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title: General management guidelines
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This document sets out general guidelines for how the Libreboot project is
governed, managed and who constitutes the core leadership of the project.

All project members must act according to the
[Guidelines for Good Conduct in the Libreboot community](conduct.md).

Democratic governance of the Libreboot project
----------------------------------------------

Previously, the Libreboot leadership was a BDFL (Benevolent Dictator For Life)
arrangement, with the project's founder (Leah Rowe) having exclusive control
over the project, delegating tasks (by her own exclusive discretion) to others.
This style was very similar to the leadership structure of the Linux kernel
project via Linus Torvalds and, while initially effective, was found to be
ineffective and counter-productive in the long term.

The old leadership structure has been **abandoned**, and Leah is no longer leader
of the Libreboot project. This decision was made democratically and
collectively, by the same overall standards set out in this document, with
Leah's direct approval and participation, in the best long-term interests of
the Libreboot project, where she agreed to stand down as project leader.

In principle and in practise, Libreboot is now a collectively and democratically
governed project. Any individual member of the community, regardless of their
current standing or reputation, can propose changes to the project (this
includes code/documentation contributions, project management decisions and
so on). The proposal can be absolutely anything, within reason where it is
relevant to Libreboot and could be beneficial.

All proposals are subject to review and approval by the community. In the case
of code patches, any member of the public can also voice their opinions on a
contribution; the patch will also be reviewed by one of the core maintainers
of the project. In the case of general project decisions, such as general
policies of the project and management roles (such as, removing a core member
who starts acting out of line with and/or in violation of project policies),
the decision will also be polled by the community, to assess public support for
such a decision. With public approval, and agreement among the core maintainers,
the decision would then be enacted, and it falls on them to implement the
mandate that was set, whatever that mandate might be.

Actual places to poll members of the public, shall be decided on by the core
maintainers. Examples could include the IRC channel, the subreddit r/libreboot,
the mailing list (if one exists), and any other place deemed appropriate.

Those who are part of the core maintainers and core management team, can be
appointed and removed at the behest of popular public demand, with approval
from the current
core maintainers and/or management team within the Libreboot project.

Generally, the project should not have a single leader, but if such a role is
required in the future, it will be a rotating leadership, to be changed
after a certain period, subject to approval by the core maintainers and by
popular public demand. Exact infrastructure for how to cast such votes and
make such appointments will be decided at that time, when it becomes necessary
for the Libreboot project.

Information about Libreboot's code review and code management guidelines
can be found
[on the Git section of the website](git.md#general-code-review-guidelines).

Information about core team members, responsible for the Libreboot project
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Alyssa Rosenzweig handles Communications and Public Relations\*, acting
  additionally as the official System Administrator for the Libreboot project
  infrastructure.
  IRC nick **alyssa** on Freenode.
- Paul Kocialkowski is one of the core developers. IRC nick **paulk-X** on
  Freenode (**X** is variable, for this individual, and changes over time)
- Leah Rowe is one of the core developers. IRC nick **\_4of7** on Freenode
- Swift Geek is one of the core developers. IRC nick **swiftgeek** on Freenode

All of the people above are moderators in the Libreboot IRC channel, and
form the basis of the project's collective inner leadership, responsible as
trustees for the project in ensuring the projects long-term success and for
general management of the project.

All core members have push access to the Git repository for Libreboot.
Additionally, Alyssa and Leah have SSH access (including root) to the main
server for libreboot.org (this list will expand, if Alyssa and Leah both agree
and if it is appropriate, e.g. if more System Administrators join the
project).

Any member of the public can join this list, if they make substantial
contributions and the core team members agree to it. Libreboot's leadership is
open to the public.

Other team members (IRC operators) who also have influence:

- IRC nick **specing** on the Libreboot IRC channel.
- IRC nick **pizzaiolo** on the Libreboot IRC channel.
- IRC nick **jxself** on the Libreboot IRC channel.

Additionally, Libreboot has a separate set of operators on the subreddit
r/libreboot. Check Reddit for more information. Actions taken by moderators
there are also subject to these management guidelines.

GNU project oversight (pending Libreboot's potential GNU membership)
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Libreboot has applied to become a member of the GNU project, per agreement by
the core maintainers, plus widespread public support. This is being
handled by Alyssa. It is not yet known whether GNU will accept Libreboot, and
we (the core maintainers) are awaiting their response.

If Libreboot is accepted as a GNU member, then the GNU project will also form
as part of Libreboot's core leadership, overseeing the project. This will
include Richard Stallman. GNU's own leadership is separate from that of the
Libreboot project (and vice versa), at present, but they would merge on
Libreboot's side if a union does occur.