WebKitSite/coding/commit-review-policy.html

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<h2>WebKit Committers and Reviewer Policy</h2>

<p>The WebKit project has two kinds of special status beyond being a
contributor. WebKit Committers have direct read-write access to the
Subversion repository, enabling them to commit changes by themselves
or others once reviewed. WebKit Reviewers are permitted to review
patches and may grant or deny approval for committing. Details of the
review and commit process are available
on the <a href="http://webkit.org/coding/contributing.html">contribution page</a>.</p>

<p>New WebKit Committers and WebKit Reviewers will be selected by the
set of existing WebKit Reviewers. We will create a mailing list,
&lt;<a href="mailto:webkit-reviewers@lists.webkit.org">webkit-reviewers@lists.webkit.org</a>&gt;,
for this purpose.</p>

<p>An up to date list of current WebKit Committers and WebKit
Reviewers will be maintained at webkit.org.</p>

<h3>Choosing Committers and Reviewers</h3>

<p>A candidate for WebKit Committer or WebKit Reviewer should
initially be nominated by a reviewer on the reviewers mailing list, in
accordance with the criteria below. If at least two more reviewers
second the nomination, then it carries within 5 business days unless
someone objects. If an objection is raised, the reviewers should
discuss the matter and try to come to consensus; failing this, the
matter will be decided by majority vote of the reviewers.</p>

<p>Once someone is successfully nominated for WebKit
Committer status, Apple will take care of sending the committer
agreement and setting up a Subversion account once signed and
received.</p>

<p>Once someone is successfully nominated for WebKit Reviewer status,
the nominating Reviewer or another responsible party should inform the
candidate and ask for indication of acceptance from the potential new
reviewer. If the candidate accepts, a notice will be posted on the
WebKit blog.</p>

<h3>Criteria for Committers</h3>

<p>A WebKit Committer should be a person we can trust to follow and
understand the project policies about checkins and other matters.</p>

<p>Normally a potential Committer would be nominated once they have
submitted around 10-20 good patches, shown good judgment and
understanding of project policies, and demonstrated good collaboration
skills. To be nominated and seconded, they will have to interact
with more than one project reviewer. If someone submits many patches
but does not show good judgment or effective collaboration, that
contributor might not be nominated right away. If someone submits fewer patches than
this but has experience working in another WebKit-based or
khtml-based engine and has a track record of good collaboration with
the WebKit project, they may be nominated sooner.</p>

<p>Significant contributors to testing, bug management, web site
content, documentation, project infrastructure and other non-code
areas may also be nominated, even without the normal threshold of
patches.</p>

<p>A person who will be working under the supervision of a WebKit
reviewer on WebKit-related projects can be nominated if the reviewer
is willing to vouch for them and supervise them to ensure they follow
project policies on checkins. Supervision does not necessarily imply a
manager/employee relationship, just that you work with the potential
committer closely enough to make sure they follow policy and work well
with others.</p>

<h3>Criteria for Reviewers</h3>

<p>A WebKit Reviewer should be a person who has shown particularly
good judgment, understanding of project policies, collaboration
skills, and understanding of the code. Reviewers are expected to
ensure that patches they review follow project policies, and to do
their best to check for bugs or other problems with the patch. They
are also expected to show good judgment in whether or not they review
a patch at all, or defer to another reviewer.</p>

<p>Typically a potential Reviewer would be nominated once they have
submitted around 80-120 good patches. They should also be in touch
with other reviewers and aware of who are the experts in various
areas. If someone submits fewer patches than this, but has experience
working in another WebKit-based or khtml-based engine and has a track
record of excellent collaboration with the WebKit project, they may be
nominated sooner.</p>

<p>A person who submits many patches but does not show good
collaboration skills, code understanding or understanding of project
policies may never be nominated.</p>

<p>For Reviewer status, there is no supervision exception.</p>

<h3>Suspension and Revocation of Committer or Reviewer Status</h3>

<p>WebKit Committer or WebKit Reviewer status can be revoked by 2/3
vote of the reviewers, not including the person under consideration
for revocation.</p>

<p>Someone actively damaging the repository or intentionally abusing
their review privilege may have it temporarily suspended on the
request of any two Reviewers. In such a case, the requesting Reviewers
should notify the webkit-reviewers list with a description of the
offense. At this point, Reviewer or Committer status will be
temporarily suspended for one week, pending outcome of the vote for
permanent revocation.</p>
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