Bertrand - thanks for kicking this off! One key point, once edited, is
to break the invariants up into coherent sections, so it's really simple
for someone to read through and see what each rule applies to. Voting,
Community-led; public decisions; merit?
You missed the most important rule: Apache releases must use the Apache
license.
One other aspect I think is important: neutrality. The ASF is a place
where individuals come to collaborate freely and equally. Corporations
may fund individuals to contribute to ASF projects, but PMCs must ensure
that the project is managed for the benefit of the community as a whole,
and not for any one corporation.
----
To address other comments on this thread (I'm reading through the
archives, not subscribed):
- The primary point of this exercise is to list the very core "rules" of
what it means to be an Apache project (i.e., a project that is hosted at
the ASF).
The ASF is a public charity that exists to provide software for the
public good. However we believe as an organization that there are
certain *ways* that a project operates - best practices, modes of
operation, whatever you want to call it - that make for sustainable
software projects. Apache projects are expected to follow these basic
*ways* to manage themselves. [1]
- A key audience is our existing communities - especially PMC members,
but also committers and others active in our projects.
- There is a lot of documentation - some official, much unofficial -
about how to run Apache projects. This is an attempt to distill some of
the core invariants - as Bertrand said - to ensure that everyone
understands the basics: these are effectively requirements at the ASF.
Note the many links that will come from this to more thorough
documentation about specific issues (merit, votes, releases, etc.)
- It's clear that there's still a wide variety of insights as to what
the "Apache Way" is. While having different ways to express the "Way"
is good (different people will read or better understand different
presentations - this in no way can substitute for personal contacts.
Justin and a number of other people are right when they note that the
best way to spread the "Way" is for people to get engaged with new
projects and help them out directly.
- When Bertrand is talking about a blog post, I believe he means posting
on the Foundation blog, which *is* an official voice of the ASF - a
subset of members have write privileges there. I believe it would also
be useful if other comdev folks wrote personal blog posts about their
own perspectives on these Ways - to get the personal take and what it
means for people always helps explain what and why it is.
http://blogs.apache.org/foundation/
- Shane Curcuru
VP, Brand Management, The Apache Software Foundation
[1] This doesn't meant that there aren't other ways of managing
projects, and that there aren't many many other successful projects.
This is not at all to say that we know the best way to do things - there
are lots of brilliant projects out there! But it is the "Apache Way",
and we expect that projects hosted at the ASF will follow the basic rules.
P.S. You can paint the bikeshed any color you want as long as it's
white. 8-)
