About
As a Q&A platform software, we are committed to creating great product that let more people experience the fun and efficiency of Q&A communities, unleash the collective wisdom. As an open-source project, we also hope to embrace the Apache way, and attract more partners sharing the same goals to join our community. Let's build an inclusive and thriving open-source community together.
Roles
Apache Answer aligns with the Apache Way. Based on community philosophy of Apache Foundation, our community has the following roles: users, contributors, committers, and PMCs.
Users
For Apache Answer users, you can share and communicate with other users in the community. If you need help, you can refer to our documentations and pick the one that works for you. We encourage everyone to help each other, so when you have an answer to a question while searching, please don't hesitate to respond. We also welcome more users to join our contributor family.
Contributor
Becoming a contributor means you are interested in and contribute to the project, not just code. In Answer, there are ways of contribution, and you can find out more here. As long as you contribute to the Answer project, you are a recognized Answer Contributor. If you become a valuable contributor to the project, the Project Management Committee (PMC) may invite you to become a Committer.
Committer
Committers have read-write access to the code repository, have signed the Contributor License Agreement (CLA), and have an @apache.org email address. They can directly patch the code or documentation, and the Project Management Committee (PMC) will generally approve these changes by default, or reject them. Of course, the final decision is made by the PMC, not the committer individually.
There's no set timeline or specific code contribution requirement to become a committer, long-term active contributors are typically considered strong candidates. The Apache Software Foundation embraces diverse contributions, so anyone who supports the community and is following the CoPDoC (Contributing to Apache Projects by Doing the Right Thing) is a potential candidate for committership.
As a committer, you'll play a crucial role in shaping the project's future. You'll review and merge code changes, test and vote on release candidates, engage in product discussions, and continue to contribute in various ways. If a committer is active and has made significant contributions to the community, they may be invited to join the Project Management Committee (PMC).
PMC (Project Management Committee)
A project management committee (PMC) is a committee of the Apache Software Foundation charged with responsibility and governance for their top level project. The PMC is the vehicle through which decision-making power and responsibility for oversight devolves to developers.
While committers on a project have the ability to update the code, only the PMC as a body has the authority to vote on formal releases of the project's software. The PMC is also responsible for voting in new committers and PMC members to the project, and following other policies as outlined in this document.