[TYPO3-dev] extension key

[Bjoern Pedersen]

Dmitry Dulepov <dmitry at typo3.org> writes:

> Hi!
>
> Elmar Hinz wrote:
>> Do you think it would
>> be an advantage for all to transfer extension maintainance if the owner
>> doesn't care any longer?
>
> Yes!
>
> I think the right way way will be ask Robert to pass extension to a
> new owner. He has administrative access to TER.
>
Maybe Typo3 needs some guidelines along the lines of the LaTeX-Project
License regarding maintainer-status of extensions:

[citation from http://www.latex-project.org/lppl/lppl-1-3c.txt]

MAINTENANCE OF THE WORK
=======================

The Work has the status `author-maintained' if the Copyright Holder
explicitly and prominently states near the primary copyright notice in
the Work that the Work can only be maintained by the Copyright Holder
or simply that it is `author-maintained'.

The Work has the status `maintained' if there is a Current Maintainer
who has indicated in the Work that they are willing to receive error
reports for the Work (for example, by supplying a valid e-mail
address). It is not required for the Current Maintainer to acknowledge
or act upon these error reports.

The Work changes from status `maintained' to `unmaintained' if there
is no Current Maintainer, or the person stated to be Current
Maintainer of the work cannot be reached through the indicated means
of communication for a period of six months, and there are no other
significant signs of active maintenance.

You can become the Current Maintainer of the Work by agreement with
any existing Current Maintainer to take over this role.

If the Work is unmaintained, you can become the Current Maintainer of
the Work through the following steps:

 1.  Make a reasonable attempt to trace the Current Maintainer (and
     the Copyright Holder, if the two differ) through the means of
     an Internet or similar search.

 2.  If this search is successful, then enquire whether the Work
     is still maintained.

  a. If it is being maintained, then ask the Current Maintainer
     to update their communication data within one month.
     
  b. If the search is unsuccessful or no action to resume active
     maintenance is taken by the Current Maintainer, then announce
     within the pertinent community your intention to take over
     maintenance.  (If the Work is a LaTeX work, this could be
     done, for example, by posting to comp.text.tex.)

 3a. If the Current Maintainer is reachable and agrees to pass
     maintenance of the Work to you, then this takes effect
     immediately upon announcement.
     
  b. If the Current Maintainer is not reachable and the Copyright
     Holder agrees that maintenance of the Work be passed to you,
     then this takes effect immediately upon announcement.  
    
 4.  If you make an `intention announcement' as described in 2b. above
     and after three months your intention is challenged neither by
     the Current Maintainer nor by the Copyright Holder nor by other
     people, then you may arrange for the Work to be changed so as
     to name you as the (new) Current Maintainer.
     
 5.  If the previously unreachable Current Maintainer becomes
     reachable once more within three months of a change completed
     under the terms of 3b) or 4), then that Current Maintainer must
     become or remain the Current Maintainer upon request provided
     they then update their communication data within one month.

A change in the Current Maintainer does not, of itself, alter the fact
that the Work is distributed under the LPPL license.

If you become the Current Maintainer of the Work, you should
immediately provide, within the Work, a prominent and unambiguous
statement of your status as Current Maintainer.  You should also
announce your new status to the same pertinent community as
in 2b) above.

[/citation]

Björn