apache · FreeAndNil · Dec 8, 2025 · Dec 5, 2025
diff --git a/antora-playbook.yaml b/antora-playbook.yaml
@@ -101,6 +101,10 @@ ui:
           .hljs-string {
             color: #0f8532;
           }
+          /* Colors for maintenance policies */
+          .development { color: #8A4FFF; }
+          .active { color: #28A745; }
+          .eol { color: #DC3545; }
         </style>
 
     - path: partials/header-content.hbs

diff --git a/src/site/antora/modules/ROOT/nav.adoc b/src/site/antora/modules/ROOT/nav.adoc
@@ -48,4 +48,5 @@
 * xref:release-notes.adoc[]
 * xref:release-review.adoc[]
 * {logging-services-url}/support.html[Support]
+** xref:versioning.adoc[]
 * {logging-services-url}/security.html[Security]
diff --git a/src/site/antora/modules/ROOT/pages/download.adoc b/src/site/antora/modules/ROOT/pages/download.adoc
@@ -28,3 +28,6 @@ Proceed to xref:manual/installation.adoc[].
 Proceed to xref:release-notes.adoc[].
 ====
 
+include::partial$supported-versions.adoc[leveloffset=+1]
+
+See xref:versioning.adoc[Version lifecycle and maintenance policy] for more information about the maintenance lifecycle of log4net versions.
diff --git a/src/site/antora/modules/ROOT/pages/versioning.adoc b/src/site/antora/modules/ROOT/pages/versioning.adoc
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+////
+    Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+    contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+    this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+    The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+    (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+    the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+         http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+    distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+    WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+    See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+    limitations under the License.
+////
+
+= Versioning and support policy
+
+include::partial$supported-versions.adoc[leveloffset=+1]
+
+
+[#versioning-policy]
+== Versioning policy
+
+Apache log4net follows
+https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html[semantic versioning],
+with release numbers of the form:
+
+[source]
+----
+<major>.<minor>.<patch>[-<pre-release>]
+----
+
+where:
+
+<major>::
++
+The major version number is incremented when **breaking changes** are introduced.
++
+Upgrading to a new major version typically requires code changes in your application.
+For each new major release, a migration guide will be provided.
++
+
+<minor>::
++
+The minor version number is incremented when new features are added in a backward-compatible manner, such as:
++
+--
+* New methods or classes added to the public API of one of the components.
+* New configuration attributes added to appenders, layouts, filters, etc.
+* Functionality or methods/classes being deprecated.
+* Behavioral changes introduced without breaking the public API.
+--
++
+Upgrading to a new minor version usually does not require code changes,
+unless you rely on undocumented behavior that has changed.
+To avoid accumulating such changes, we recommend upgrading minor versions regularly.
++
+When upgrading to a new minor version, review the corresponding
+xref:release-notes.adoc[]:
+behavioral changes are highlighted in the release description and listed in the “Changed” section.
+
+<patch>::
++
+The patch version number is incremented when only backward-compatible bug fixes are introduced.
++
+Upgrading to a new patch release is the simplest upgrade path.
++
+[NOTE]
+====
+The classification of a behavioral change as a minor or patch release may vary by interpretation:
+what is considered a bug by one user may be viewed as a feature by another.
+====
+
+[#maintenance-policy]
+== Version lifecycle and maintenance policy
+
+Minor releases of Apache log4net follow a defined lifecycle consisting of three phases:
+
+[development]#Active development#::
++
+The version is under active development and may introduce new features.
+Preview builds may be published during this phase; vulnerability reports are accepted and will be addressed.
++
+Versions in this phase are **not recommended** for production use.
+
+[active]#Active maintenance#::
++
+The version is considered stable and suitable for production.
+Vulnerability reports are accepted and will be addressed.
++
+Due to the limited resources of the Apache log4net project, **only the latest minor release of the latest major version** remains in Active.
+
+[eol]#End-of-life (EOL)#::
++
+The version is no longer maintained, and **vulnerability reports are not accepted**.
++
+We will notice the end of support for a version when the first preview for a new major version is published.
++
+[cols="3h,1,1,1"]
+|===
+| Maintenance phase | New features | Security/bug fixes | Security advisories
+
+| [development]#Active development#
+| **Yes**
+| **Yes**
+| **Yes**
+
+| [development]#Active maintenance#
+| **Yes**
+| **Yes**
+| **Yes**
+
+| [eol]#End-of-life (EOL)#
+| No
+| No
+| No
+
+|===
+
+[NOTE]
+====
+We avoid using the term *support* to describe the maintenance phases, because
+support remains available in **all** phases:
+
+* See {logging-services-url}/support.html#discussions-user[Community support]
+for the community-run discussion channels that are offered on a best-effort basis.
+* Although the ASF does not endorse any third-party commercial providers,
+some companies may offer paid support for EOM or EOL versions.
+See {logging-services-url}/support.html#commercial[Commercial support]
+for a publicly maintained list of such providers.
+====
diff --git a/src/site/antora/modules/ROOT/partials/supported-versions.adoc b/src/site/antora/modules/ROOT/partials/supported-versions.adoc
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+////
+    Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+    contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+    this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+    The ASF licenses this file to You 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.
+////
+
+[#supported-versions]
+= Supported versions
+
+.Maintenance status of selected log4net versions
+[cols="2h,2,3,2,2,4"]
+|===
+| Version | Status | Latest release | First release | End-of-life | Notes
+
+| 3.x
+| **[active]#Active#**
+| 3.2.0
+| 2024-09-12
+|
+|
+
+| 2.x
+| **[eol]#End-of-life#**
+| 2.0.17
+| 2020-09-06
+| 2024-09-12
+| Last release to support net20 and net45
+
+|===