No-Asshole Policy

The No-Asshole Policy is a simple policy passed by most living co-ops to cover everything they don't already have a policy about. Simply, it states that people will refrain from being assholes, and if someone is being an asshole, anybody can ask them to stop, and the asshole must comply.

It is intended to create dynamic limits on people's behavior, and take care of issues too intricate or plentiful to be decided by consensus, which is extremely time-consuming. A good example is the noise policy; rather than set different times for weekends, weekdays, breaks, exams, reading period, etc., most co-ops leave it to the No-Asshole Policy to guide their members in making noise.

When discussing the No-Asshole Policy, someone usually voices the concern that people have different definitions of "asshole," which is true. However, in this co-oper's experience, it is rarely a problem, except with drunk people.