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Added RFC 22
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hintjens committed Mar 21, 2013
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The Collective Code Construction Contract (C4) is an evolution of the github.com [http://help.github.com/send-pull-requests/ Fork + Pull Model], aimed at providing an optimal collaboration model for free software projects. This is revision 1 of the C4 specification.

++ Language

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119[((bibcite rfc2119))].

++ Changes over Revision Zero

* Removal of requirement to use Semantic Versioning, which allows changes to APIs that are forbidden by C4.

* Clarification of how far a patch has to compile and pass tests.

* Clarification that we maintain stabilization projects using the same process.

* Addition of rule that accepted contributors are systematically invited to become maintainers.

* Addition of section on "Project Administration".

++ Goals

C4 is meant to provide a reusable optimal collaboration model for open source software projects. It has these specific goals:

* To maximize the scale of the community around a project, by reducing the friction for new Contributors and creating a scaled participation model with strong positive feedbacks;

* To relieve dependencies on key individuals by separating different skill sets so that there is a larger pool of competence in any required domain;

* To allow the project to develop faster and more accurately, by increasing the diversity of the decision making process;

* To support the natural life cycle of project versions from experimental through to stable, by allowing safe experimentation, rapid failure, and isolation of stable code;

* To reduce the internal complexity of project repositories, thus making it easier for Contributors to participate and reducing the scope for error;

* To enforce collective ownership of the project, which increases economic incentive to Contributors and reduces the risk of hijack by hostile entities.

++ Design

+++ Preliminaries

* The project SHALL use the git distributed revision control system.

* The project SHALL be hosted on github.com or equivalent, herein called the "Platform".

* The project SHALL use the Platform issue tracker.

* The project SHOULD have clearly documented guidelines for code style.

* A "Contributor" is a person who wishes to provide a patch, being a set of commits that solve some clearly identified problem.

* A "Maintainer" is a person who merge patches to the project. Maintainers are not developers; their job is to enforce process.

* Contributors SHALL NOT have commit access to the repository unless they are also Maintainers.

* Maintainers SHALL have commit access to the repository.

* Everyone, without distinction or discrimination, SHALL have an equal right to become a Contributor under the terms of this contract.

+++ Licensing and Ownership

* The project SHALL use the GPLv3 or a variant thereof (LGPL, AGPL).

* All contributions to the project source code ("patches") SHALL use the same license as the project.

* All patches are owned by their authors. There SHALL NOT be any copyright assignment process.

* The copyrights in the project SHALL be owned collectively by all its Contributors.

* Each Contributor SHALL be responsible for identifying themselves in the project Contributor list.

+++ Patch Requirements

* Maintainers and Contributors MUST have a Platform account and SHOULD use their real names or a well-known alias.

* A patch SHOULD be a minimal and accurate answer to exactly one identified and agreed problem.

* A patch MUST adhere to the code style guidelines of the project if these are defined.

* A patch MUST adhere to the "Evolution of Public Contracts" guidelines defined below.

* A patch SHALL NOT include non-trivial code from other projects unless the Contributor is the original author of that code.

* A patch MUST compile cleanly and pass project self-tests on at least the principle target platform.

* A "Correct Patch" is one that satisfies the above requirements.

+++ Development Process

* Change on the project SHALL be governed by the pattern of accurately identifying problems and applying minimal, accurate solutions to these problems.

* To initiate changes, a user SHALL log an issue on the project Platform issue tracker.

* The user SHOULD write the issue by describing the problem they face or observe.

* The user SHOULD seek consensus on the accuracy of their observation, and the value of solving the problem.

* Users SHALL NOT log feature requests, ideas, suggestions, or any solutions to problems that are not explicitly documented and provable.

* Thus, the release history of the project SHALL be a list of meaningful issues logged and solved.

* To work on an issue, a Contributor SHALL fork the project repository and then work on their forked repository.

* To submit a patch, a Contributor SHALL create a Platform pull request back to the project.

* A Contributor SHALL NOT commit changes directly to the project.

* To discuss a patch, people MAY comment on the Platform pull request, on the commit, or elsewhere.

* To accept or reject a patch, a Maintainer SHALL use the Platform interface.

* Maintainers SHALL NOT accept their own patches.

* Maintainers SHALL NOT make value judgments on correct patches.

* Maintainers SHALL merge correct patches rapidly.

* The Contributor MAY tag an issue as "Ready" after making a pull request for the issue.

* The user who created an issue SHOULD close the issue after checking the patch is successful.

* Maintainers SHOULD ask for improvements to incorrect patches and SHOULD reject incorrect patches if the Contributor does not respond constructively.

* Any Contributor who has value judgments on a correct patch SHOULD express these via their own patches.

* Maintainers MAY commit changes to non-source documentation directly to the project.

+++ Creating Stable Releases

* The project SHALL have one branch ("master") that always holds the latest in-progress version and SHOULD always build.

* The project SHALL NOT use topic branches for any reason. Personal forks MAY use topic branches.

* To make a stable release someone SHALL fork the repository by copying it and thus become maintainer of this repository.

* Forking a project for stabilization MAY be done unilaterally and without agreement of project maintainers.

* A stabilization project SHOULD be maintained by the same process as the main project.

* A patch to a stabilization project declared "stable" SHALL be accompanied by a reproducible test case.

+++ Evolution of Public Contracts

* All Public Contracts (APIs or protocols) SHOULD be documented.

* All Public Contracts SHOULD have space for extensibility and experimentation.

* A patch that modifies a Public Contract SHOULD not break existing applications unless there is prior consensus on the value of doing this.

* A patch that introduces new features to a Public Contract SHOULD do so using new names.

* Old names SHOULD be deprecated in a systematic fashion by marking new names as "experimental" until they are stable, then marking the old names as "deprecated".

* When sufficient time has passed, old deprecated names SHOULD be marked "legacy" and eventually removed.

* Old names SHALL NOT be reused by new features.

* When old names are removed, their implementations MUST provoke an exception (assertion) if used by applications.

+++ Project Administration

* The project founders SHALL act as Administrators to manage the set of project Maintainers.

* The Administrators SHALL ensure their own succession over time by promoting the most effective Maintainers.

* A new Contributor who makes a correct patch SHALL be invited to become a Maintainer.

* Administrators MAY remove Maintainers who are inactive for an extended period of time, or who repeatedly fail to apply this process accurately.

++ References

[[bibliography]]
: rfc2119 : "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels" - [http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2119 ietf.org]
: fandos : "Definition of a Free and Open Standard" - [http://www.digistan.org/open-standard:definition digistan.org]
: coss : "Consensus Oriented Specification System" - [http://www.digistan.org/spec:1/COSS digistan.org]
[[/bibliography]]

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