--- title: Project Governance layout: about.hbs --- # Project Governance ## Technical Steering Committee The project is jointly governed by a Technical Steering Committee (TSC) which is responsible for high-level guidance of the project. The TSC has final authority over this project including: * Technical direction * Project governance and process (including this policy) * Contribution policy * GitHub repository hosting * Conduct guidelines * Maintaining the list of additional Collaborators Initial membership invitations to the TSC were given to individuals who had been active contributors, and who have significant experience with the management of the project. Membership is expected to evolve over time according to the needs of the project. For the current list of TSC members, see the project [README.md](https://github.com/nodejs/node/blob/master/README.md#tsc-technical-steering-committee). ## Collaborators The [nodejs/node](https://github.com/nodejs/node) GitHub repository is maintained by the TSC and additional Collaborators who are added by the TSC on an ongoing basis. Individuals making significant and valuable contributions are made Collaborators and given commit-access to the project. These individuals are identified by the TSC and their addition as Collaborators is discussed during the weekly TSC meeting. _Note:_ If you make a significant contribution and are not considered for commit-access, log an issue or contact a TSC member directly and it will be brought up in the next TSC meeting. Modifications of the contents of the nodejs/node repository are made on a collaborative basis. Anybody with a GitHub account may propose a modification via pull request and it will be considered by the project Collaborators. All pull requests must be reviewed and accepted by a Collaborator with sufficient expertise who is able to take full responsibility for the change. In the case of pull requests proposed by an existing Collaborator, an additional Collaborator is required for sign-off. Consensus should be sought if additional Collaborators participate and there is disagreement around a particular modification. See _Consensus Seeking Process_ below for further detail on the consensus model used for governance. Collaborators may opt to elevate significant or controversial modifications, or modifications that have not found consensus to the TSC for discussion by assigning the ***tsc-agenda*** tag to a pull request or issue. The TSC should serve as the final arbiter where required. For the current list of Collaborators, see the project [README.md](https://github.com/nodejs/node/blob/master/README.md#current-project-team-members). A guide for Collaborators is maintained in [COLLABORATOR_GUIDE.md](https://github.com/nodejs/node/blob/master/COLLABORATOR_GUIDE.md). ## TSC Membership TSC seats are not time-limited. There is no fixed size of the TSC. However, the expected target is between 6 and 12, to ensure adequate coverage of important areas of expertise, balanced with the ability to make decisions efficiently. There is no specific set of requirements or qualifications for TSC membership beyond these rules. The TSC may add additional members to the TSC by a standard TSC motion. A TSC member may be removed from the TSC by voluntary resignation, or by a standard TSC motion. Changes to TSC membership should be posted in the agenda, and may be suggested as any other agenda item (see "TSC Meetings" below). No more than 1/3 of the TSC members may be affiliated with the same employer. If removal or resignation of a TSC member, or a change of employment by a TSC member, creates a situation where more than 1/3 of the TSC membership shares an employer, then the situation must be immediately remedied by the resignation or removal of one or more TSC members affiliated with the over-represented employer(s). ## TSC Meetings The TSC meets weekly on a Google Hangout On Air. The meeting is run by a designated moderator approved by the TSC. Each meeting should be published to YouTube. Items are added to the TSC agenda which are considered contentious or are modifications of governance, contribution policy, TSC membership, or release process. The intention of the agenda is not to approve or review all patches. That should happen continuously on GitHub and be handled by the larger group of Collaborators. Any community member or contributor can ask that something be added to the next meeting's agenda by logging a GitHub Issue. Any Collaborator, TSC member or the moderator can add the item to the agenda by adding the ***tsc-agenda*** tag to the issue. Prior to each TSC meeting, the moderator will share the Agenda with members of the TSC. TSC members can add any items they like to the agenda at the beginning of each meeting. The moderator and the TSC cannot veto or remove items. The TSC may invite persons or representatives from certain projects to participate in a non-voting capacity. These invitees currently are: * A representative from [build](https://github.com/node-forward/build) chosen by that project. The moderator is responsible for summarizing the discussion of each agenda item and sending it as a pull request after the meeting. ## Consensus Seeking Process The TSC follows a [Consensus Seeking](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus-seeking_decision-making) decision making model. When an agenda item has appeared to reach a consensus, the moderator will ask "Does anyone object?" as a final call for dissent from the consensus. If an agenda item cannot reach a consensus, a TSC member can call for either a closing vote or a vote to table the issue to the next meeting. The call for a vote must be approved by a majority of the TSC or else the discussion will continue. Simple majority wins.