Atheists don't need anything but a lack of belief in gods and religion.
Principles are individual concepts.

It's easy to list atheist principles.

I do not believe the claims tht a god/s exists.

That is all atheism is to me.

Basic atheist principles:

1. Don't afford belief to any deities

Done.

I definitely do not want anyone telling me what code of conduct I need to follow. We don't need a bible.

Atheism has no principals. It is not a thing in and of itself.
It is the lack of theism.
Do you call the lack of wearing hats "principals of the hatless"?
Or hairstyles?

Do good. Be kind. Hospitals and schools above churches. Good deed s over prayer, and reason over faith. Plus, don't be a dick.

I don’t need help to figure out right from wrong. One of the arguments against religion is that we don’t need religion to be moral. Treat people as you would like to be treated and don’t be a dick. That’s short enough to put on a bumper sticker. However, if you can give good arguments for such a book I’ll keep an open mind.

I’m personally not interested in defining any part of being a free thinker. I mean no disrespect but I think you head down the road like organized religion by definitions and rules. In other words we all march one way. Then when someone thinks differently, you encourage schisms. That’s my short answer. I think you get me. ?

Hmm. Interesting question.
While I think humanity might benefit from such a book, I'm not so sure the target audience are atheist.
As far as something comparable, some would argue that any 'Holy Book' was attempting this very thing.
Laws and regulations are also in the running, I suppose.

No.

I didn't vote because the list is missing several important possibilities. A book of this nature would in essence be a codification of things that should come easily to anyone who thinks even a little bit. Would it be of any real interest to the atheists in the world? Maybe to some, but not to all.

One of the most common tactics of theists is to try to reframe atheism as a positive claim ("there are no gods" vs "I reject your god claim due to lack of evidence" ), or an anti-religion religion. I think there are two reasons for this.
The first more charitable one is that in their worldview religion and atheism must be analogous. If you're not Christian, Muslim, Hindu or whatever then you're something else with its own set of beliefs and principles. This isn't the case, but could be an honest mistake.
The second reason, and the reason I don't think it's valuable to create atheistic principles, is that it's unnecessary. As it stands every religion makes positive claims. Many of them are demonstrably false and don't have any evidence. Playing on their home field is easy because they have to defend nonsense. Making the positive claim that there isn't a god shifts the responsibility on us to prove a negative which is impossible. Attaching principles to that claim provides a list of things that atheists can disagree about, become defensive, then dogmatic about. And that'd be dumb.
We're always right when we say "I reject your god claim, please provide evidence". And that's all that's required to be atheist.

rant over. thanks for reading.

The ONLY A-theist principle there is is the non-belief in a god(s). Anything else is an individual perspective and varies as widely as there are individuals.

Don't Panic. Always have a towel. Never ask a Vogon to recite poetry.

Sounds interesting would be very difficult-many types of atheists,agnostics and freethinkers.

I think it would be a valuable contribution, though more for non-atheists to read. religious people who have led isolated/insular lives probably think atheists are anarchistic nihilists. Some may be. Many aren’t.

Morality is the same for atheists as it is for the believers. Why should there be a book for either?

There is only one atheist value - lack of belief in the supernatural.

I think you are asking about other values that atheists seem to have in common. However, the lack of belief does not really say much about the values of any atheist. Just look at the recent sexual problems of Laurance Kraus and David Silverman or the crazy racist crap from Mythist Milaukee.

There is a predoment humanist streak from atheists, maybe out of empathy as we come out of religion and experience being isolated or outcast from your former group of friends.

I also like to object to the first part of the first sentence of the question "Atheists are by nature not open to being told what is right or wrong"
If a rule is put in place to limit speeding I am totally open to that, If I have to pay taxes I am fine with that. If the government screws up I have (in most countries) an option to vote against them next time. Atheists are (can be) great citizens, Atheism and Anarchism are different things.

Look it depends what we mean by principles. I voted yes because I would like to see the broad nonreligious community focus on things we do agree on rather than the endless debates between atheists and agnostics and all the other groups and identifiers that are used. I know this is a pipe dream, because people in any movement always break up into groups and subgroups and splinters of subgroups, like the scene in monty Python and the people's front of Judea, and that's probably why I've never been a movement joiner. However, I like to think there are principles and values and people who have clearly defined themselves as nonreligious can agree on. As so often happens, however, it gets down to words and definitions. I do think this is an interesting subject to pursue and it has been on my mind too.

Why does anyone need a book of morals. Most atheists say that they don't need to have a religion or a book to know right from wrong, or have morals. Religious people often ask how atheists can do what is right without a belief in god. I think the answer is that, if you don't know what is right a bible, a book of morals, or religion won't help you.

We need to be very careful that we do not create a new ideological dogma which limits independence and true freedom of thought and action.

I think this is a pretty good list:

[reason.com]

Here is my deeper meaning behind the question...

Atheism is indeed the complete lack of belief in deities. Belief in deities is theism. Theist beliefs also have a set of guidelines that they follow. Let's just say that they are very diverse. Ten commandments, Leviticus, incarnation of Vishnu, etc... I do not believe that atheists are without morals despite that fact. In fact, my experience is the opposite. Atheists have a higher moral code. That moral code is not specifically written out. In some ways humanistic beliefs are also atheist beliefs but in my opinion, from what I've read, not really.

I think that there would be value in an atheist moral code written down. It would deflect from the accusations that atheists are immoral which I already said was generally untrue. Atheists are diverse so that isn't ? but let's just say that I think that many atheists could find common ground.

Agnostics are by definition still uncertain of their loyalty. They doubt theism but they have at least one theistic belief that they are partially devoted. For some agnostics they believe in Christian or Muslim belief or others too. They have that moral code tied to their uncertainty whether they reject it or not. So my question was also for them but in a lesser sense. Humanism fits agnostic beliefs very well. In my opinion, less so for atheists. Certainly haven't found an answer for me. I'm still looking or actually formulating.

I see value in having a good easily accessible starting point. It took me more than 30 years to get to where I am now and I feel like much of it was wasted on arguing with theists. Even if not all atheists agree, it could be a great jumping off point,somewhere several steps beyond theism.

And kick the soapbox out from under me... lol