## The Staging Process

Staging processes allow developers to accomplish real things and get involved
in the creation of standards, testing, feedback, and new use cases.

This staging process reflects the real-life stability of new CSS features.

You can read an [inside view of the CSSWG] to learn about the official
(and unofficial) development stages of CSS specifications. In reality,
specifications and browser implementations happen out of sync. For example,
there have been stable CSS features missing in all browsers, while other CSS
features developed outside the [W3C] have appeared in browsers. This is too
ambiguous for the web development community, and a more accountable process
is desired.

### Stage 0: Aspirational

<img src="https://cssdb.org/images/stages/stage-0.svg" alt="" align="left" width="90" height="90">

> “This is a silly idea.”

An **Unofficial Draft** or **Editor’s Draft** [championed] by a
[W3C Working Group] Member. It should be considered highly unstable and subject
to change. Stage 0 features are open to ideas and discussion, but may not be
considered serious.

---

### Stage 1: Experimental

<img src="https://cssdb.org/images/stages/stage-1.svg" alt="" align="left" width="90" height="90">

> “This idea might not be silly.”

An **Editor’s Draft** or early **Working Draft** [championed] by a
[W3C Working Group]. It should be considered highly unstable and subject to
change. Stage 1 features are recognized as a real problem, but they may not be
tied to any particular solution.

---

### Stage 2: Allowable

<img src="https://cssdb.org/images/stages/stage-2.svg" alt="" align="left" width="90" height="90">

> “This idea is not silly.”

A **Working Draft** [championed] by a [W3C Working Group]. It should be
considered relatively unstable and subject to change. Stage 2 features are tied
to a particular way of solving a problem.

---

### Stage 3: Embraced

<img src="https://cssdb.org/images/stages/stage-3.svg" alt="" align="left" width="90" height="90">

> “This idea is becoming part of the web.”

A **Candidate Recommendation** [championed] by a [W3C Working Group], usually
implemented by at least 2 [recognized browser vendors], possibly behind a flag.
It should be considered stable and subject to little change. Stage 3 features
will likely become a standard.

---

### Stage 4: Standardized

<img src="https://cssdb.org/images/stages/stage-4.svg" alt="" align="left" width="90" height="90">

> “This idea is part of the web.”

A **Recommendation** [championed] by the [W3C]. It should be implemented by all
[recognized browser vendors]. Stage 4 features are web standards.

---

### Rejected

<img src="https://cssdb.org/images/stages/stage-X.svg" alt="" align="left" width="90" height="90">

> “I had no idea what I was doing.”

Any specification that has been rejected or neglected by its editor, or
formally rejected by a [W3C Working Group].

---

## Terminology

### Recognized Browser Vendors

Recognized browser vendors include, in alphabetical order; Apple (Safari/Webkit), Google (Chrome/Chromium) and Mozilla (Firefox/Gecko).

### What is a champion?

A champion is the person or group responsible for advocating a new feature to
completion, performing the legwork necessary to ensure the concerns of
interested parties are identified and incorporated into the proposal.

[championed]: #what-is-a-champion
[hosted]: #what-is-a-champion
[inside view of the CSSWG]: https://fantasai.inkedblade.net/weblog/2011/inside-csswg/process
[recognized browser vendors]: #recognized-browser-vendors
[W3C]: https://www.w3.org/
[W3C Working Group]: https://wiki.csswg.org/spec