On Mon, Aug 3, 2009 at 11:59 PM, Francis De Brabandere<[email protected]> wrote: > +1 votes: 3 (+1 non-binding)
Not quite true unfortunately... You have 0 binding votes (according to Apache rules). The only votes that are binding are those of a PMC overseeing a top level project [1], which is the Incubator PMC for Empire-db. As none of your Mentors have voted (who are the only Incubator PMC members in your project), you have 0 (legally) binding votes. PPMC votes *DO* count, though: there's little precedent in people voting -1 after the PPMC members have voted +1 to add a committer, for example. Releases are trickier, because there's much more that can go wrong from a legal standpoint. So in release votes, you're likely to see more -1 votes from Incubator PMC members than with adding a Committer. Now how to proceed with this release: - prod your Mentors to review the release (Henning, Thomas and myself), - ask the Incubator PMC on general@ to review the release and approve it (send the same message from dev@ to general@) - answer any questions that might arise from PMC members - if you don't have 3 binding +1 votes after 72 hours, prod the general@ list again—remember it is vacation time - prod your mentors again and ask *them* to ask for reviewers when you have at least 3 binding +1 votes, and no -1 votes, then you're ready to release the files. The reason why there's this distinction is because Apache is a corporation where committees represent the corporation and need to officially show awareness of decisions that are binding to the Foundation. The board installs these committees by resolution to provide oversight. The only folks that are able to provide oversight are those that have been appointed by the board. Since the PPMC is not installed by the board, but a artifact from the Incubator, PPMC votes are not legally binding. Adding a committer is a legally binding action. Adding a PMC member is a legally binding action. Changing the Chair of the PMC is a legally binding action, and finally releasing software is legally binding. This provides The ASF with the means to protect individuals against litigation: the corporation is accountable, not the individual developer. Without the binding votes, The ASF won't be able to protect us individuals (adequately) from litigation. Martijn [1] http://www.apache.org/foundation/voting.html [2] http://incubator.apache.org/guides/releasemanagement.html
