Hi folks,
I've taken a look around at the "Charter" of some other projects.
I've found anything from a simple scope description [1,2] or just
the TLP proposal [3,4] to extensive descriptions with Mission,
History, Terms and other stuff [5,6].
What exactly is a Project Charter, what are the Bylaws, and what
is the relation of the two? If this was a quiz show, I would have
guessed that the Charter describes the scope, and the Bylaws the
mode of operations. But maybe the two are one and the same?
Taking a look at the Charter that Oleg drafted:
http://hc.apache.org/charter.html
I would prefer to...
- expand the project scope description. It defines what we do.
- drop the list of specifications. That reads more like a
technical specification than a useful project description.
Specifications can be listed with the components or modules
that implement them.
- replace the initial set of committers by a link to the
accepted TLP proposal.
Regarding the mode of operations, I can write something up
based on the Jakarta Bylaws (which are accessible through
the "Charter" link (!) in the right-hand navigation bar):
http://jakarta.apache.org/site/management.html
The two questions I expect this kind of document to answer
are:
1. Who has a binding vote on what decisions?
2. Which decisions require a 3/4 majority of eligible voters
and which a simple majority of votes cast?
My current draft answers are:
a) PMC level decisions are votes on releases, on changing
the charter/bylaws, establishing new subprojects, and
accepting new committers or PMC members. Only PMC members
have a binding vote, decisions require three binding +1,
vetos can be overruled by a 3/4 majority of PMC members.
Votes are strictly binary: +/-1.
b) other decisions (project plans, including a feature, new
mailing list,...) require a simple majority of cast votes,
with three binding +1. PMC members and committers have a
binding vote. Votes can be non-binary: +/-0 +/-1.
Of course, the distinction between PMC members and committers
is currently hypothetical. But I like the idea of giving new
committers a binding vote on some decisions from the start.
Comments, thoughts, or other feedback?
cheers,
Roland
[1] http://lenya.apache.org/charter.html
[2] http://db.apache.org/derby/derby_charter.html
[3] http://commons.apache.org/charter.html
[4] http://logging.apache.org/charter.html
[5] http://xmlgraphics.apache.org/charter.html
[6] http://xalan.apache.org/charter.html
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