Hi, I suggest updating https://www.apache.org/dev/pmc.html with the text below, adding a "Why would a project move to the Attic?" section before "How To Perform A PMC Roll Call" and adapting the latter section accordingly.
I initially suggested adding that info to http://attic.apache.org/ but people rightly noted that seeing that information there is "too late", this really belongs to the "Project Management Committee Guide" page. I'm planning to commit those website changes next week unless someone objects. Feedback and suggested improvements are welcome! -Bertrand *** SUGGESTED NEW TEXT *** ### Why would a project move to the Attic? ### {#move-to-attic} As described on [its homepage](http://attic.apache.org), the Attic is meant to _provide oversight for projects which otherwise would not have oversight_. It's fine for ASF projects to be mature and quiet, with little development activity happening, and that in itself is not a reason to move to the Attic. However, to be viable an ASF project must have enough active PMC Members who provide oversight of the project. This means being able to fix and release code, to handle security vulnerabilities or other serious bugs for example. While the PMC doesn't have to fix all the bugs or requests that come in, the Board must be able to verify that there are at least three PMC members monitoring the project's mailing lists who **could** reply and act in such cases. To this end, the Board will sometimes perform a PMC roll call, [as described below](#roll-call). Sometimes, PMC members leaving a project would result in less than three of them remaining, but community members are willing to continue maintaining the project. In such a case the best, if possible, is to elect a few of those community members to the PMC to keep it viable. If that does not happen, the Board can "reboot" a PMC by re-establishing it with a new or modified roster. As an example, see the [Board resolution to reboot the Apache Xalan PMC](https://apache.org/foundation/records/minutes/2019/board_minutes_2019_02_20.txt) in the February 2019 Board minutes. Mature or very slow-running projects should periodically (once a year is recommended) do a PMC roll call to demonstrate their viability. In summary, the only reason for a project to move to the Attic is lack of oversight, caused by an insufficient number of active PMC members. Note that going to the Attic is not necessarily a bad thing: it's merely a reflection that there isn't currently an **active** community to manage the project. It's also a clear way so set the right expectations for users of the project's code. ### How To Perform A PMC Roll Call ### {#roll-call} The Board sometimes asks for a roll call for projects that fail to report regularly, projects with very little visible activity on their mailing lists or releases, and projects that do not seem to be responsive to security issues. If a Director (on behalf of the Board) asks a PMC to perform a roll call, the PMC **must** respond by showing via an email thread that [at least three PMC members](https://www.apache.org/legal/release-policy.html#release-approval) are active. A PMC can do this by each of its active members replying to a thread to `board@`, or having one PMC member send a link to a thread on the PMC's lists where at least three PMC members reply that they are still monitoring the project, such that they could assist with creating new releases if any security issues were found. **Be sure** to let the `board@` mailing list know when at least three PMC members have responded (or always cc: `board@`). Projects **must** reply to the Board's request for a roll call. Failure to show that at least three PMC members are present before the next monthly Board meeting can lead to the Board concluding the project is due to be shut down and moved to the [Apache Attic](https://attic.apache.org/) for lack of oversight. See also [why would a project move to the Attic](#move-to-attic) above. *** EOF *** --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscr...@community.apache.org For additional commands, e-mail: dev-h...@community.apache.org
