Introduce Emeritus Committer status.

This patch introduces an Emeritus status for OVS committers. An
Emeritus Committer is recognized as having made a significant impact
to the project and having been a committer in the past.  It is
intended as an option for those that do not currently have the time or
interest to fulfill committer responsibilities based on their current
responsibilities.  While in this status, they are not included in
voting for governance purposes.

An emeritus committer may be re-instated as a full committer at any
time.

The OVS committers voted approval of this change.

See documentation contents for full details.

Suggested-by: Ethan J. Jackson <ejj@eecs.berkeley.edu>
Acked-by: Justin Pettit <jpettit@ovn.org>
Acked-by: Ethan J. Jackson <ethan@kelda.io>
Signed-off-by: Russell Bryant <russell@ovn.org>
Signed-off-by: Ben Pfaff <blp@ovn.org>

3 files changed, 68 insertions, 59 deletions

diff --git a/Documentation/internals/committer-emeritus-status.rst b/Documentation/internals/committer-emeritus-status.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b2589ac67
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/internals/committer-emeritus-status.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+..
+      Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+      not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain
+      a copy of the License at
+
+          http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+      Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+      distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+      WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+      License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
+      under the License.
+
+      Convention for heading levels in Open vSwitch documentation:
+
+      =======  Heading 0 (reserved for the title in a document)
+      -------  Heading 1
+      ~~~~~~~  Heading 2
+      +++++++  Heading 3
+      '''''''  Heading 4
+
+      Avoid deeper levels because they do not render well.
+
+==================================
+Emeritus Status for OVS Committers
+==================================
+
+OVS committers are nominated and elected based on their impact on the Open
+vSwitch project.  Over time, as committers' responsibilities change, some may
+become unable or uninterested in actively participating in project governance.
+Committer "emeritus" status provides a way for committers to take a leave of
+absence from OVS governance responsibilities.  The following guidelines clarify
+the process around the emeritus status for committers:
+
+* A committer may choose to transition from active to emeritus, or from
+  emeritus to active, by sending an email to the committers mailing list.
+
+* If a committer hasn't been heard from in 6 months, and does not respond to
+  reasonable attempts to contact him or her, the other committers can vote as a
+  majority to transition the committer from active to emeritus.  (If the
+  committer resurfaces, he or she can transition back to active by sending an
+  email to the committers mailing list.)
+
+* Emeritus committers may stay on the committers mailing list to continue to
+  follow any discussions there.
+
+* Emeritus committers do not nominate or vote in committer elections.  From a
+  governance perspective, they are equivalent to a non-committer.
+
+* Emeritus committers cannot merge patches to the OVS repository.
+
+* Emeritus committers will be listed in a separate section in the
+  MAINTAINERS.rst file to continue to recognize their contributions to the
+  project.
+
+Emeritus status does not replace the procedures for forcibly removing a
+committer.
+
+Note that just because a committer is not able to work on the project on a
+day-to-day basis, we feel they are still capable of providing input on the
+direction of the project.  No committer should feel pressured to move
+themselves to this status.  Again, it's just an option for those that do not
+currently have the time or interest.
diff --git a/Documentation/internals/committer-grant-revocation.rst b/Documentation/internals/committer-grant-revocation.rst
index 48446264f..c011df4ae 100644
--- a/Documentation/internals/committer-grant-revocation.rst
+++ b/Documentation/internals/committer-grant-revocation.rst
@@ -102,47 +102,10 @@ The process to grant commit access to a candidate is simple:
 Revoking Commit Access
 ----------------------
 
-There are two situations in which commit access might be revoked.
-
-The straightforward situation is a committer who is no longer active in the
-project and has no plans to become active in the near future. The process in
-this case is:
-
-- Any time after a committer has been inactive for more than 6 months any other
-  committer to the project may identify that committer as a candidate for
-  revocation of commit access due to inactivity.
-
-- The plans of revocation should be sent in a private email to the candidate.
-
-- If the candidate for removal states plans to continue participating no action
-  is taken and this process terminates.
-
-- If the candidate replies they no longer require commit access then commit
-  access is removed and a notification is sent to the candidate and all
-  existing committers.
-
-- If the candidate can not be reached within 1 week of the first attempting to
-  contact this process continues.
-
-- A message proposing removal of commit access is sent to the candidate and all
-  other committers.
-
-  - If the candidate for removal states plans to continue participating no
-    action is taken.
-
-  - If the candidate replies they no longer require commit access then their
-    access is removed.
-
-  - If the candidate can not be reached within 2 months of the second
-    attempting to contact them, access is removed.
-
-- In any case, where access is removed, this fact is published through an email
-  to all existing committers (including the candidate for removal).
-
-The more difficult situation is a committer who is behaving in a manner that is
-viewed as detrimental to the future of the project by other committers. This is
-a delicate situation with the potential for the creation of division within the
-greater community and should be handled with care. The process in this case is:
+When a committer behaves in a manner that other committers view as detrimental
+to the future of the project, it raises a delicate situation with the potential
+for the creation of division within the greater community.  These situations
+should be handled with care.  The process in this case is:
 
 - Discuss the behavior of concern with the individual privately and explain why
   you believe it is detrimental to the project. Stick to the facts and keep the
@@ -276,24 +239,6 @@ Invitation to Accepted Committer
     we'll set up access. We're looking forward continuing to work together to
     advance the Open vSwitch project.
 
-Proposal to Remove Commit Access for Inactivity
------------------------------------------------
-
-    Committer *[candidate]* has been inactive for *[duration]*. I have
-    attempted to privately contacted *[him/her]* and *[he/she]* could not be
-    reached.
-
-    Based on this I would like to formally propose removal of commit access.
-    If a response to this message documenting the reasons to retain commit
-    access is not received by *[date]* access will be removed.
-
-Notification of Commit Removal for Inactivity
----------------------------------------------
-
-    Committer *[candidate]* has been inactive for *[duration]*. *[He/she]*
-    *[stated no commit access is required/failed to respond]* to the formal
-    proposal to remove access on *[date]*. Commit access has now been removed.
-
 Proposal to Revoke Commit Access for Detrimental Behavior
 ---------------------------------------------------------
 
diff --git a/Documentation/internals/index.rst b/Documentation/internals/index.rst
index cf70f5566..50f59a88f 100644
--- a/Documentation/internals/index.rst
+++ b/Documentation/internals/index.rst
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ itself and how they might involved.
    release-process
    bugs
    security
+   committer-emeritus-status
    committer-responsibilities
    committer-grant-revocation
    authors