Groups
A Group is a collection of Participants who engage in open
conversation about a common interest. That interest may be in the
creation, enhancement, or maintenance of a specific body of code or
it may lie in other areas, e.g., quality or
documentation.
Groups are meant to capture the slowly-evolving social structure
of the Community. They are usually longer-lived than Projects and therefore more difficult to create and dissolve. Generally speaking, a new
Group should be proposed only after it has become clear that an
existing nontrivial set of regular Participants who are already
collaborating together would benefit from its creation. These are
not meant to be lightweight "interest groups".
A Group may have web content, independent of any Project, which
is writable by all of the Group's Members. A Group also has one or
more mailing lists. A Group
does not have file repositories of its own but it may sponsor
Projects, which do.
The Bylaws define several ways for the
Community to expand via Groups. A step-by-step guide is provided
here for the following common cases:
This page is a summary and interpretation of the Bylaws. If there is a conflict between this page and
the Bylaws then the Bylaws are considered authoritative.
Nominating a Contributor to be a Group Member
Any Member of a Group may
nominate a Contributor to
Membership in that Group. Group membership is one route to becoming
an OpenJDK Member.
As a rough guide, a Contributor should be regularly active in a
Group or its sponsored Projects for at least a year before being
nominated to be a Group Member.
- Step 1:
Nominate
Send a call-for-votes to the Group's OpenJDK mailing list. The voting method for
approval is Lazy Consensus and
only current Group Members are eligible to
vote.
To: <OpenJDK group mailing list>
Subject: CFV: New <group name> Group Member: <full name>
I hereby nominate <full name> to Membership in the <group name>
Group.
<contributor description>
Votes are due by <deadline>.
Only current Members of the <group name> Group [1] are eligible
to vote on this nomination. Votes must be cast in the open by
replying to this mailing list
For Lazy Consensus voting instructions, see [2].
<nominator>
[1] https://openjdk.org/census
[2] https://openjdk.org/groups/#member-vote
Where the following substitutions are made in the message:
- <OpenJDK group mailing list>
- The primary OpenJDK mailing
list for the group.
- <full name>
- The full name of the nominated Contributor (not e-mail address,
OpenJDK name, etc.).
- <group name>
- The short name for the Group as listed on the left side-bar of
the main OpenJDK page.
- <contributor description>
- Describe the nominee's past contributions to the Group, and any
relevant qualifications.
- <deadline>
- Insert a date and time, with time zone, two weeks after the
call-for-votes is sent.
- <nominator>
- Nominating Group Member's name.
- Step 2:
Vote
Group Members vote by replying to the proposal with the first
line of the message body in the following form:
Vote: <vote>
where <vote> is one of
yes, veto, or
abstain. A justification for the vote may be
provided on subsequent lines, and is required in order for a
veto vote to be valid. Multiple votes are
allowed but only the most recent vote will be counted. Votes must
be cast in the open, on the mailing list to which the
call-for-votes was originally sent; votes sent as private replies
will not be counted.
The following is a minimum affirmative reply.
To: <OpenJDK group mailing list>
Subject: Re: CFV: New <group name> Group Member: <full name>
Vote: yes
- Step 3:
Announce Result
Once all Group Members have voted or the deadline has passed
then the result must be announced to the mailing list where the
call-for-votes and voting took place. If the announcement is
approval then it must also be sent to the registrar. The registrar
will contact the new Member to obtain additional information, if
necessary, and will update the Census.
This is a typical announcement of approval:
To: <OpenJDK mailing list>
CC: registrar at openjdk dot org
Subject: Result: New <group name> Group Member: <full name>
The vote for <full name> [1] is now closed.
Yes: <number of "yes" votes>
Veto: 0
Abstain: <number of "abstain" votes>
According to the Bylaws definition of Lazy Consensus, this is
sufficient to approve the nomination.
<nominator>
[1] https://mail.openjdk.org/<reference to original CFV>
Where the following substitutions are made in the message:
- <reference to original CFV>
- Find the original call-for-votes in the OpenJDK mail archives
and provide a link to it.
Nominating a Committer or Group Member to be an OpenJDK Member
Any OpenJDK Member may
nominate any Group Member or
Project Committer to be an OpenJDK
Member. OpenJDK Members may vote on new Project proposals and
participate in various Governing Board-related activities, such as
voting on revisions of the Bylaws, attending open meetings, and
nominating and voting for At-Large members.
As a rough guide, a candidate should be a Member of at least one
Group, or a Reviewer or Project Lead of at least one Project, and
make regular and significant contributions to that Group or Project
for at least one year before being nominated to be an OpenJDK
Member.
The nomination and voting process for new OpenJDK Members is the
same as above, except that the
voting method is Three-Vote
Consensus.
Proposing a New Group
Any OpenJDK Member may
propose the creation of a new Group.
- Step
0: Discuss [optional]
It is strongly recommended that any proposal for a new Group be
discussed publicly before being sent to the Governing Board. Send
an e-mail describing the motivation, scope, goals, initial Lead,
and suggested initial Members of the proposed Group to the general discussion list.
The proposing OpenJDK Member should be an active participant in any
subsequent discussion and should refine the proposal as necessary
in response to comments.
The header for the Group proposal e-mail is as follows:
To: discuss at openjdk dot org
Subject: Group Proposal: <group name>
Where <group name> is the suggested
short name of the Group as it would appear on the left side-bar of
the main OpenJDK page.
- Step
1: Propose
Send an e-mail to the OpenJDK
Lead containing the Group name, description, initial Lead name
and qualifications, and suggested initial Members. The OpenJDK Lead
(or designate) will send a combined motion to create the Group and
appoint its initial Lead to the Governing Board. The voting method is
Simple Majority and only
current Governing Board Members are
eligible to vote.
The format for the combined motion is as follows:
To: gb-discuss at openjdk dot org
Subject: CFV: New Group: <group name>
On behalf of <proposer> I hereby propose creation of the
<group name> Group with <lead name> as the initial Lead.
<group description>
<lead description>
<list of suggested initial members>
Only current Governing Board Members[1] are eligible to vote on
this motion. Votes must be cast in the open by replying to this
mailing list.
For Simple Majority voting instructions, see [2].
<OpenJDK Lead>
[1] https://openjdk.org/census#gb
[2] https://openjdk.org/groups/#new-group-vote
Where the following substitutions are made in the message:
- <group name>
- The name of the proposed Group as it would appear on the left
side-bar of the main OpenJDK
page.
- <group description>
- Describe the Group's motivation, scope, and goals.
- <lead name>
- The full name of the proposed Group Lead (not e-mail address,
OpenJDK name, etc.)
- <lead description>
- Describe the proposed Lead's relevant qualifications.
- <list of suggested initial group
members>
- Provide the full names (not e-mail address, OpenJDK name, etc.)
of people which the prospective Group Lead may choose to appoint as
initial Members.
- <proposer>
- The name of the OpenJDK Member proposing the creation of the
new Group.
- <deadline>
- Insert a date and time, with time zone, two weeks after the
call-for-votes is sent.
The Bylaws specify separate votes on the creation of a new Group
and the appointment of its initial Lead. Any Board Member may
therefore request that the two motions be voted upon independently,
though this is not expected to be the common case.
- Step 2:
Vote
Governing Board Members vote by replying to the proposal with
the first line of the message body in the following form:
Vote: <vote>
where <vote> is one of
yes, no, or
abstain. A reason for the vote may be provided
on subsequent lines but is not required, even for a
no. Multiple votes are allowed but only the
most recent vote will be counted. Votes must be cast in the open;
votes sent as private replies will not be counted.
The following is a minimum affirmative reply:
To: gb-discuss at openjdk dot org
Subject: Re: CFV: New Group: <group name>
Vote: yes
- Step 3: Announce Results
Once all Governing Board Members have voted or the deadline has
passed, the OpenJDK Lead will send results to the announcement list. If the
announcements are of approval then they must also be sent to the
registrar.
This is a typical announcement of approval:
To: announce at openjdk dot org
CC: registrar at openjdk dot org
Subject: Result: New Group: <group name>
Voting on the <group name> Group with initial Lead <lead name> [1]
is now closed.
Yes: <number of "yes" votes>
No: <number of "no" votes>
Abstain: <number of "abstain" votes>
According to the Bylaws definition of Simple Majority, this is
sufficient to approve the new Group and its initial Lead.
<OpenJDK Lead>
[1] https://mail.openjdk.org/<reference to original CFV>
Where the following substitutions are made in the message:
- <reference to original CFV>
- Find the original call-for-votes in the OpenJDK mail archives
and provide a link to it.
- Step
4: Appoint
The registrar will send an e-mail questionnaire to the new Group
Lead to collect any information necessary to launch the Group on
OpenJDK. In addition to information for web pages and mailing
list(s) the Lead will be asked to select the initial Group Members.
The registrar will issue registration invitations as necessary and
will update the Census.
Nominating an OpenJDK Member who is a Group Member to be Group Lead
Any OpenJDK Member may
nominate any OpenJDK Member who is a Member of a particular
Group to be that Group's new Lead.
As a rough guide, a candidate should be regularly active in the
Group for at least a year before being nominated to be the Lead.
They should be recognized for their technical breadth and
leadership skills.
- Step 1:
Nominate
Send a call-for-votes to the Group's OpenJDK mailing list. The voting method for
approval is Simple Majority
and only current Group Members are
eligible to vote.
To: <OpenJDK group mailing list>
Subject: CFV: New <group name> Group Lead: <full name>
I hereby nominate <full name> to <group name> Group Lead [1].
<Group/OpenJDK Member description>
Votes are due by <deadline>.
Only current Members of the <group name> Group [2] are eligible to
vote on this nomination. Votes must be cast in the open by
replying to this mailing list.
For Simple Majority voting instructions, see [3].
<nominator>
[1]: https://openjdk.org/bylaws#group-lead
[2]: https://openjdk.org/census
[3]: https://openjdk.org/groups#lead-vote
Where the following substitutions are made in the message:
- <OpenJDK group mailing list>
- The primary OpenJDK mailing
list for the Group.
- <full name>
- The full name of the nominated Group/OpenJDK Member (not e-mail
address, OpenJDK name, etc.).
- <group name>
- The short name for the Group as listed on the left side-bar of
the main OpenJDK page.
- <Group/OpenJDK Member description>
- Describe the nominee's past contributions to the Group, and any
relevant qualifications.
- <deadline>
- Insert a date and time, with time zone, two weeks after the
call-for-votes is sent.
- <nominator>
- Nominating OpenJDK Member's name.
- Step 2: Vote to
Approve by Group Members
Group Members vote by replying to the proposal with the first
line of the message body in the following form:
Vote: <vote>
where <vote> is either
yes, no, or
abstain. A justification for the vote may be
provided on subsequent lines, and is not required, even for
a no. Multiple votes are allowed but only the
most recent vote will be counted. Votes must be cast in the open,
on the mailing list to which the call-for-votes was originally
sent; votes sent as private replies will not be counted.
The following is a minimum affirmative reply.
To: <OpenJDK group mailing list>
Subject: Re: CFV: New <group name> Group Lead: <full name>
Vote: yes
- Step 3:
Announce Approval Results
Once all Group Members have voted or the deadline has passed
then the result must be announced to the mailing list where the
call-for-votes and voting took place. If the announcement is
approval then it must also be sent to the OpenJDK Lead.
This is a typical announcement of approval:
To: <OpenJDK group mailing list>, <OpenJDK Lead>
Subject: Result: New <group name> Group Lead: <full name>
Voting for <group name> Group Lead <lead name> [1] is now closed.
Yes: <number of "yes" votes>
No: <number of "no" votes>
Abstain: <number of "abstain" votes>
According to the Bylaws definition of Simple Majority, this is
sufficient to approve the new Group Lead. The OpenJDK Lead will
ask the Governing Board to ratify this nomination.
<nominator>
[1] https://mail.openjdk.org/<reference to original CFV>
Where the following substitutions are made in the message:
- <OpenJDK Lead>
- The OpenJDK Lead is also the Group Lead of the OpenJDK Members Group.
- <reference to original CFV>
- Find the original call-for-votes in the OpenJDK mail archives
and provide a link to it.
- Step 4: Ratify
and Announce Results
The nomination and voting process for the Governing Board to
ratify a the new Group Lead is the same as above. Sending the results of approval to the
OpenJDK Lead is sufficient to
trigger the appropriate Governing Board vote. If the ratification
announcement is of approval, it will be sent to the Group in
addition to the announcement list.
Last update: 2023/08/15
