Apache HTTP Server Project Guidelines and Voting Rules - The Apache HTTP Server Project

This document defines the guidelines for the Apache HTTP Server Project. It includes definitions of how conflict is resolved by voting, who is able to vote, and the procedures to follow for proposing and making changes to the Apache products.
The objective here is to avoid unnecessary conflict over changes and continue to produce a quality system in a timely manner. Not all conflict can be avoided, but at least we can agree on the procedures for conflict to be resolved.
The group of volunteers who are responsible for managing the Apache HTTP Server Project. This includes deciding what is distributed as products of the Apache HTTP Server Project, maintaining the Project's shared resources, speaking on behalf of the Project, resolving license disputes regarding Apache products, nominating new PMC members or committers, and establishing these guidelines. Membership in the Apache PMC is by invitation only and must be approved by consensus of the active Apache PMC members. A PMC member is considered inactive by their own declaration or by not contributing in any form to the project for over six months. An inactive member can become active again by reversing whichever condition made them inactive ( i.e. , by reversing their earlier declaration or by once again contributing toward the project's work). Membership can be revoked by a unanimous vote of all the active PMC members other than the member in question.
The group of volunteers who are responsible for the technical aspects of the Apache HTTP Server Project. This group has write access to the appropriate source repositories and these volunteers may cast binding votes on any technical discussion. Membership as a Committer is by invitation only and must be approved by consensus of the active Apache PMC members. A Committer is considered inactive by their own declaration or by not contributing in any form to the project for over six months. An inactive member can become active again by reversing whichever condition made them inactive ( i.e. , by reversing their earlier declaration or by once again contributing toward the project's work). Membership can be revoked by a unanimous vote of all the active PMC members (except the member in question if they are a PMC member).
All of the volunteers who are contributing time, code, documentation, or resources to the Apache Project. A developer that makes sustained, welcome contributions to the project for over six months is usually invited to become a Committer, though the exact timing of such invitations depends on many factors.
The Apache developers' primary mailing list for discussion of issues and changes related to the project ( dev@httpd.apache.org ). Subscription to the list is open, but only subscribers can post directly to the list.
The Apache PMC's private mailing list for discussion of issues that are inappropriate for public discussion, such as legal, personal, or security issues prior to a published fix. Subscription to the list is only open (actually: mandatory) to Apache httpd's Project Management Committee.
All of the Apache products are maintained in shared information repositories using Subversion on. Only some of the Apache developers have write access to these repositories; everyone has read access.
Each of the Apache Project's active source code repositories contain a file called "STATUS" which is used to keep track of the agenda and plans for work within that repository. The STATUS file includes information about release plans, a summary of code changes committed since the last release, a list of proposed changes that are under discussion, brief notes about items that individual developers are working on or want discussion about, and anything else that might be useful to help the group track progress. The active STATUS files are automatically posted to the mailing list each week.
Many issues will be encountered by the project, each resulting in zero or more proposed action items. Issues should be raised on the mailing list as soon as they are identified. Action items must be raised on the mailing list and added to the relevant STATUS file. All action items may be voted on, but not all of them will require a formal vote.
Any of the Apache Developers may vote on any issue or action item. However, the only binding votes are those cast by active members of the Apache HTTP Server; if the vote is about a change to source code or documentation, the primary author of what is being changed may also cast a binding vote on that issue. All other votes are non-binding. All developers are encouraged to participate in decisions, but the decision itself is made by those who have been long-time contributors to the project. In other words, the Apache httpd Project is a minimum-threshold meritocracy.
The act of voting carries certain obligations -- voting members are not only stating their opinion, they are agreeing to help do the work of the Apache Project. Since we are all volunteers, members often become inactive for periods of time in order to take care of their "real jobs" or devote more time to other projects. It is therefore unlikely that the entire group membership will vote on every issue. To account for this, all voting decisions are based on a minimum quorum.
Each vote can be made in one of three flavors:
+1 : Yes, agree, or the action should be performed. On some issues, this vote is only binding if the voter has tested the action on their own system(s).
±0 : Abstain, no opinion, or I am happy to let the other group members decide this issue. An abstention may have detrimental effects if too many people abstain.
-1 : No. On issues where consensus is required, this vote counts as a veto. All vetos must include an explanation of why the veto is appropriate. A veto with no explanation is void. No veto can be overruled. If you disagree with the veto, you should lobby the person who cast the veto. Voters intending to veto an action item should make their opinions known to the group immediate