diff --git a/_posts/2026-03-05-evolving-governance.md b/_posts/2026-03-05-evolving-governance.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..f1d6e459 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2026-03-05-evolving-governance.md @@ -0,0 +1,117 @@ +--- +layout: post +title: "Scaling for the Future: Evolving Kroxylicious Governance" +date: 2026-03-05 00:00:00 +1300 +author: "Tom Bentley" +author_url: "https://github.com/tombentley" +categories: +--- + +Hot on the heels of [the release of Kroxylicious 0.19.0]({{ '/blog/kroxylicious-proxy/releases/2026/03/04/release-0_19_0.html' | absolute_url}}) we have some other news to share. +We are excited to announce a shift in how we manage the project, partly based on the proven model used by the Apache Software Foundation. + +We’ve always believed that open-source success is built on transparency, community trust, and a shared vision. +The project continues to evolve, and our governance model needs to change with it while ensuring the project remains truly vendor-neutral. + +## Decoupling Roles: Introducing Committers and Project Managers + +Previously, we relied on a flat "Code Owner" structure. +While this worked well in the early days, we realised it was starting to make it harder to scale the project: +In order to grow, we are going to need more people able to review and merge contributions. +But those people might not always be interested, or able to make a commitment to helping ensure the project’s long term sustainability. + +To solve this, we have split these duties into two distinct roles: +* **Committers** focus on code quality and technical output. + They have write access to our repositories and are responsible for reviewing and merging contributions. +* **Project Managers** (PMs) focus on the long-term health and sustainability of the project. + They manage the governance files, handle community elections, and ensure the project remains aligned with its goals and deal with our interactions with the CommonHaus foundation. + +We hope that by decoupling these roles, we’ll be better able to scale our number of Committers to match our review volume without burdening them with administrative overhead. +It creates a clearer pathway for contributors to take on leadership roles based on their interests, whether that’s deep technical work or project stewardship. + +These changes are already reflected in our updated [`GOVERNANCE.md`](https://github.com/kroxylicious/.github/blob/main/GOVERNANCE.md). + +## Moving Beyond `CODEOWNERS` + +We are also moving away from using the GitHub `CODEOWNERS` file to enforce directory-level restrictions. + +We trust Committers to know the limits of their expertise and to pull in the right subject matter experts when a PR spans areas outside their immediate knowledge. +This reduces the friction of managing complex ownership files and avoids the pitfalls of stale ownership definitions that don't match the current team structure. + +## Strengthening Our Organizational Memory + +The 90 day history we have on our free Slack workspace is starting to hurt. +As we grow, we need to ensure that important technical decisions aren't lost. + +We think that, even in 2026, mailing lists are the least-worst way to share and record formal technical discussions and voting. + +* The barrier to entry is low +* Everyone gets their own copy of the history, but there's a public archive too +* Everyone can use familiar tools to organise and search history + +These features should ensure our decision-making process is archived, searchable, and publicly verifiable. + +So we'd like the [`kroxylicious-dev`][kroxylicious-dev] list to be our primary channel for development discussions, open to all contributors and committers. +Meanwhile, Slack remains our home for quick, day-to-day conversation. + + +
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+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Use Slack for...Use Mailing Lists for...
Quick check-ins and status updates.Formal technical discussions and proposals.
Real-time coordination on active tasks.Voting on technical decisions.
Informal brainstorming and team culture.Summaries of major decisions made in Slack.
Urgent alerts that need an immediate response.Long-form information that should be searchable.
+
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+ +So how do you join the [`kroxylicious-dev`][kroxylicious-dev] list? + +* You can read and subscribe to the list on [google groups](https://groups.google.com/d/forum/kroxylicious-dev). +* Alternatively, you can subscribe by sending an empty email to [kroxylicious-dev+subscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:kroxylicious-dev+subscribe@googlegroups.com), +* and unsubscribe by sending an empty email to [kroxylicious-dev+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:kroxylicious-dev+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com) + +The project managers will use a private list, but only for communication that needs to remain private. +You can contact them by email to [kroxylicious-pms@googlegroups.com](mailto:kroxylicious-pms@googlegroups.com). + +## Building Community Connection + +Governance isn't just about documents and voting; it’s about people. +We want to ensure that our contributors feel connected to the project's direction and to each other. + +To facilitate more direct and synchronous collaboration, we are launching a regular Community Call that anyone can join. + +The Kroxylicious community is spread around the world, and we want to be as inclusive as possible. +In particular, we didn't want the meeting to always be in the middle of the night for someone in an unfortunate timezone. +To support this, while the meeting cadence is every two weeks, the meeting time will alternate by ±12 hours every other call. +But timezones and daylight savings time makes it a bit tricky to describe in a blog post. + +You can see the time of upcoming meetings [on the website](https://kroxylicious.io/join-us/community-call/), and add the meeting schedule to your calendar app. + +## What’s Next? + +We’re excited to continue building Kroxylicious in an environment that is open, inclusive, and built to last. +Check out the updated docs and let us know what you think! + +[kroxylicious-dev]: https://groups.google.com/d/forum/kroxylicious-dev