a strike. We make exceptions if you yourself have a disability preventing you from doing so. Please kindly ask that someone else provide alt text for you, and when they do, please update your image's alt text. (*You do not need to disclose your disability.* It is fine to ask others to provide alt text for you for ANY reason.)
+
+### Code blocks
+
+Please use syntax highlighting when posting code blocks.

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+> [!warning]
+> Before you interact with this repo, please read the [**Code of Conduct**](./CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md)! This is a repo for *nice people only*!
+
 # Contributing Pull Requests
 
 To contribute to this list, file a pull request adding it to the appropriate category, along with any known alternatives. The pull request must include links to evidence (see [Criteria](#criteria)).
@@ -50,7 +53,9 @@ Any project here may be removed as long as the following become true, *even if p
 2. Any genAI functionality of the project itself is removed in its entirety. "Kill switches" are insufficient.
 3. Any LLM friendly files/folders are either poisoned or removed entirely.
 
-When submitting a project for removal, please include a link to the evidence that they have created a "No genAI" policy. You can also submit PRs to update if a project stops using something like AI code reviews, but keeps a permissive AI policy. Updates are always welcome.
+When submitting a project for removal, please include a link to the evidence that they have created a "No genAI" policy. You can also submit PRs to update if a project stops using something like [![AI Code Reviews](./badges/ai-code-reviews-purple.svg)](https://codeberg.org/small-hack/open-slopware#ai-code-reviews), but keeps a [![Permissive AI policy](./badges/permissive-ai-policy-orange.svg)](https://codeberg.org/small-hack/open-slopware#permissive-ai-policy). Updates are always welcome.
+
+Do you see a project on this list that you wish was not on it? Please consider reaching out in a kind way to suggest they implement a No AI Policy. You can check out our [No AI Request Template](./NO_AI_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md) for inspiration 🙏
 
 # Issues
 

NO_AI_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md

@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+# Reaching Out to a Project
+
+Below you'll find a basic template you can use to reach out to a project in order to politely ask them to consider creating a No AI Policy.
+
+Before you proceed, read our [Tips for Success](#tips-for-success).
+
+Would you like to improve this template or add additional sections? Please feel free to submit a PR to do so and we'll discuss it :)
+
+## Template
+
+```markdown
+Hello,
+
+I'd like to talk about your AI policy. Below are some reasons why using AI can be harmful:
+
+## Environmental Impact
+
+To start learning a bit more, you can check out the Wikipedia page on the [environmental impact of artificial intelligence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_artificial_intelligence#Individual_level). Here's some more specific sources:
+
+- [MIT News: Generative AI's environmental impact](https://news.mit.edu/2025/explained-generative-ai-environmental-impact-0117)
+
+- [MIT Technology Review: We did the math on AI's energy footprint. Here's the story you haven't heard.](https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1116327/ai-energy-usage-climate-footprint-big-tech/)
+
+## Effect on Hardware Prices
+
+The demand for construction and outfitting of new data-centers to host AI/LLM compute capacity has overwhelmed global supply and production of multiple hardware components. Memory, Storage, and GPUs have seen massive increases in price for both consumer and enterprise models, upwards of 400% in some cases.
+
+The lack of supply has led large system-builders to purchase production capacity from OEMs well in advance of delivery, leading some manufacturers to end consumer-oriented product lines in favor of enterprise capacity.
+
+The downstream effects for consumers is that nearly all electronic devices which contain memory and storage will see their prices rise and availability decline. Those who already own existing electronics and computer hardware components may also find themselves unable to have their devices repaired or replaced under warranty.
+
+- [The RAM shortage is coming for everything you care about](https://www.theverge.com/tech/880812/ramageddon-ram-shortage-memory-crisis-price-2026-phones-laptops)
+
+- [Western Digital is already sold out of hard drives for all of 2026 — chief says some long-term agreements for 2027 and 2028 already in place](https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/hdds/western-digital-is-already-sold-out-of-hard-drives-for-all-of-2026-chief-says-some-long-term-agreements-for-2027-and-2028-already-in-place)
+
+- [The 2026 storage crisis: Why AI data centers are hoarding every hard drive on the market](https://www.howtogeek.com/dont-count-on-hdds-to-save-you-from-rising-storage-costs/)
+
+This has resulted in pricing historically marginalized individuals, who are more likely to have less financial resources, out of learning about computers at home and shrinking the diversity of the computing and programming industry.
+
+## Ties to the War Industry
+
+A lot of AI companies also work directly with nation states for use in their  War Departments, which in turn leads to further AI usage during war and invasions. This is coupled with [NYT: Palantir, Anthropic and small start-ups are generating rewards from their investments in defense tech](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/18/technology/silicon-valley-war-defense-tech.html).
+
+## What You Can Do
+
+I'd like to kindly suggest implementing a strict "No AI" policy. This can also help with what seems to be larger and larger influxes of low quality drive-by PRs by AI agents.
+
+You can find other projects that have taken steps to say no to AI here:
+https://noai.starlightnet.work/list.html
+
+For a specific policy, I can recommend the following policies for inspiration:
+
+- [wafrn's Contributring Doc](https://codeberg.org/wafrn/wafrn/src/branch/main/CONTRIBUTING.md)
+
+- [Loupe's Use of Generative AI Policy](https://discourse.gnome.org/t/loupe-no-longer-allows-generative-ai-contributions/27327)
+
+Thank you and kind regards :pray:
+```
+
+## Tips for Success
+
+- Personalize the template a bit before sending it:
+  - Add how long you've been using the software.
+  - Add what the project means to you.
+- Add the name of the project in the opening
+- Add your name at the bottom.
+- Be nice! *We cannot stress this enough*: Be Kind!
+  - Do not shame or threaten the project you are reaching out to, especially not with this list.
+- You may not want to include every section, depending on the culture surrounding the project you are contacting. Use your best judgement.

README.md

@@ -10,10 +10,9 @@ The intention of this list is to raise awareness of AI/LLM usage in popular open
 
 For more information on why we think this list matters, please see [Why not LLMs?](#why-not-llms).
 
-To Contribute, checkout our [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](./CONTRIBUTING.md).
+Want to *add*, *update*, or *remove* a project listed below? Check out our [**Contributing Doc**](./CONTRIBUTING.md).
 
-> [!Note]
-> This is a fork of a repo by the same name maintained by the @gen-ai-transparency org on Codeberg. If they make their repo available again, we will contribute back.
+See a project on here that you love, and wish wasn't on here? Check out our [**No AI Request Template**](./NO_AI_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md)
 
 * [Definitions](#definitions)
   * [Permissive AI Policy](#permissive-ai-policy)
@@ -228,6 +227,9 @@ This is a section for repos that are similar to this one either because they are
 - [forge.starlightnet.work/Team/No-AI/](https://forge.starlightnet.work/Team/No-AI/) which is the repo for this [no-AI list](https://noai.starlightnet.work/list.html) that lists projects that have explicitly pledged not to use AI or have an explicit policy to not use AI.
 - [slop-free-index](https://codeberg.org/brib/slopfree-software-index) is a list of software that has taken steps to reject AI in its development processes.
 
+> [!Note]
+> This is a fork of a repo by the same name maintained by the @gen-ai-transparency org on Codeberg. If they make their repo available again, we will contribute back.
+
 # Tainted Software
 
 > [!Warning]