[dpl-helpers] draft release team delegation

[Lucas Nussbaum]

Hi,

Please find below a draft delegation for the release team.

Could you please review it and send feedback (or ACKs) before
2013-12-16?

Thanks,

Lucas


====================================================>8
Subject: Delegation for the Release Team

Hi,

It is my great pleasure and honor to officialize the existence and the
powers of one of Debian's most important teams: the Release Team.

I'd like to stress that the delegation (below, between dashed lines) does
_not_ include "get the release in shape by fixing all RC bugs": that stays
the collective responsibility of the Project as a whole!

- Lucas

----------------------------------------------------------------

Release Team delegation
=======================

I hereby appoint the following developers as Release Team members:

- Adam D. Barratt <adsb>           (release manager)
- Niels Thykier <nthykier>         (release manager)
- Philipp Kern <pkern>             (stable release manager)
- Andreas Barth <aba>              (release assistant)
- Felipe Augusto van de Wiel <faw> (release assistant)
- Ivo De Decker <ivodd>            (release assistant)
- Julien Cristau <jcristau>        (release assistant)
- Jonathan Wiltshire <jmw>         (release assistant)
- Cyril Brulebois <kibi>           (release assistant)
- Mehdi Dogguy <mehdi>             (release assistant)

The distinction between release managers, stable release managers and
release assistants is not relevant in terms of delegated powers, but is in
terms of internal team organization and decision-making processes.

The delegation is not time-limited. It will be effective until
further changes by present or future DPLs.

Task Description
----------------

The Release Team oversees and manages the releases of the testing,
stable, and oldstable distributions (aka suites).

 * Release Team members decide on the release schedule (e.g.; freeze date,
   release date)

 * Release Team members coordinate the work on the release notes, and
   have the final say on their content.

 * Release Team members define the content of those suites, that is:

   + They define the packages that are part (or are not part) of those
     suites. Generally, that is achieved:
     - by deciding with issues are release-critical (RC) -- making the
       affected packages not suitable for stable releases -- usually by
       setting the corresponding bug's severity to serious, grave or
       critical;
     - by deciding which package modifications (e.g.; bugfixes) are
       suitable for inclusion in those suites;
     - by deciding when and how updated packages migrate between suites.
       When necessary, they may temporarily forbid specific uploads to
       unstable in order to facilitate transitions.

   + They define the ports (architectures) that are part of those suites,
     by deciding which issues are severe-enough to prevent a port from
     inclusion in a stable release.

 * Release Team members decide on the codenames for stable releases.

Policy decisions by the Release Team (on packages, on architectures) are
expected to rely on well-defined processes and criterias.

----------------------------------------------------------------