PERLGOV(1) Perl Programmers Reference Guide PERLGOV(1)

PERLGOV(1) Perl Programmers Reference Guide PERLGOV(1) #

PERLGOV(1) Perl Programmers Reference Guide PERLGOV(1)

NNAAMMEE #

 perlgov - Perl Rules of Governance

PPRREEAAMMBBLLEE #

 We are forming a system of governance for development of the Perl
 programming language.

 The scope of governance includes the language definition, its
 implementation, its test suite, its documentation, and the policies and
 procedures by which it is developed and maintained.

 The system of governance includes definitions of the groups that will
 make decisions, the rules by which these groups are formed and changed,
 and the enumerated powers and constraints on the activities of these
 governing groups.

 In forming a system of governance, we seek to achieve the following
 goals:

 •   We want a system that is functional.  That means the governing groups
     may decide to undertake large changes, or they may decide to act
     conservatively, but they will act with intent and clear communication
     rather than fail to reach decisions when needed.

 •   We want a system that is trusted. That means that a reasonable
     contributor to Perl might disagree with decisions made by the
     governing groups, but will accept that they were made in good faith
     in consultation with relevant communities outside the governing
     groups.

 •   We want a system that is sustainable.  That means it has provisions
     to self-modify, including ways of adding new members to the governing
     groups, ways to survive members becoming inactive, and ways of
     amending the rules of governance themselves if needed.

 •   We want a system that is transparent.  That means that it will prefer
     policies that manage ordinary matters in public, and it will prefer
     secrecy in a limited number of situations.

 •   We want a system that is respectful.  That means that it will
     establish standards of civil discourse that allow for healthy
     disagreement but avoid rancor and hostility in the community for
     which it is responsible.

MMaannddaattee Perl language governance shall work to:

 •   Maintain the quality, stability, and continuity of the Perl language
     and interpreter

 •   Guide the evolution of the Perl language and interpreter

 •   Establish and oversee the policies, procedures, systems, and
     mechanisms that enable a community of contributors to the Perl
     language and interpreter

 •   Encourage discussion and consensus among contributors as preferential
     to formal decision making by governance groups

 •   Facilitate communication between contributors and external
     stakeholders in the broader Perl ecosystem

DDeeffiinniittiioonnss This document describes three roles involved in governance:

 "Core Team"
 "Steering Council"
 "Vote Administrator"

 A section on each follows.

TThhee CCoorree TTeeaamm The Core Team are a group of trusted volunteers involved in the ongoing development of the Perl language and interpreter. They are not required to be language developers or committers.

 References to specific votes are explained in the "Rules for Voting"
 section.

 _P_o_w_e_r_s

 In addition to their contributions to the Perl language, the Core Team
 sets the rules of Perl governance, decides who participates in what role
 in governance, and delegates substantial decision making power to the
 Steering Council.

 Specifically:

 •   They elect the Steering Council and have the power to remove Steering
     Council members.

 •   In concert with the Steering Council, they manage Core Team
     membership.

 •   In concert with the Steering Council, they have the power to modify
     the Perl Rules of Governance.

 The Core Team do not have any authority over parts of the Perl ecosystem
 unrelated to developing and releasing the language itself.  These
 include, but are not limited to:

 •   The Perl Foundation

 •   CPAN administration and CPAN authors

 •   perl.org, metacpan.org, and other community-maintained websites and
     services

 •   Perl conferences and events, except those organized directly by the
     Core Team

 •   Perl-related intellectual property legally owned by third-parties,
     except as allowed by applicable licenses or agreements

 _M_e_m_b_e_r_s_h_i_p

 The initial Core Team members will be specified when this document is
 first ratified.

 Any Core Team member may nominate someone to be added to the Core Team by
 sending the nomination to the Steering Council.  The Steering Council
 must approve or reject the nomination.  If approved, the Steering Council
 will organize a Membership Change Vote to ratify the addition.

 Core Team members should demonstrate:

 •   A solid track record of being constructive and helpful

 •   Significant contributions to the project's goals, in any form

 •   Willingness to dedicate some time to improving Perl

 Contributions are not limited to code. Here is an incomplete list of
 areas where contributions may be considered for joining the Core Team:

 •   Working on community management and outreach

 •   Providing support on mailing lists, IRC, or other forums

 •   Triaging tickets

 •   Writing patches (code, docs, or tests)

 •   Reviewing patches (code, docs, or tests)

 •   Participating in design discussions

 •   Providing expertise in a particular domain (security, i18n, etc.)

 •   Managing Perl infrastructure (websites, CI, documentation, etc.)

 •   Maintaining significant projects in the Perl ecosystem

 •   Creating visual designs

 Core Team membership acknowledges sustained and valuable efforts that
 align well with the philosophy and the goals of the Perl project.

 Core Team members are expected to act as role models for the community
 and custodians of the project, on behalf of the community and all those
 who rely on Perl.

 _T_e_r_m

 Core Team members serve until they are removed.

 _R_e_m_o_v_a_l

 Core Team Members may resign their position at any time.

 In exceptional circumstances, it may be necessary to remove someone from
 the Core Team against their will, such as for flagrant or repeated
 violations of a Code of Conduct.  Any Core Team member may send a recall
 request to the Steering Council naming the individual to be removed.  The
 Steering Council must approve or reject the recall request.  If approved,
 the Steering Council will organize a Membership Change vote to ratify the
 removal.

 If the removed member is also on the Steering Council, then they are
 removed from the Steering Council as well.

 _I_n_a_c_t_i_v_i_t_y

 Core Team members who have stopped contributing are encouraged to declare
 themselves "inactive". Inactive members do not nominate or vote.
 Inactive members may declare themselves active at any time, except when a
 vote has been proposed and is not concluded.  Eligibility to nominate or
 vote will be determined by the Vote Administrator.

 To record and honor their contributions, inactive Core Team members will
 continue to be listed alongside active members.

 _N_o _C_o_n_f_i_d_e_n_c_e _i_n _t_h_e _S_t_e_e_r_i_n_g _C_o_u_n_c_i_l

 The Core Team may remove either a single Steering Council member or the
 entire Steering Council via a No Confidence Vote.

 A No Confidence Vote is triggered when a Core Team member calls for one
 publicly on an appropriate project communication channel, and another
 Core Team member seconds the proposal.

 If a No Confidence Vote removes all Steering Council members, the Vote
 Administrator of the No Confidence Vote will then administer an election
 to select a new Steering Council.

 _A_m_e_n_d_i_n_g _P_e_r_l _R_u_l_e_s _o_f _G_o_v_e_r_n_a_n_c_e

 Any Core Team member may propose amending the Perl Rules of Governance by
 sending a proposal to the Steering Council.  The Steering Council must
 decide to approve or reject the proposal.  If approved, the Steering
 Council will organize an Amendment Vote.

 _R_u_l_e_s _f_o_r _V_o_t_i_n_g

 Membership Change, Amendment, and No Confidence Votes require 2/3 of
 participating votes from Core Team members to pass.

 A Vote Administrator must be selected following the rules in the "Vote
 Administrator" section.

 The vote occurs in two steps:

 1.  The Vote Administrator describes the proposal being voted upon.  The
     Core Team then may discuss the matter in advance of voting.

 2.  Active Core Team members vote in favor or against the proposal.
     Voting is performed anonymously.

 For a Membership Change Vote, each phase will last one week.  For
 Amendment and No Confidence Votes, each phase will last two weeks.

TThhee SStteeeerriinngg CCoouunncciill The Steering Council is a 3-person committee, elected by the Core Team. Candidates are not required to be members of the Core Team. Non-member candidates are added to the Core Team if elected as if by a Membership Change Vote.

 References to specific elections are explained in the "Rules for
 Elections" section.

 _P_o_w_e_r_s

 The Steering Council has broad authority to make decisions about the
 development of the Perl language, the interpreter, and all other
 components, systems and processes that result in new releases of the
 language interpreter.

 For example, it can:

 •   Manage the schedule and process for shipping new releases

 •   Establish procedures for proposing, discussing and deciding upon
     changes to the language

 •   Delegate power to individuals on or outside the Steering Council

 Decisions of the Steering Council will be made by majority vote of non-
 vacant seats on the council.

 The Steering Council should look for ways to use these powers as little
 as possible.  Instead of voting, it's better to seek consensus. Instead
 of ruling on individual cases, it's better to define standards and
 processes that apply to all cases.

 As with the Core Team, the Steering Council does not have any authority
 over parts of the Perl ecosystem unrelated to developing and releasing
 the language itself.

 The Steering Council does not have the power to modify the Perl Rules of
 Governance, except as provided in the section "Amending Perl Rules of
 Governance".

 _T_e_r_m

 A new Steering Council will be chosen by a Term Election after each
 stable feature release (that is, change to "PERL_REVISION" or
 "PERL_VERSION") or after two years, whichever comes first. The Term
 Election will be organized within two weeks of the triggering event. The
 council members will serve until the completion of the next Term Election
 unless they are removed.

 _R_e_m_o_v_a_l

 Steering Council members may resign their position at any time.

 Whenever there are vacancies on the Steering Council, the council will
 organize a Special Election within one week after the vacancy occurs.  If
 the entire Steering Council is ever vacant, a Term Election will be held
 instead.

 The Steering Council may defer the Special Election for up to twelve
 weeks.  Their intent to do so must be publicly stated to the Core Team.
 If any active Core Team member objects within one week, the Special
 Election must be organized within two weeks.  At any time, the Steering
 Council may choose to cancel the deferment and immediately commence
 organizing a Special Election.

 If a Steering Council member is deceased, or drops out of touch and
 cannot be contacted for a month or longer, then the rest of the council
 may vote to declare their seat vacant.  If an absent member returns after
 such a declaration is made, they are not reinstated automatically, but
 may run in the Special Election to fill the vacancy.

 Otherwise, Steering Council members may only be removed before the end of
 their term through a No Confidence Vote by the Core Team.

 _R_u_l_e_s _f_o_r _E_l_e_c_t_i_o_n_s

 Term and Special Election are ranked-choice votes to construct an ordered
 list of candidates to fill vacancies in the Steering Council.

 A Vote Administrator must be selected following the rules in the "Vote
 Administrator" section.

 Both Term and Special Elections occur in two stages:

 1.  Candidates advertise their interest in serving. Candidates must be
     nominated by an active Core Team member. Self-nominations are
     allowed.  Nominated candidates may share a statement about their
     candidacy with the Core Team.

 2.  If there are no more candidates than open seats, no vote is required.
     The candidates will be declared to have won when the nomination
     period ends.

     Otherwise, active Core Team Members vote by ranking all candidates.
     Voting is performed anonymously.  After voting is complete,
     candidates are ranked using the Condorcet Internet Voting Service's
     proportional representation mode.  If a tie occurs, it may be
     resolved by mutual agreement among the tied candidates, or else the
     tie will be resolved through random selection by the Vote
     Administrator.

 Anyone voted off the Core Team is not eligible to be a candidate for
 Steering Council unless re-instated to the Core Team.

 For a Term Election, each phase will last two weeks.  At the end of the
 second phase, the top three ranked candidates are elected as the new
 Steering Council.

 For a Special Election, each phase will last one week.  At the end of the
 second phase, vacancies are filled from the ordered list of candidates
 until no vacancies remain.

 The election of the first Steering Council will be a Term Election.
 Ricardo Signes will be the Vote Administrator for the initial Term
 Election unless he is a candidate, in which case he will select a non-
 candidate administrator to replace him.

TThhee VVoottee AAddmmiinniissttrraattoorr Every election or vote requires a Vote Administrator who manages communication, collection of secret ballots, and all other necessary activities to complete the voting process.

 Unless otherwise specified, the Steering Council selects the Vote
 Administrator.

 A Vote Administrator must not be a member of the Steering Council nor a
 candidate or subject of the vote.  A Vote Administrator may be a member
 of the Core Team and, if so, may cast a vote while also serving as
 administrator.  If the Vote Administrator becomes a candidate during an
 election vote, they will appoint a non-candidate replacement.

 If the entire Steering Council is vacant or is the subject of a No
 Confidence Vote, then the Core Team will select a Vote Administrator by
 consensus.  If consensus cannot be reached within one week, the President
 of The Perl Foundation will select a Vote Administrator.

SStteeeerriinngg CCoouunncciill MMeemmbbeerrss • Neil Bowers

 •   Paul Evans

 •   Ricardo Signes

CCoorree TTeeaamm MMeemmbbeerrss The current members of the Perl Core Team are:

AAccttiivvee MMeemmbbeerrss Chad Granum exodist7@gmail.com Chris ‘BinGOs’ Williams chris@bingosnet.co.uk Craig Berry craigberry@mac.com Dagfinn Ilmari Mannsåker ilmari@ilmari.org David Golden xdg@xdg.me David Mitchell davem@iabyn.com H. Merijn Brand perl5@tux.freedom.nl Hugo van der Sanden hv@crypt.org James E Keenan jkeenan@cpan.org Jason McIntosh jmac@jmac.org Karen Etheridge ether@cpan.org Karl Williamson khw@cpan.org Leon Timmermans fawaka@gmail.com Matthew Horsfall wolfsage@gmail.com Max Maischein cpan@corion.net Neil Bowers neilb@neilb.org Nicholas Clark nick@ccl4.org Nicolas R atoomic@cpan.org Paul “LeoNerd” Evans leonerd@leonerd.org.uk Philippe “BooK” Bruhat book@cpan.org Ricardo Signes rjbs@semiotic.systems Steve Hay steve.m.hay@googlemail.com Stuart Mackintosh stuart@perlfoundation.org Todd Rinaldo toddr@cpanel.net Tony Cook tony@develop-help.com

IInnaaccttiivvee MMeemmbbeerrss Abhijit Menon-Sen ams@toroid.org Andy Dougherty doughera@lafayette.edu Jan Dubois jan@jandubois.com Jesse Vincent jesse@fsck.com

perl v5.36.3 2023-02-15 PERLGOV(1)