We’re closer than ever to coming together but we need your help.

For the last few weeks people from the Linux Foundation, node.js and io.js have been working to draft an open governance structure that can reconcile the projects and working groups together in the new Node.js Foundation. We have now entered a critical period of community review and iteration.

I’ll lay out the relevant documents and links here. Please comment on these issues where appropriate and propose new Pull Requests to the documents.

Project Lifecycle

The Foundation must include provisions for more projects than just core. Today, io.js alone has around 50 Working Groups with around 300 members across those groups. This document will define the structure those Working Groups would operate under.

In io.js we have no resources (money, legal, etc) and so we could be very liberal about spinning up new working groups and projects because it didn’t cost us anything. With a foundation there are resources afforded to each project and so it makes sense that the board would want more restrictions in place to protect those resources. However, much of io.js’ success has been in how liberally we’ve been able to break work out in to Working Groups so it’s going to take some work to strike this balance.

I have a Pull Request open for comment but it still needs quite a bit of work and additional feedback from the community.

TSC Charter

The TSC (Technical Steering Committee) is the primary governance body of what would be a reconciled io.js/node.js platform. For those familiar with io.js this would be the new TC (Technical Committee) and would presumably adopt the existing io.js TC members as well as core committers from node.js

The TSC Charter will end up being approved by the board. That means that certain rights (like technical decision making autonomy from the foundation’s board) should be in it. Changing this document requires board approval which means that this document can be difficult to change once formalized.

Unlike io.js where we have a mix of current TC process along with a solid governance structure in one document this charter should be as minimal as possible while also guaranteeing freedom and open governance. We want to continue to iterate on the TC process, as io.js has been for the last 4 months, and if we overload this document with the specifics of that process it will become quite difficult. We need help identifying areas and language improvements we can make in order to walk this line.

TSC Policy Draft

This document is what the Foundation’s Board of Directors will ratify as the direction, values, and scope of what the TSC is doing.

In the foundation model that is being created there is a wall between the “Foundation,” governed by the Board of Directors and appointed executives, and the “Project(s)” which are governed by the TSC. This document describes what the board is granting, with some direction and requirements (like openness) to the TSC.

Certain matters are not left to the TSC (like legal issues) and are handled by the Foundation so they are not included in this document.