Governance

Decision-Making in xclim

Development priorities and the future direction of xclim are discussed by the maintainers during regular meetings, typically held once per month. Between meetings, maintainers review GitHub issues and discussions as time permits, identifying priorities based on community needs, implementation effort, and the availability of contributors.

The maintainers are responsible for reviewing and merging pull requests, making release decisions, and resolving disagreements when consensus cannot otherwise be reached. New maintainers are selected by consensus among the existing maintainers based on sustained, high-quality contributions to the project.

Most decisions are made using a rough consensus model. Maintainers discuss proposed changes until there are no remaining substantive objections. When consensus cannot be reached, maintainers will carry-over the proposal to a later meeting for future discussion. Community members are encouraged to propose bug fixes, enhancements, and new features through GitHub issues and pull requests. Well-defined feature requests and design proposals are more likely to receive timely consideration.

Maintainers

Most maintainers contribute to xclim as part of the professional responsibilities of employees at Ouranos. However, maintainership is not limited to employees of Ouranos. Contributors who demonstrate sustained, high-quality involvement in the project and a commitment to its long-term maintenance may be invited to become maintainers by consensus of the existing maintainers.