Apache SkyWalking committer

SkyWalking Project Management Committee(PMC) takes the responsibilities to assess the contributions of candidates.

In the SkyWalking, like many Apache projects, we treat contributions including, but not limited to, code contributions. Such as writing blog, guiding new users, give public speak, prompting project in various ways, are all treated as significant contributions.

Committer

New committer nomination

In the SkyWalking, new committer nomination could only be started by existing PMC members officially. The new contributor could contact any existing PMC member if he/she feels he/she is qualified. Talk with the PMC member, if some members agree, they could start the process.

The following steps are recommended, and could only be started by existing PMC member.

  1. Send the [DISCUSS] Promote xxx as new committer mail to private@skywalking.a.o. List the important contributions of the candidates, in order to help the PMC members supporting your proposal.
  2. Keep discussion open in more than 3 days, but not more than 1 week, unless there is any explicit objection or concern.
  3. Send the [VOTE] Promote xxx as new committer mail to private@skywalking.a.o, when the PMC seems to agree the proposal.
  4. Keep vote more than 3 days, but not more than 1 week. Consider the result as Consensus Approval if there 3 +1 votes and +1 votes > -1 votes
  5. Send the [RESULT][VOTE] Promote xxx as new committer mail to private@skywalking.a.o, and list the vote detail including the voters.

Invite new committer

The PMC member, who start the promotion, takes the responsibilities to send the invitation to new committer and guide him/her to set up the ASF env.

You should send the mail like the following template to new committer

To: JoeBloggs@foo.net
Cc: private@skywalking.apache.org
Subject: Invitation to become SkyWalking committer: Joe Bloggs

Hello [invitee name],

The SkyWalking Project Management Committee] (PMC) 
hereby offers you committer privileges to the project . These privileges are
offered on the understanding that you'll use them
reasonably and with common sense. We like to work on trust
rather than unnecessary constraints.

Being a committer enables you to more easily make 
changes without needing to go through the patch 
submission process. 

Being a committer does not require you to 
participate any more than you already do. It does 
tend to make one even more committed.  You will 
probably find that you spend more time here.

Of course, you can decline and instead remain as a 
contributor, participating as you do now.

A. This personal invitation is a chance for you to 
accept or decline in private.  Either way, please 
let us know in reply to the [private@skywalking.apache.org] 
address only.

B. If you accept, the next step is to register an iCLA:
    1. Details of the iCLA and the forms are found 
    through this link: http://www.apache.org/licenses/#clas

    2. Instructions for its completion and return to 
    the Secretary of the ASF are found at
    http://www.apache.org/licenses/#submitting

    3. When you transmit the completed iCLA, request 
    to notify the Apache SkyWalking and choose a 
    unique Apache id. Look to see if your preferred 
    id is already taken at 
    http://people.apache.org/committer-index.html     
    This will allow the Secretary to notify the PMC 
    when your iCLA has been recorded.

When recording of your iCLA is noticed, you will 
receive a follow-up message with the next steps for 
establishing you as a committer.

Invitation acceptance process

And the new committer should reply the mail to private@skywalking.apache.org(Choose reply all), and express the will to accept the invitation explicitly. Then this invitation will be treated as accepted by project PMC. Of course, the new committer could just say NO, and reject the invitation.

If they accepted, then they need to do the following things.

  1. Make sure they have subscribed the dev@skywalking.apache.org. Usually they already have.
  2. Sign the ICLA(Individual Contributor License Agreement), which could be found here.
  3. If you are going to contribute to the project as day job, CCLA is expected.
  4. About the ICLA sign, you need to print the ICLA, sign it manually(by hand), and scan it as an pdf.
  5. Choose your Apache ID and fill it into the ICLA, all existing Apache IDs could be found here
  6. Sign the gpg to your icla.pdf.
  7. Send both icla.pdf and icla.pdf.asc to secretary@apache.org and private@skywalking.apache.org.

Then the PMC will wait the Apache secretary confirmed the ICLA filed. The new committer and PMC will receive the mail like following

Dear XXX,

This message acknowledges receipt of your ICLA, which has been filed in the Apache Software Foundation records.

Your account has been requested for you and you should receive email with next steps
within the next few days (can take up to a week).

Please refer to https://www.apache.org/foundation/how-it-works.html#developers
for more information about roles at Apache.

If in some case, the account has not be requested(rarely to see), the PMC member should contact the project V.P.. The V.P. could request through the Apache Account Submission Helper Form.

After several days, the new committer will receive the account created mail, as this title, Welcome to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF)!. At this point, congratulate! You have the official Apache ID.

The PMC member should add the new committer to official committer list through roster.

Set up the Apache ID and dev env

  1. Go to Apache Account Utility Platform, initial your password, set up your personal mailbox(Forwarding email address) and GitHub account(Your GitHub Username).
  2. If you want to use xxx@apache.org to send mail, you need to use GMail, and following this guide.
  3. Use GitBox Account Linking Utility to make your GitHub account to join Apache GitHub org. Notice, if never got your GitHub invitation? Visit github.com/apache to see if you have an invitation pending. Also, your GitHub MFA Status is required.

If you want others could see you are in the Apache GitHub org, you need to go to Apache GitHub org people page, search for yourself, and choose Organization visibility to Public.

Committer right, duty and responsibility

SkyWalking project doesn't require the continue contributions after you become a committer, but we hope and truly want you could.

Being a committer, you could

  1. Review and merge the pull request to the master branch in the Apache repo. For new committer, we hope you could request some senior committer to recheck the pull request.
  2. Create and push codes to new branch in the Apache repo.
  3. Follow the Release process to process new release. Of course, you need to ask committer team to confirm it is the right time to release.

The PMC hope the new committer to take part in the release and release vote, even still be consider +1 no binding. But be familiar with the release is one of the key to be promoted as a PMC member.

Project Management Committee

Project Management Committee(PMC) member has no special rights in code contributions. They just cover and make sure the project following the Apache requirement, including

  1. Release binding vote and license check
  2. New committer and PMC member recognition
  3. Identify branding issue and do branding protection.
  4. Response the ASF board question, take necessary actions.

V.P. and chair of the PMC is the secretary, take responsibility of initializing the board report.

In the normal case, the new PMC member should be nominated from committer team. But this is forbidden, if the PMC could agree and be confidence that the candidate is ready, such as he/she has been a PMC member of another project, Apache member or Apache officer.

The process of new PMC vote should also follow the same [DISCUSS], [VOTE] and [RESULT][VOTE] in private mail list as new committer vote. One more step before sending the invitation, the PMC need to send NOTICE mail to Apache board.

To: board@apache.org
Cc: private@skywalking.apache.org
Subject: [NOTICE] Jane Doe for SkyWalking PMC

SkyWalking proposes to invite Jane Doe (janedoe) to join the PMC.

(include if a vote was held) The vote result is available here: https://lists.apache.org/...

After 72 hours, if the board doesn‘t object(usually it wouldn’t be), send the invitation.

After the committer accepted the invitation, The PMC member should add the new committer to official PMC list through roster.