Open source values in daily partner work
This page is for partner teams who want to turn the program's values into everyday habits. "Exponential partners must align with open-source values and a commitment to quality" (https://exponential.earth/partner/requirements, read 18 October 2026).
The three values
| Value | As published (https://exponential.earth/partner/program) |
|---|---|
| Open | "We welcome ideas and knowledge from other people and bring an open mind and a positive attitude to our exchanges with the world. Our open-source software distribution model and user-driven community are examples of this open philosophy." |
| Sharing | "We share our information, ideas and knowledge and work together as a team, both internally and with customers, partners and the Exponential community." |
| Innovative | "We build creative solutions that solve real problems and enable an easier and more effective exchange of knowledge and information." |
Habits that show the values
| Where | Open | Sharing | Innovative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Projects | Build on public extensions before writing new ones | Contribute general fixes upstream instead of patching privately | Solve the customer's problem, then generalize it for everyone |
| Contracts | Tell customers the software is GPL and they own their site | Agree up front which generic work may be published | Offer maintenance that keeps sites current |
| Code | Work in Git with full history (Develop with Git) | Send pull requests (Contributing code back) | Propose new features with a working prototype |
| Documentation | Read and link the help | Write tutorials under a free license | Document what you discovered, even if small |
| Support | Answer in public channels | Turn repeated answers into docs | Automate what you answer twice |
| Sales | State facts with sources | Refer work you cannot do well to another partner | Show what is new in each release |
Examples from the project itself
- Every pull request is merged. Contributors are not turned away. While a pull request is open, its author
squashes it and rebases it onto
mainas the reviews ask; once it is merged,main's history is never rewritten, and later fixes come as new pull requests (doc/eng-us/bc/6.0/ci.md). - Credit for others' work. The LoveStack improvements of Mugo Web were rebuilt "with full credit to Mugo Web" (README).
- Upstream contributions. The se7enxweb profile README reports "14 security PRs submitted upstream to zetacomponents" (cited in Who is the Exponential Foundation?).
- Free documentation. The help is GFDL 1.3 or later, so anyone can copy and improve it (Free documentation).
What to agree with customers
Many customers worry that "open" means their business secrets will be published. It does not. Agree in writing:
- the customer's content, data and branding stay private;
- generic, reusable improvements (bug fixes, general features) may be contributed upstream;
- the customer is credited or not, as they wish.
Related pages
- Partner code of conduct
- Licensing for partners: GPL code, GFDL documentation
- Contributing extensions back upstream
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.