5 perlgov - Perl Rules of Governance
9 We are forming a system of governance for development of the Perl programming
12 The scope of governance includes the language definition, its
13 implementation, its test suite, its documentation, and the policies and
14 procedures by which it is developed and maintained.
16 The system of governance includes definitions of the groups that will make
17 decisions, the rules by which these groups are formed and changed, and the
18 enumerated powers and constraints on the activities of these governing
21 In forming a system of governance, we seek to achieve the following goals:
27 We want a system that is functional. That means the governing groups may
28 decide to undertake large changes, or they may decide to act conservatively,
29 but they will act with intent and clear communication rather than fail to reach
30 decisions when needed.
34 We want a system that is trusted. That means that a reasonable contributor to
35 Perl might disagree with decisions made by the governing groups, but will
36 accept that they were made in good faith in consultation with relevant
37 communities outside the governing groups.
41 We want a system that is sustainable. That means it has provisions to
42 self-modify, including ways of adding new members to the governing groups, ways
43 to survive members becoming inactive, and ways of amending the rules of
44 governance themselves if needed.
48 We want a system that is transparent. That means that it will prefer policies
49 that manage ordinary matters in public, and it will prefer secrecy in a limited
54 We want a system that is respectful. That means that it will establish
55 standards of civil discourse that allow for healthy disagreement but avoid
56 rancor and hostility in the community for which it is responsible.
62 Perl language governance shall work to:
68 Maintain the quality, stability, and continuity of the Perl language and
73 Guide the evolution of the Perl language and interpreter
77 Establish and oversee the policies, procedures, systems, and mechanisms that
78 enable a community of contributors to the Perl language and interpreter
82 Encourage discussion and consensus among contributors as preferential to formal
83 decision making by governance groups
87 Facilitate communication between contributors and external stakeholders in the
88 broader Perl ecosystem
94 This document describes three roles involved in governance:
100 =item "Steering Council"
102 =item "Vote Administrator"
106 A section on each follows.
110 The Core Team are a group of trusted volunteers involved in the ongoing
111 development of the Perl language and interpreter. They are not required to be
112 language developers or committers.
114 References to specific votes are explained in the "Rules for Voting" section.
118 In addition to their contributions to the Perl language, the Core Team sets
119 the rules of Perl governance, decides who participates in what role in
120 governance, and delegates substantial decision making power to the Steering
129 They elect the Steering Council and have the power to remove Steering
134 In concert with the Steering Council, they manage Core Team membership.
138 In concert with the Steering Council, they have the power to modify the Perl
143 The Core Team do not have any authority over parts of the Perl ecosystem
144 unrelated to developing and releasing the language itself. These include, but
155 CPAN administration and CPAN authors
159 perl.org, metacpan.org, and other community-maintained websites and services
163 Perl conferences and events, except those organized directly by the Core Team
167 Perl-related intellectual property legally owned by third-parties, except as
168 allowed by applicable licenses or agreements
174 The initial Core Team members will be specified when this document is
177 Any Core Team member may nominate someone to be added to the Core Team by
178 sending the nomination to the Steering Council. The Steering Council must
179 approve or reject the nomination. If approved, the Steering Council will
180 organize a Membership Change Vote to ratify the addition.
182 Core Team members should demonstrate:
188 A solid track record of being constructive and helpful
192 Significant contributions to the project's goals, in any form
196 Willingness to dedicate some time to improving Perl
200 Contributions are not limited to code. Here is an incomplete list of areas
201 where contributions may be considered for joining the Core Team:
207 Working on community management and outreach
211 Providing support on mailing lists, IRC, or other forums
219 Writing patches (code, docs, or tests)
223 Reviewing patches (code, docs, or tests)
227 Participating in design discussions
231 Providing expertise in a particular domain (security, i18n, etc.)
235 Managing Perl infrastructure (websites, CI, documentation, etc.)
239 Maintaining significant projects in the Perl ecosystem
243 Creating visual designs
247 Core Team membership acknowledges sustained and valuable efforts that align
248 well with the philosophy and the goals of the Perl project.
250 Core Team members are expected to act as role models for the community and
251 custodians of the project, on behalf of the community and all those who rely
256 Core Team members serve until they are removed.
260 Core Team Members may resign their position at any time.
262 In exceptional circumstances, it may be necessary to remove someone from the
263 Core Team against their will, such as for flagrant or repeated violations of a
264 Code of Conduct. Any Core Team member may send a recall request to the
265 Steering Council naming the individual to be removed. The Steering Council
266 must approve or reject the recall request. If approved, the Steering Council
267 will organize a Membership Change vote to ratify the removal.
269 If the removed member is also on the Steering Council, then they are removed
270 from the Steering Council as well.
274 Core Team members who have stopped contributing are encouraged to declare
275 themselves "inactive". Inactive members do not nominate or vote. Inactive
276 members may declare themselves active at any time, except when a vote has been
277 proposed and is not concluded. Eligibility to nominate or vote will be
278 determined by the Vote Administrator.
280 To record and honor their contributions, inactive Core Team members will
281 continue to be listed alongside active members.
283 =head3 No Confidence in the Steering Council
285 The Core Team may remove either a single Steering Council member or the entire
286 Steering Council via a No Confidence Vote.
288 A No Confidence Vote is triggered when a Core Team member calls for one
289 publicly on an appropriate project communication channel, and another Core
290 Team member seconds the proposal.
292 If a No Confidence Vote removes all Steering Council members, the Vote
293 Administrator of the No Confidence Vote will then administer an election
294 to select a new Steering Council.
296 =head3 Amending Perl Rules of Governance
298 Any Core Team member may propose amending the Perl Rules of Governance by
299 sending a proposal to the Steering Council. The Steering Council must decide
300 to approve or reject the proposal. If approved, the Steering Council will
301 administer an Amendment Vote.
303 =head3 Rules for Voting
305 Membership Change, Amendment, and No Confidence Votes require 2/3 of
306 participating votes from Core Team members to pass.
308 A Vote Administrator must be selected following the rules in the "Vote
309 Administrator" section.
311 The vote occurs in two steps:
317 The Vote Administrator describes the proposal being voted upon. The Core Team
318 then may discuss the matter in advance of voting.
322 Active Core Team members vote in favor or against the proposal. Voting is
323 performed anonymously.
327 For a Membership Change Vote, each phase will last one week. For Amendment and
328 No Confidence Votes, each phase will last two weeks.
330 =head2 The Steering Council
332 The Steering Council is a 3-person committee, elected by the Core
333 Team. Candidates are not required to be members of the Core Team. Non-member
334 candidates are added to the Core Team if elected as if by a Membership Change
337 References to specific elections are explained in the "Rules for Elections" section.
341 The Steering Council has broad authority to make decisions about the
342 development of the Perl language, the interpreter, and all other components,
343 systems and processes that result in new releases of the language interpreter.
351 Manage the schedule and process for shipping new releases
355 Establish procedures for proposing, discussing and deciding upon changes to the
360 Delegate power to individuals on or outside the Steering Council
364 Decisions of the Steering Council will be made by majority vote of non-vacant
365 seats on the council.
367 The Steering Council should look for ways to use these powers as little as
368 possible. Instead of voting, it's better to seek consensus. Instead of ruling
369 on individual cases, it's better to define standards and processes that apply
372 As with the Core Team, the Steering Council does not have any authority over
373 parts of the Perl ecosystem unrelated to developing and releasing the language
376 The Steering Council does not have the power to modify the Perl Rules of
377 Governance, except as provided in the section "Amending Perl Rules of
382 A new Steering Council will be chosen by a Term Election within two weeks after
383 each stable feature release (that is, change to C<PERL_REVISION> or
384 C<PERL_VERSION>) or after two years, whichever comes first. The council members
385 will serve until the completion of the next Term Election unless they are
390 Steering Council members may resign their position at any time.
392 Whenever there are vacancies on the Steering Council, the council will
393 organize a Special Election within one week after the vacancy occurs. If the
394 entire Steering Council is ever vacant, a Term Election will be held instead.
396 If a Steering Council member is deceased, or drops out of touch and cannot be
397 contacted for a month or longer, then the rest of the council may vote to
398 declare their seat vacant. If an absent member returns after such a
399 declaration is made, they are not reinstated automatically, but may run in the
400 Special Election to fill the vacancy.
402 Otherwise, Steering Council members may only be removed before the end of
403 their term through a No Confidence Vote by the Core Team.
405 =head3 Rules for Elections
407 Term and Special Election are ranked-choice votes to construct an ordered list
408 of candidates to fill vacancies in the Steering Council.
410 A Vote Administrator must be selected following the rules in the "Vote
411 Administrator" section.
413 Both Term and Special Elections occur in two stages:
419 Candidates advertise their interest in serving. Candidates must be nominated by
420 an active Core Team member. Self-nominations are allowed. Nominated candidates
421 may share a statement about their candidacy with the Core Team.
425 Active Core Team Members vote by ranking all candidates. Voting is performed
426 anonymously. After voting is complete, candidates are ranked using the
427 Condorcet Internet Voting Service's proportional representation mode. If a tie
428 occurs, it may be resolved by mutual agreement among the tied candidates, or
429 else the tie will be resolved through random selection by the Vote
434 Anyone voted off the Core Team is not eligible to be a candidate for Steering
435 Council unless re-instated to the Core Team.
437 For a Term Election, each phase will last two weeks. At the end of the second
438 phase, the top three ranked candidates are elected as the new Steering Council.
440 For a Special Election, each phase will last one week. At the end of the
441 second phase, vacancies are filled from the ordered list of candidates until
444 The election of the first Steering Council will be a Term Election. Ricardo
445 Signes will be the Vote Administrator for the initial Term Election unless he
446 is a candidate, in which case he will select a non-candidate administrator to
449 =head2 The Vote Administrator
451 Every election or vote requires a Vote Administrator who manages
452 communication, collection of secret ballots, and all other necessary
453 activities to complete the voting process.
455 Unless otherwise specified, the Steering Council selects the Vote
458 A Vote Administrator must not be a member of the Steering Council nor a
459 candidate or subject of the vote. A Vote Administrator may be a member of the
460 Core Team and, if so, may cast a vote while also serving as administrator. If
461 the Vote Administrator becomes a candidate during an election vote, they will
462 appoint a non-candidate replacement.
464 If the entire Steering Council is vacant or is the subject of a No Confidence
465 Vote, then the Core Team will select a Vote Administrator by consensus. If
466 consensus cannot be reached within one week, the President of The Perl
467 Foundation will select a Vote Administrator.
469 =head1 Steering Council Members
475 =item * Nicholas Clark
477 =item * Ricardo Signes
481 =head1 Core Team Members
483 The current members of the Perl Core Team are:
487 =item * Abhijit Menon-Sen (inactive)
489 =item * Andy Dougherty (inactive)
493 =item * Chris 'BinGOs' Williams
497 =item * Dagfinn Ilmari Mannsåker
499 =item * Dave Mitchell
503 =item * H. Merijn Brand
505 =item * Hugo van der Sanden
507 =item * James E Keenan
509 =item * Jason McIntosh
511 =item * Jan Dubois (inactive)
513 =item * Jesse Vincent (inactive)
515 =item * Karen Etheridge
517 =item * Karl Williamson
519 =item * Leon Timmermans
521 =item * Matthew Horsfall
523 =item * Max Maischein
527 =item * Nicholas Clark
531 =item * Paul "LeoNerd" Evans
533 =item * Philippe "BooK" Bruhat
535 =item * Ricardo Signes
539 =item * Stuart Mackintosh