[net2-wg] Voting on Apache Group

[Rodrigo Fonseca]

Hi,

please correct me if there is another page for this.

The following is extracted from http://httpd.apache.org/dev/guidelines.html

The summary: you may vote 0,-1, or +1. The threshold constant is 3, not 5.

There are two types of votes:
  - consensus: 3 "+1" votes and no "-1"
  - majority: 3 "+1" votes and more "+1" than "-1"

I think this is a good idea. For admission I propose the majority
scheme above, with a time-limit for counting vetoes (1 to 2 weeks at
most).

Thoughts? (We have no voting scheme for deciding on voting schemes... :)  )
Rodrigo

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from http://httpd.apache.org/dev/guidelines.html

 Voting

    Any of the Apache Developers may vote on any issue or action item.
However, the only binding votes are those cast by active members of
the Apache Group; if the vote is about a change to source code or
documentation, the primary author of what is being changed may also
cast a binding vote on that issue. All other votes are non-binding.
All developers are encouraged to participate in decisions, but the
decision itself is made by those who have been long-time contributors
to the project. In other words, the Apache Project is a
minimum-threshold meritocracy.

    The act of voting carries certain obligations -- voting members
are not only stating their opinion, they are agreeing to help do the
work of the Apache Project. Since we are all volunteers, members often
become inactive for periods of time in order to take care of their
"real jobs" or devote more time to other projects. It is therefore
unlikely that the entire group membership will vote on every issue. To
account for this, all voting decisions are based on a minimum quorum.

    Each vote can be made in one of three flavors:

    +1
        Yes, agree, or the action should be performed. On some issues,
this vote is only binding if the voter has tested the action on their
own system(s).
    ±0
        Abstain, no opinion, or I am happy to let the other group
members decide this issue. An abstention may have detrimental effects
if too many people abstain.
    -1
        No. On issues where consensus is required, this vote counts as
a veto. All vetos must include an explanation of why the veto is
appropriate. A veto with no explanation is void. No veto can be
overruled. If you disagree with the veto, you should lobby the person
who cast the veto. Voters intending to veto an action item should make
their opinions known to the group immediately, so that the problem can
be remedied as early as possible.

    An action item requiring consensus approval must receive at least
3 binding +1 votes and no vetos. An action item requiring majority
approval must receive at least 3 binding +1 votes and more +1 votes
than -1 votes (i.e., a majority with a minimum quorum of three
positive votes). All other action items are considered to have lazy
approval until someone votes -1, after which point they are decided by
either consensus or a majority vote, depending upon the type of action
item.

    Votes are tallied within the STATUS file, adjacent to the action
item under vote. All votes must be either sent to the mailing list or
added directly to the STATUS file entry for that action item.