Committer Nominations

Committers Group Overview

The DSpace Committers Group – named because they are authorized to "commit" change to the code repository – have ultimate responsibility for the shape of the DSpace software, as well as its architecture and design going forward. They can apply code changes contributed by the larger DSpace development community to the open source platform.

A list of the current members of the committers group can be seen at DSpaceContributors

Roles and Duties of a Committer

Being a committer means participating in the evolution of the DSpace platform, typically by making changes to the source code, improving documentation, or managing the integration of contributions made by the community at large. But, it also means having a voice and an official vote on technical, administrative and release management issues, providing your expertise and guidance on the lists, organizing testing, etc.

We are mindful of the fact that no one is being paid to do this, and no specific time commitment is required or expected; in fact we do expect that one's involvement will fluctuate over time with job duties. Nor is there any specified term of office - one's job responsibilities may change over time, and also one's ability to devote time to DSpace.

Why Become a Committer?

Becoming a committer means that you have a voice and an official vote on decisions around the evolution of the DSpace platform. It also gives you an opportunity to develop leadership skills in a friendly, open source community.

Committer Requirements

Although there are no explicit requirements to become a committer, generally we look for someone who has shown initiative and/or has been an active participant in the DSpace Community. Participation may be in the form of actively helping people on mailing lists, submitting code patches/features, presenting on DSpace at conferences, leading workshops, or generally volunteering time to help with any DSpace initiative.

It's worth noting that committers need not be highly technical in nature. We only ask that you make a commitment to bettering DSpace in some way. Anyone who shows the initiative and interest in making DSpace better is eligible.

How to Nominate Someone

New committers may be nominated by anyone in the DSpace Community at anytime. You can even nominate yourself.

In your nomination, please explain why you feel this individual (or individuals) should be added to the Committers group. Generally, we are just looking for references to his/her active participation in the DSpace Community.

Send new committer nominations to any of the existing DSpace Committers. If you have any questions about nominations, you can also talk to a current member who can offer advice.

Again, there is no specific timeline for nominations. Nominations may be made at any time.

What Happens Next?

Once a committer is nominated, the nomination is voted on by all current Committers. The decision to accept or reject the nomination is based on a majority vote. If a nomination is accepted, that person will immediately receive an invite to become a DSpace Committer! If a nomination is rejected, we will provide feedback on how that person may become more active in the community, so that he/she could be potentially re-nominated and accepted in the future. (Please note that a rejection of a nomination does not mean that the person is "unqualified". It just means that the existing Committers may not be familiar enough with that person's activities in the DSpace Community. A person can always be re-nominated at a later time.)

For more information see the Committers' policies on adding a new Committer.