Update readme and template to reflect actual process being followed

GRFC-TEMPLATE.md

@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ Title
 ----
 * Author(s): [Author Name, Co-Author Name ...]
 * Approver: a11r
-* Status: {Draft, In Review, Ready for Implementation, Implemented}
 * Implemented in: <language, ...>
 * Last updated: [Date]
 * Discussion at: <google group thread> (filled after thread exists)
@@ -13,10 +12,10 @@ Title
 
 ## Background
 
-[An introduction of the necessary background and the problem being solved by the proposed change.]
+[An introduction of the necessary background and the problem being solved by the
+proposed change.]
 
-
-### Related Proposals: 
+### Related Proposals:
 * A list of proposals this proposal builds on or supersedes.
 
 ## Proposal
@@ -25,17 +24,25 @@ Title
 
 ### Temporary environment variable protection
 
-[Name the environment variable(s) used to enable/disable the feature(s) this proposal introduces and their default(s).  Generally, features that are enabled by I/O should include this type of control until they have passed some testing criteria, which should also be detailed here.  This section may be omitted if there are none.]
+[Name the environment variable(s) used to enable/disable the feature(s) this
+proposal introduces and their default(s).  Generally, features that are enabled
+by I/O should include this type of control until they have passed some testing
+criteria, which should also be detailed here.  This section may be omitted if
+there are none.]
 
 ## Rationale
 
-[A discussion of alternate approaches and the trade offs, advantages, and disadvantages of the specified approach.]
+[A discussion of alternate approaches and the trade offs, advantages, and
+disadvantages of the specified approach.]
 
 
 ## Implementation
 
-[A description of the steps in the implementation, who will do them, and when.  If a particular language is going to get the implementation first, this section should list the proposed order.]
+[A description of the steps in the implementation, who will do them, and when.
+If a particular language is going to get the implementation first, this section
+should list the proposed order.]
 
 ## Open issues (if applicable)
 
-[A discussion of issues relating to this proposal for which the author does not know the solution. This section may be omitted if there are none.]
+[A discussion of issues relating to this proposal for which the author does not
+know the solution. This section may be omitted if there are none.]

README.md

@@ -1,78 +1,96 @@
 # gRPC RFCs
+
 ## Introduction
-Please read the gRPC organization's [governance rules](https://github.com/grpc/grpc-community/blob/master/governance.md)
-and [contribution guidelines](https://github.com/grpc/grpc-community/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md) before proceeding.
 
-This repo contains the design proposals for substantial feature changes for
-gRPC that need to be designed upfront. The goal of the upfront design process
-is to:
-- Provide increased visibility to the community on upcoming changes and the design considerations around them.
-- Provide ability to reason about larger “sets” of changes that are too big to be covered either in an Issue or in a PR.
-- Establish a consistent process for structured participation by the community on large changes, especially those that impact multiple runtimes and implementations.
+Please read the gRPC organization's [governance
+rules](https://github.com/grpc/grpc-community/blob/master/governance.md) and
+[contribution
+guidelines](https://github.com/grpc/grpc-community/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md)
+before proceeding.
+
+This repo contains the design proposals for substantial feature changes for gRPC
+that need to be designed upfront. The goal of the upfront design process is to:
+
+- Provide increased visibility to the community on upcoming changes and the
+  design considerations around them.
+- Provide ability to reason about larger “sets” of changes that are too big to
+  be covered either in an Issue or in a PR.
+- Establish a consistent process for structured participation by the community
+  on large changes, especially those that impact multiple runtimes and
+  implementations.
 
 ## Prerequisites
-This process needs to be followed for any significant change to gRPC that
-needs design.
-Changes that are considered significant can be:
+
+This process needs to be followed for any significant change to gRPC that needs
+design. Changes that are considered significant can be:
+
 - Features that need implementation across runtimes and languages.
 - Process changes that affect how the gRPC product is implemented.
 - Breaking changes to the public API (i.e. semver major changes).
 
 ## Process
 
 1. Fork the repo and copy the template [GRFC-TEMPLATE.md](GRFC-TEMPLATE.md).
-1. Rename it to ``$CategoryName-$Summary``, eg.: ``A6-client-retries.md`` (see
-  category definitions below)
+1. Write the RFC.
+1. Rename it to ``$CategoryName##-$Summary``, eg.: ``A6-client-retries.md``
+   (see category definitions below)
    - For language-specific proposals, include the name of the language:
-     ``L##-$Language-$Summary``.  Canonical names: `core`, `cpp`, `csharp`, `go`,
+     ``L##-$Language-$Summary``. Canonical names: `core`, `cpp`, `csharp`, `go`,
      `java`, `node`, `objc`, `php`, `python`, `ruby`.
-1. Write up the RFC.
-1. Submit a Pull Request.
-1. Someone from gRPC team will be assigned as an APPROVER as part of this
-review. Once the APPROVER is assigned, the OWNER needs to start a discussion on
+   - To determine the number to use for your proposal, view all PRs (open and
+     closed), sorted by creation date ([link](
+     https://github.com/grpc/proposal/pulls?q=is%3Apr+sort%3Acreated-desc)).
+     Find the first _new_ proposal PR of the same type, and use the following
+     number.
+1. Submit a Pull Request.  The PR description should be formatted as follows:
+
+        $CategoryName##: <title>
+
+1. Someone from the gRPC team will be assigned as an APPROVER as part of this
+review.
+1. Once the APPROVER is assigned, the OWNER needs to send a notification to
 [grpc-io](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/grpc-io) and update the PR
-with the discussion link. After this is done, the OWNER should update the gRFC
-to the state of ``In Review``. It is expected that the APPROVER will help the
-OWNER along this process as needed.
-1. For at least a period of 10 business days (the minimum comment period),
-it is expected that the OWNER will respond to the comments and make updates
-to the RFC as new commits to the PR. Through the process, the discussion
-needs to be kept to the designated thread in the mailing list in order to
-avoid splintering conversations. The OWNER is encouraged to solicit as much
-feedback on the proposal as possible during this period.
-PR comments should be limited to formatting and vocabulary.
+with the discussion link.  Discussion about the RFC should take place in the PR,
+on GitHub, not on the grpc-io list.
+1. For a period of at least 10 business days (the minimum comment period), it is
+expected that the OWNER will respond to the comments and make updates to the RFC
+as new commits to the PR. The OWNER is encouraged to solicit as much feedback on
+the proposal as possible during this period.
 1. If there is consensus as deemed by the APPROVER during the comment period,
-the APPROVER will mark the proposal as final and assign it a gRFC number.
-Once this is assigned (as part of the closure of discussion), the OWNER will
-update the state of the PR as final and submit the PR.
-Commits must not be squashed; the commit history serves as a log of changes
-made to the proposal.
+the APPROVER will approve the PR on GitHub. The PR will then be merged by either
+the OWNER, if possible, or the APPROVER otherwise.
+
+All proposals merged into the repo are considered "approved" and either
+implemented or ready to implement.
 
 ## APPROVER
+
 - By default ``a11r`` is the approver unless another approver is assigned
 on a per-proposal basis.
 - If the assigned APPROVER and the OWNER cannot satisfactorily settle an issue,
 the final APPROVER is still ``a11r``.
 
 ## Proposal Categories
+
 The proposals shall be numbered in increasing order.
 
-- ``#An`` - Affects all languages.
-- ``#Pnn`` - Affects processes, such as the proposal process itself.
-- ``#Lnnn`` - Language specific changes to external APIs or platform support.
-- ``#Gnnnn`` - Protocol level changes.
-
-## Proposal Status
-1. Every uncommitted proposal candidate starts off in the ``Draft`` state.
-1. After it accepted for review and posted to the group, it enters the
-``In Review`` state.
-1. Once it is approved for submission by the arbiter, it goes into the
-``Final`` state. Only minor changes are allowed (what qualifies as minor is
-left to the APPROVER).
-1. If a proposal needs to be revisited, it can be moved back to the ``Draft``
-or ``In Review`` state. This can happen if issues are discovered during
-implementation. At which point, the review process as described above must be
-followed.
-1. Once a proposal is ``Final`` and if it has been implemented by a language,
-it can be updated to a status of ``Implemented`` with the implementing
-languages listed. (Listing versions is not required.)
+- ``An`` - Affects all languages.
+- ``Pnn`` - Affects processes, such as the proposal process itself.
+- ``Lnnn`` - Language specific changes to external APIs or platform support.
+- ``Gnnnn`` - Protocol level changes.
+
+## Updating proposals
+
+Sometimes changes are needed to approved proposals.  Rather than create new
+proposals for such changes, it is often better to revise the existing one.
+
+For minor changes to a proposal (what qualifies as minor is left to the
+APPROVER), a PR may be approved and merged at the OWNER's and APPROVER's
+convenience.
+
+For any other changes, the original process's 10 day comment period must be
+observed.
+
+When updating a proposal, the PR description should be named as follows:
+
+    $CategoryName## update: <description of change>