Bylaws of the Apache xxx Project
This document defines the Bylaws of the xxx Project of the Apache Software Foundation.
n. Mission.
The xxx Project shall develop garthoks for the furtherance of the ASF's goals, and for distribution under the Apache licence.
n. Applicability.
These Bylaws shall govern all aspects of the Project's operations, except where they may conflict with the purposes, goals, or policies of the ASF, or with directives from the ASF Board of Directors.
In the event of a question or situation requiring resolution, which is not clearly described nor inferrable from these Bylaws, the PMC shall determine the most correct response by Consensual Vote, and these Bylaws shall be amended to incorporate the situation and its resolution.
n. Amending the Bylaws.
These Bylaws may be amended by any of the following means:
- By directive of the Board.
- By fiat of the PMC Chair.
- By a Strict Poll of the PMC.
- By a Consensual Poll of the Committers.
If an amendment is adopted using method [3], it may be defeated by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Committers.
This Section itself shall not be subject to any amendment which will restrict the ability of the Board, the PMC Chair, the PMC, or the Committers to alter these Bylaws for the good of the Project.
n. Terms.
The following terms are used in this document. These definitions apply here and throughout the Project unless otherwise specified.
n.n. Advisory Vote.
A vote cast by an individual, which will not be included in the tally when the outcome of the Poll is determined. Advisory votes are expressions of opinion only. Compare Binding Vote.
n.n. ASF.
Apache Software Foundation.
n.n. Binding Vote.
A vote cast by an individual which will be included in the tally used to determine the outcome of the Poll. Compare Advisory Vote.
n.n. Board.
The ASF Board of Directors.
n.n. Committer.
An individual with commit access to the Project's repositories.
n.n. Consensus.
A simple majority of valid votes.
n.n. Consensual Poll.
A Poll the outcome of which is determined by the achiemevent, or failure to achieve, a Consensus of Binding Votes.
n.n. Contributor.
Soeone who participates or is interested in the Project, but has not been made a Committer. When used as a general plural, it may or may not include Committers as well.
n.n. Fractional Vote.
An statement of general opinion on a matter, expressed as a decimal fraction. A fractional vote may be interpreted as meaning, "I [don't] like the idea, but I will go along with the result of the poll." The greater the absolute magnitude of the fraction, the stronger the feeling represented by it. A 0.9 vote generally means 'strongly in favour'; -0.9 represents 'strongly opposed'.
Fractional votes are always advisory.
n.n. PMC.
The Project Management Committee.
n.n. Poll.
A call to decide or resolve an issue through the collection and tabulation of votes. See Consensual Poll, Strict Poll.
n.n. Rule of Three.
A voting model in which the measure is approved if it receives at least three votes in favour, and no votes against. Since a single negative vote may defeat the measure, such a vote is called a veto (q.v.).
n.n. Strict Poll.
A Poll the outcome of which is determined according to the Rule of Three.
n.n. Veto.
An individual binding vote which blocks or defeats a Strict Poll. See Rule of Three, Strict Poll.
n. Project Management Committee.
The PMC guides the operation of the Project. All members of the PMC must be Committers.
n.n. Chair.
The Chair of the PMC is appointed by the Board, and is an officer of the Foundation charged with overseeing, managing, and furthering the Project's goals. As such, the Chair has final authority within the Project. In practice, the Chair shall defer to the decisions and opinions of the PMC as a whole; abuse of the Chair's authority may result in removal by the Board and the election and appointment of a new Chair.
An official request for recall of the PMC Chair may be sent to the Board upon approval by a Poll resulting in a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the PMC.
The Chair shall have the power to overrule any non-technical decision or poll made within the Project, save for those which affect it directly such as a Poll for recall.
In the event of a vacancy in the Chair position, due to resignation, deposement by the Board, death, or other reasons, nominations for a replacement may be made from the ranks of the PMC. Nominations in this situation do not require seconding. The nomination period shall last for at least seven (7) consecutive days. Following the closure of the nominations, the PMC shall hold a Consensual Poll to select a new Chair from among the nominees. The Poll shall remain open for no more than fourteen (14) consecutive days. The Poll may close sooner upon a successful Consensual Poll called to make the determination (such as if all PCM members have voted). The person thus elected shall be nominated to the Board for ratification and appointment.
n.n. Elections.
Committer status may be conferred by a Consensual Poll of the PMC.
Advancement to membership in the PMC may be conferred by a Consensual Poll of the current PMC.
n. Voting.
Project decisions may be made by authoritative fiat (see Release Manager) or as a consequence of a Poll. Polls may also be conducted to gather a sense of the opinions of the participants in the Project concerning some idea. Votes are cast in numeric form, with "+1" meaning "yea", "-1" meaning "nay", and "0" representing formal abstention.
Votes cast as "+0" or "-0" are advisory, and indicate the caster generally favours/opposes the measure but doesn't feel strongly either way.
Polls used to determine the resolution of technical issues, such as the application of a patch or the means of implementing a change, are always Strict Polls, and the proposal may therefore be vetoed.
Polls concerning non-technical matters, such as elections whether a software release is warranted, are always Consensual Polls.
If a veto is cast in a Strict Poll, the proposal is defeated. A veto vote dominates regardless of how many votes are cast in favour. A veto may only be rescinded by its caster. Because of the their power, vetos may only be applied to very specific issues, and must be accompanied by a valid justification. If the justification is shown to be false, the veto is invalid and no longer applies.
n. Releases.
=== n.n. Release Manager. == When a release is pending, an individual is selected to be Release Manager, generally as a result of a Consensual Poll . The Release Manager sets the deadlines and conditions for a release, and is the sole authority concerning it. The Release Manager may announce a freeze on the relevant portions of the Project's repository whilst a release candidate is being tested; no any commits made during the freeze period may invalidate the release, at the Release Manager's sole discretion.