4.7 KiB
TSC FAQ
status: "in progress" date: 2025-04-23
Why is this a "technical" steering committee?
At its heart, this is a project to create technical products. Everything that goes into making the products, including documentation and events, are a part of this technical project. It may sound scary, and you may think that you're going to be left out because you don't write code, but that couldn't be further from the truth. All contributors are contributors to a technical project, making you a technical contributor!
What does the steering committee do?
Our purpose is to make sure projects align with business objectives, monitor progress, approve any changes related to scope or budgets, conflict resolution, project strategy, and the overall task of getting the team to produce deliverables eventually. We also act as a central resource that facilitates communication and decision making between different groups, as well as mediation.
If that sounded like a mix between a technical lead and a project manager, then you nailed it on the head.
Our responsibilities include:
- developing plans, goals, objectives, policies;
- identifying and addressing risks;
- providing strategic oversight and guidance; making key decisions (decisions regarding changes to the scope, budget or timeline);
- assessing progress;
- ensuring resources are managed properly (and that the project or initiative stays within the designated budget).
What do ‘technical’ contributions mean?
Since the project in and of itself is a technical one with an output of a code product, anyone who contributes in any way is a technical contributor!
- Did you help someone in the forums? You’re a contributor!
- Did you write documentation? You’re a contributor!
- Did you file an issue? You’re a contributor!
- Did you manage a multi day event with speakers and swag? You’re a contributor!
- Did you manage publicity related documents and announcements? You guessed it, you’re a contributor!
I don’t write code. Does this mean I could still be a contributor?
That’s exactly what it means. Don't get too hung up on the term 'technical.' It's really just that we're a project for a technical purpose, so things are 'technical.' It's not as scary as it sounds.
What about being an “Organizer”?
Organizers are contributors who have become trusted enough to approve changes to the project.
For code sub-projects, this is synonymous with being “a committer” (or in Git terms, having the ability to merge). If it’s helpful, every time you read “Organizer” you can think “committer”, but we also include non-code contributions.
For non-code sub-projects, these are people who can sign off on the work done by others - this could be a person approving documentation changes, moderating forums, or organizing an event.
Contributions to both code projects and non-code sub-projects are valuable, and organizers are recognized for their contributions across the project. Members of the TSC can come from any team.
What’s a Working Group?
A working group is an organization of contributors who are aligned and tasked with a specific sub project. Some examples of working groups are…
- The Community Working Group - tasked with managing and maintaining our Code of Conduct, FAQ, and more.
- The Independence Working Group - tasked with making our plugin
- The FAIR Working Group - tasked with reinventing the ecosystem
What are the Co-Chairs?
They’re members of the collective community who have been elected to manage the Technical Steering Committee. They are responsible for ensuring the project meets deadlines, provides the necessary services, and appointing Organizers as needed amongst the working groups.
Can anyone be a Co-Chair?
As long as they’re in compliance with our Code of Conduct (CoC), they can be nominated and elected at the next cycle. They do not have to be incredibly technically savvy, but having a solid grounding in the technical aspects of the project will certainly be considered by the voting public.
I was nominated but I don’t want to be an Organizer or Co-Chair. What should I do?
You can say no.
We promise, it’s that easy.
Does the Code of Conduct apply to all groups?
Yes it does. No one is above the Code of Conduct.
Why is the Code of Conduct written in legalese?
A great number of community projects use a very casual, easy to read, Code of Conduct. There's nothing wrong with that, however in order to be a part of the Linux Foundation, we were required to adopt a Code of Conduct that meets their requirements. While it does create a new hurdle for contributors, it also serves a long term benefit of demonstrating to the global open source world that we take this seriously and with the proper attention.
