JavaDesktop Community Governance Guidelines

General Guiding Philosophy

We want to hold all technologies in the JavaDesktop community to a high standard. Our goal is to make sure these projects are developed in an open and fair way where every opinion is heard and decisions are made by consensus. We believe that a governance system that is clearly outlined and fairly represents the community is essential to the development of JavaDesktop community

JavaDesktop community projects are about providing common solutions and technologies to encourage the development of great applications on the Java Desktop. A strong governance system will provide a means to manage the process of its evolution. Initially we will build on the model used by other open source projects, a meritocracy based on consensus.

This governance system might change as the JavaDesktop community grows, but we are committed to a system that is fair and open to all community members. If you have any questions, suggestions, and/or concerns, please post them in the JavaDesktop Forum Feedback and Suggestion.

JavaDesktop community projects

All of the JavaDesktop community projects are listed at on the JavaDesktop project page.

Creating A New Project

Before trying to create a new project, browse the current list of projects under the games category to ensure that your project is, indeed, unique. If a similar effort is already underway you should feel free to join that effort.

If, after searching through the list of current projects, you do not find a similar project, you can propose your project to the JavaDesktop community. Follow the instructions on Request a Project on java.net . Include as much detail as possible

The project will then be submitted to the JavaDesktop community leader for consideration. As long as the project either uses or extends the Java Desktop it will be approved. However, projects without a license, or a sufficent description will be deferred until such are provided. Most projects will be placed in the javadesktop-incubator until the project reaches a sufficent maturity to be a full fledged JavaDesktop project.

Abandoned Projects

A project that has had no activity for a period of 90 days will be considered an abandoned project. Once a project is abandoned, an email is sent to the project owners, the dev@javadesktop.dev.java.net and the announce@projectName.dev.java.net alaises announcing that the project has been considered abandoned and could be deleted in 10 business days. If no objections are sent to the dev@javadesktop.dev.java.net mail list (NOT the announce@projectName.dev.java.net alais) the project may be removed from javadesktop.dev.java.net.

If there are objections, the objections must have a reason as to why the project should not be deleted and a plan to get the project active again.

Individual Roles on javadesktop.dev.java.net Projects

For all projects hosted in the JavaDesktop community, the following roles are defined:

• Observer

  Observers are the developers who use the technologies in the JavaDesktop community to create applications. Observers aren't contributing code, but they are using the API's, reporting bugs, making feature requests and suggestions. This is by far the most important category of people. Without these developers, there is no reason for JavaDesktop Community projects

• Developer

  A developer has check-in access to the development source tree. Developers can directly make changes to the source base of the development branch, from which the nightly builds are made.

• Project Owner

  Each project has at least one Project Owner. Each Project Owner has check-in permissions to the source tree. Project Owners "manage" a group of Developers. Project Owners are responsible for making sure that these contributions do not break the build.

  Project Owners are responsible for the Web space for that project at the project home page (accessible under CVS), and for granting the different roles available in a project.

How To Get A Role In A Project

The following lists the process for obtaining the various roles in a project. These procedures are valid for all JavaDesktop projects unless otherwise agreed to by the JavaDesktop Community Leader.

• Observer

  Anyone can become an Observer in a project. Simply request Observer access for the projects you are interested in. Within a few days your access will be granted and you are free to download the API's, use them and file bugs and requests for enhancement.

• Developer

  To become a Developer, you should be an experienced user of the project's technology and source code and be an active member in the project's forums and the dev@javadesktop.dev.java.net mailing list. Some projects may require a signed Contributor Agreement be on file. The agreement is to ensure that any person contributing code to a project has the legal right to do so. Check with each project for specific details in this area.

• Project Owner

  There are a number of ways to become a Project Owner:

  • Start a project (you should have written some working code or drafts to do this).
  • Have the responsibility for a project handed over to you from the current project owner.
  • Take over an abandoned project.
  • For ongoing projects moving here, or new projects that are hosted here, the person who started that project or currently maintains it is the project owner. If you start a project, you are the project owner of that project.

Guidelines For Voting

The following are the recommended practices on how the decision making process should be handled for all JavaDesktop community projects.

All decision making, planning and communication will be discussed in the open on each projects interest or development mail alias. Some projects will cross post the interest or development mail alias to a JavaDesktop community forum.

When either a consensus has not been reached or it is apparent that the differing opinions cannot come to an agreement it is time to call for a vote. The Project Owner is responsible for sending out the notification that a vote has been called and creating the topic on in the appropriate JavaDesktop forum or project forum.

The request to vote is sent out to the interest or project mailing list and to the announce mailing list of that particular project. This request will have a description of the proposal being voted on, the location in the forums where the vote is taking place as well as how long the voting period lasts. The voting period must last a minimum of 5 business days. All votes cast after the deadline will not be counted. All votes must be posted to the forum topic listed in the vote announcement. Votes sent to the announce mailing lists will not be counted. On the last day of voting a final reminder about the vote should be sent to all of the above mentioned lists.

• +1: Agree with proposal.
•   0: Neutral on proposal
• -1: Against the proposal

Alternatively, a poll can be created on the forums with options to vote as above.

There must be a minimum of 3 +1's for a proposal to pass. This ensures that a minimum number of community members feel the proposal is interesting enough to vote upon. -1 are vetoes of the proposal (the proposal fails) and require a justification. A proposal cannot pass without all -1's being addressed. All -1 votes with the same justification are considered a single -1 vote for the purposes of email discussions and Project Owner vetos. A -1 justification is usually grounds for further discussion on the proposal. Project Owners can overrule any -1's but should do so sparingly and with a proper reason as to why given to the community. Similarly, a Project Owner can cast a -1 vote, effectively killing a proposal.

Final Thoughts

We are attempting to make the governance procedures as lightweight as possible. We seek above all to invite all interested developers to take part in the enhancement of the projects hosted here and seek input from all. We are attempting to make sure the governance procedures will not hinder the momentum of any group or individual who seeks to use javadesktop.dev.java.net technologies.