nodejs/GOVERNANCE.md

Node.js Project Governance

Core Technical Committee

The Node.js project is jointly governed by a Core Technical Committee (CTC) which is responsible for high-level guidance of the project.

The CTC has final authority over this project including:

• Technical direction
• Project governance and process (including this policy)
• Contribution policy
• GitHub repository hosting
• Conduct guidelines
• Maintaining the list of additional Collaborators

Initial membership invitations to the CTC were given to individuals who had been active contributors to Node.js, and who have significant experience with the management of the Node.js project. Membership is expected to evolve over time according to the needs of the project.

For the current list of CTC members, see the project README.md.

Collaborators

The nodejs/node GitHub repository is maintained by the CTC and additional Collaborators who are added by the CTC on an ongoing basis.

Individuals making significant and valuable contributions are made Collaborators and given commit-access to the project. These individuals are identified by the CTC and their addition as Collaborators is discussed during the weekly CTC meeting.

Note: If you make a significant contribution and are not considered for commit-access, log an issue or contact a CTC member directly and it will be brought up in the next CTC meeting.

Modifications of the contents of the nodejs/node repository are made on a collaborative basis. Anybody with a GitHub account may propose a modification via pull request and it will be considered by the project Collaborators. All pull requests must be reviewed and accepted by a Collaborator with sufficient expertise who is able to take full responsibility for the change. In the case of pull requests proposed by an existing Collaborator, an additional Collaborator is required for sign-off. Consensus should be sought if additional Collaborators participate and there is disagreement around a particular modification. See Consensus Seeking Process below for further detail on the consensus model used for governance.

Collaborators may opt to elevate significant or controversial modifications, or modifications that have not found consensus to the CTC for discussion by assigning the ctc-agenda tag to a pull request or issue. The CTC should serve as the final arbiter where required.

For the current list of Collaborators, see the project README.md.

A guide for Collaborators is maintained in COLLABORATOR_GUIDE.md.

CTC Membership

CTC seats are not time-limited. There is no fixed size of the CTC. However, the expected target is between 6 and 12, to ensure adequate coverage of important areas of expertise, balanced with the ability to make decisions efficiently.

There is no specific set of requirements or qualifications for CTC membership beyond these rules.

The CTC may add additional members to the CTC by a standard CTC motion.

A CTC member may be removed from the CTC by voluntary resignation, or by a standard CTC motion.

Changes to CTC membership should be posted in the agenda, and may be suggested as any other agenda item (see "CTC Meetings" below).

No more than 1/3 of the CTC members may be affiliated with the same employer. If removal or resignation of a CTC member, or a change of employment by a CTC member, creates a situation where more than 1/3 of the CTC membership shares an employer, then the situation must be immediately remedied by the resignation or removal of one or more CTC members affiliated with the over-represented employer(s).

CTC Meetings

The CTC meets weekly on a Google Hangout On Air. The meeting is run by a designated moderator approved by the CTC. Each meeting should be published to YouTube.

Items are added to the CTC agenda which are considered contentious or are modifications of governance, contribution policy, CTC membership, or release process.

The intention of the agenda is not to approve or review all patches. That should happen continuously on GitHub and be handled by the larger group of Collaborators.

Any community member or contributor can ask that something be added to the next meeting's agenda by logging a GitHub Issue. Any Collaborator, CTC member or the moderator can add the item to the agenda by adding the ctc-agenda tag to the issue.

Prior to each CTC meeting, the moderator will share the Agenda with members of the CTC. CTC members can add any items they like to the agenda at the beginning of each meeting. The moderator and the CTC cannot veto or remove items.

The CTC may invite persons or representatives from certain projects to participate in a non-voting capacity.

The moderator is responsible for summarizing the discussion of each agenda item and sending it as a pull request after the meeting.

Consensus Seeking Process

The CTC follows a Consensus Seeking decision making model.

When an agenda item has appeared to reach a consensus, the moderator will ask "Does anyone object?" as a final call for dissent from the consensus.

If an agenda item cannot reach a consensus, a CTC member can call for either a closing vote or a vote to table the issue to the next meeting. The call for a vote must be approved by a majority of the CTC or else the discussion will continue. Simple majority wins.