I'd like to suggest backing up from the point where Alex was commenting. It is an Apache goal to build broad communities, not to build homogeneous groups. That includes PMC as well as committers. To me, this suggests that the community-building starts when the person shows up.
Hypothetical: a new person shows up. That person is contributing. That person, at least in the eyes of some existing community members, is a bit difficult. People in the community should be working, actively, to help that person understand the values of collegiality and community and to become, as a result, less difficult. So, by the time there's any possibility of a discussion of PMC membership, that person should be 'in the range'. And I emphasize 'range'. There was a talk at Apache Con some years back about the idea that civility goes in two directions: we all want to express ourselves in collegial and civil ways, and we also have to be prepared to accept communications from people with very different styles, up to and including some that we might individually find somewhat 'difficult.'
