Governance and Community
Relevant source files
The following files were used as context for generating this wiki page:
Governance and community guidelines define how Opificia AI operates, who makes decisions, and how contributors interact within the ecosystem. The project is currently in its founding phase, led by a Steward (Experience Lab BV), with a roadmap to transition to a vendor-neutral foundation as it matures.
Sources: GOVERNANCE.md:3-9, MAINTAINERS.md:9, AUTHORS.md:3
Organizational Roles and Responsibilities
The project defines specific roles that determine the level of access and decision-making power a participant holds.
| Role | Responsibility | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| User | Uses the software. | Reports bugs, proposes ideas, asks questions. |
| Contributor | Contributes code, docs, or triage. | Opens pull requests, comments on RFCs. |
| Committer | Sustained contributor with triage rights. | Labels issues, reviews PRs (approval counts as review). |
| Maintainer | Elected leader listed in MAINTAINERS.md. | Merges PRs, cuts releases, accepts RFCs, votes. |
| Steering Team | Subset of Maintainers owning policy files. | Approves changes to licenses, governance, and sovereignty. |
| Steward | Experience Lab BV (Legal Entity). | Holds trademarks, breaks ties, appoints first maintainers. |
Sources: GOVERNANCE.md:11-28, MAINTAINERS.md:13-20
Role Advancement Flow
The following diagram illustrates the path from a user to a maintainer. Transitioning to a committer or maintainer requires sustained contributions showing good judgment over several months.
Sources: GOVERNANCE.md:46-60
Decision-Making Process
Opificia prioritizes consensus but provides fallback mechanisms for disputes.
Lazy Consensus
Standard changes like bug fixes or documentation updates follow "lazy consensus." A pull request with required approvals and no objections can be merged. Silence implies consent. Objections must provide a reason and an alternative.
Sources: GOVERNANCE.md:32-36
Request for Comments (RFC)
Significant changes require a formal RFC. These changes include new components, new dependencies, or changes to Sovereignty Commitments. RFCs remain open for at least 14 days. Decisions are recorded as Architecture Decision Records (ADRs).
Sources: GOVERNANCE.md:38-44, SOVEREIGNTY.md:6-10
Voting Mechanism
If consensus fails, maintainers may call a vote. Votes remain open for 7 days. A simple majority decides the outcome, with the Steward acting as a tie-breaker during the founding phase. Policy file changes (Governance, Licenses) require a two-thirds majority.
Sources: GOVERNANCE.md:46-51, GOVERNANCE.md:75-78
Community Conduct and Enforcement
The project adopts the Contributor Covenant 3.0 to ensure a safe environment. Participants must follow encouraged behaviors and avoid restricted actions such as harassment, character attacks, or violating confidentiality.
Enforcement Ladder
The Community Moderators (currently the Maintainers) use an enforcement ladder to handle violations:
- Warning: Private written warning for single incidents.
- Temporarily Limited Activities: Time-limited cooldown period.
- Temporary Suspension: Cooling off period with conditions for return.
- Permanent Ban: Removal from all community spaces.
Sources: CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md:72-108, CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md:144-148
Legal and Contribution Standards
Developer Certificate of Origin (DCO)
Opificia does not use a Contributor License Agreement (CLA). Instead, it uses the DCO. Every commit must include a Signed-off-by line to certify that the contributor has the right to submit the code under the project's licenses.
Signed-off-by: Name <email@example.org>
Sources: CONTRIBUTING.md:21-30, AUTHORS.md:11-15
AI-Assisted Contributions
Contributors may use AI tools, but a human must review, submit, and sign off. Meaningful AI assistance must be disclosed using an Assisted-by trailer in the commit message.
Sources: CONTRIBUTING.md:115-132
License Map
Contributions are governed by the license of the directory they inhabit.
| Directory | License |
|---|---|
| Core Code | AGPL-3.0-only |
sdk/, plugins/, examples/ | Apache-2.0 |
docs/, website/ | CC-BY-4.0 |
Configuration (.github/, *.yml) | CC0-1.0 |
Sources: CONTRIBUTING.md:144-156
Sovereignty and Ethics
The project commits to "Sovereignty," defined as the ability for operators to control where the software runs, who holds the keys, and which laws apply. This involves a commitment to being model-agnostic, supporting open-weight models, and requiring human approval for merges by default.
Sources: SOVEREIGNTY.md:12-22, SOVEREIGNTY.md:52-55
Summary
The Opificia AI governance model balances the project's early-stage need for Steward leadership with a structured path toward foundation-based community control. By utilizing RFCs, ADRs, and the DCO, the project maintains high standards for architectural integrity and legal transparency while fostering a welcoming environment through its Code of Conduct.