man > perlgov(1)

PERLGOV(1)                        Perl Programmers Reference Guide                        PERLGOV(1)

NAME
       perlgov - Perl Rules of Governance

PREAMBLE
       We are forming a system of governance for development of the Perl programming language.

       The scope of governance includes the language definition, its implementation, its test suite,
       its documentation, and the policies and procedures by which it is developed and maintained.

       The system of governance includes definitions of the groups that will make decisions, the
       rules by which these groups are formed and changed, and the enumerated powers and constraints
       on the activities of these governing groups.

       In forming a system of governance, we seek to achieve the following goals:

       •   We  want  a  system  that  is  functional.  That means the governing groups may decide to
           undertake large changes, or they may decide to act conservatively, but they will act with
           intent and clear communication rather than fail to reach decisions when needed.

       •   We want a system that is trusted. That means that a reasonable contributor to Perl  might
           disagree with decisions made by the governing groups, but will accept that they were made
           in good faith in consultation with relevant communities outside the governing groups.

       •   We  want  a  system  that  is  sustainable.  That means it has provisions to self-modify,
           including ways of adding new members to the governing groups,  ways  to  survive  members
           becoming inactive, and ways of amending the rules of governance themselves if needed.

       •   We  want  a  system  that  is  transparent.  That means that it will prefer policies that
           manage ordinary matters in public, and it will prefer secrecy  in  a  limited  number  of
           situations.

       •   We  want  a  system  that  is respectful.  That means that it will establish standards of
           civil discourse that allow for healthy disagreement but avoid rancor and hostility in the
           community for which it is responsible.

Mandate
       Perl language governance shall work to:

       •   Maintain the quality, stability, and continuity of the Perl language and interpreter

       •   Guide the evolution of the Perl language and interpreter

       •   Establish and oversee the policies, procedures, systems, and  mechanisms  that  enable  a
           community of contributors to the Perl language and interpreter

       •   Encourage  discussion and consensus among contributors as preferential to formal decision
           making by governance groups

       •   Facilitate communication between contributors and external stakeholders  in  the  broader
           Perl ecosystem

Definitions
       This document describes three roles involved in governance:

       "Core Team"
       "Steering Council"
       "Vote Administrator"

       A section on each follows.

   The Core Team
       The  Core  Team  are a group of trusted volunteers involved in the ongoing development of the
       Perl language  and  interpreter.   They  are  not  required  to  be  language  developers  or
       committers.

       References to specific votes are explained in the "Rules for Voting" section.

       Powers

       In addition to their contributions to the Perl language, the Core Team sets the rules of Perl
       governance,  decides  who  participates in what role in governance, and delegates substantial
       decision making power to the Steering Council.

       Specifically:

       •   They elect the Steering Council and have the power to remove Steering Council members.

       •   In concert with the Steering Council, they manage Core Team membership.

       •   In concert with the Steering Council, they have the power to modify  the  Perl  Rules  of
           Governance.

       The  Core  Team  do  not  have  any  authority  over parts of the Perl ecosystem unrelated to
       developing and releasing the language itself.  These include, but are not limited to:

       •   The Perl Foundation

       •   CPAN administration and CPAN authors

       •   perl.org, metacpan.org, and other community-maintained websites and services

       •   Perl conferences and events, except those organized directly by the Core Team

       •   Perl-related intellectual property legally owned by third-parties, except as  allowed  by
           applicable licenses or agreements

       Membership

       The initial Core Team members will be specified when this document is first ratified.

       Any  Core  Team  member  may  nominate  someone  to  be added to the Core Team by sending the
       nomination to the Steering  Council.   The  Steering  Council  must  approve  or  reject  the
       nomination.   If  approved,  the  Steering  Council will organize a Membership Change Vote to
       ratify the addition.

       Core Team members should demonstrate:

       •   A solid track record of being constructive and helpful

       •   Significant contributions to the project's goals, in any form

       •   Willingness to dedicate some time to improving Perl

       Contributions  are  not  limited  to  code.  Here  is  an  incomplete  list  of  areas  where
       contributions may be considered for joining the Core Team:

       •   Working on community management and outreach

       •   Providing support on mailing lists, IRC, or other forums

       •   Triaging tickets

       •   Writing patches (code, docs, or tests)

       •   Reviewing patches (code, docs, or tests)

       •   Participating in design discussions

       •   Providing expertise in a particular domain (security, i18n, etc.)

       •   Managing Perl infrastructure (websites, CI, documentation, etc.)

       •   Maintaining significant projects in the Perl ecosystem

       •   Creating visual designs

       Core  Team  membership  acknowledges  sustained and valuable efforts that align well with the
       philosophy and the goals of the Perl project.

       Core Team members are expected to act as role models for the community and custodians of  the
       project, on behalf of the community and all those who rely on Perl.

       Term

       Core Team members serve until they are removed.

       Removal

       Core Team Members may resign their position at any time.

       In  exceptional  circumstances,  it  may  be  necessary  to remove someone from the Core Team
       against their will, such as for flagrant or repeated violations of a Code  of  Conduct.   Any
       Core  Team  member may send a recall request to the Steering Council naming the individual to
       be removed.  The Steering Council must approve or reject the recall  request.   If  approved,
       the Steering Council will organize a Membership Change vote to ratify the removal.

       If  the  removed  member  is  also  on  the  Steering Council, then they are removed from the
       Steering Council as well.

       Inactivity

       Core Team members  who  have  stopped  contributing  are  encouraged  to  declare  themselves
       "inactive".  Inactive  members  do  not  nominate  or  vote.   Inactive  members  may declare
       themselves active at any time, except when a vote has been proposed  and  is  not  concluded.
       Eligibility to nominate or vote will be determined by the Vote Administrator.

       To  record  and  honor  their  contributions,  inactive Core Team members will continue to be
       listed alongside active members.

       No Confidence in the Steering Council

       The Core Team may remove either a single Steering  Council  member  or  the  entire  Steering
       Council via a No Confidence Vote.

       A  No  Confidence  Vote  is  triggered  when  a Core Team member calls for one publicly on an
       appropriate project communication channel, and another Core Team member seconds the proposal.

       If a No Confidence Vote removes all Steering Council members, the Vote Administrator  of  the
       No Confidence Vote will then administer an election to select a new Steering Council.

       Amending Perl Rules of Governance

       Any  Core Team member may propose amending the Perl Rules of Governance by sending a proposal
       to the Steering Council.  The Steering Council must decide to approve or reject the proposal.
       If approved, the Steering Council will organize an Amendment Vote.

       Rules for Voting

       Membership Change, Amendment, and No Confidence Votes require 2/3 of participating votes from
       Core Team members to pass.

       A Vote Administrator must be  selected  following  the  rules  in  the  "Vote  Administrator"
       section.

       The vote occurs in two steps:

       1.  The  Vote  Administrator describes the proposal being voted upon.  The Core Team then may
           discuss the matter in advance of voting.

       2.  Active Core Team members vote in favor or against  the  proposal.   Voting  is  performed
           anonymously.

       For a Membership Change Vote, each phase will last one week.  For Amendment and No Confidence
       Votes, each phase will last two weeks.

   The Steering Council
       The  Steering  Council is a 3-person committee, elected by the Core Team.  Candidates are not
       required to be members of the Core Team.  Non-member candidates are added to the Core Team if
       elected as if by a Membership Change Vote.

       References to specific elections are explained in the "Rules for Elections" section.

       Powers

       The Steering Council has broad authority to make decisions about the development of the  Perl
       language, the interpreter, and all other components, systems and processes that result in new
       releases of the language interpreter.

       For example, it can:

       •   Manage the schedule and process for shipping new releases

       •   Establish procedures for proposing, discussing and deciding upon changes to the language

       •   Delegate power to individuals on or outside the Steering Council

       Decisions  of  the  Steering Council will be made by majority vote of non-vacant seats on the
       council.

       The Steering Council should look for ways to use these powers as little as possible.  Instead
       of voting, it's better to seek consensus. Instead of ruling on individual cases, it's  better
       to define standards and processes that apply to all cases.

       As  with  the  Core  Team, the Steering Council does not have any authority over parts of the
       Perl ecosystem unrelated to developing and releasing the language itself.

       The Steering Council does not have the power to modify the Perl Rules of  Governance,  except
       as provided in the section "Amending Perl Rules of Governance".

       Term

       A  new  Steering  Council will be chosen by a Term Election after each stable feature release
       (that is, change to "PERL_REVISION" or "PERL_VERSION") or after two  years,  whichever  comes
       first.  The  Term  Election  will  be organized within two weeks of the triggering event. The
       council members will serve until the completion of the next Term  Election  unless  they  are
       removed.

       Removal

       Steering Council members may resign their position at any time.

       Whenever  there  are  vacancies  on the Steering Council, the council will organize a Special
       Election within one week after the vacancy occurs.  If the entire Steering  Council  is  ever
       vacant, a Term Election will be held instead.

       The  Steering Council may defer the Special Election for up to twelve weeks.  Their intent to
       do so must be publicly stated to the Core Team.  If  any  active  Core  Team  member  objects
       within  one  week, the Special Election must be organized within two weeks.  At any time, the
       Steering Council may choose to cancel the deferment and  immediately  commence  organizing  a
       Special Election.

       If a Steering Council member is deceased, or drops out of touch and cannot be contacted for a
       month  or  longer, then the rest of the council may vote to declare their seat vacant.  If an
       absent  member  returns  after  such  a  declaration  is  made,  they  are   not   reinstated
       automatically, but may run in the Special Election to fill the vacancy.

       Otherwise,  Steering Council members may only be removed before the end of their term through
       a No Confidence Vote by the Core Team.

       Rules for Elections

       Term and Special Election are ranked-choice votes to construct an ordered list of  candidates
       to fill vacancies in the Steering Council.

       A  Vote  Administrator  must  be  selected  following  the  rules in the "Vote Administrator"
       section.

       Both Term and Special Elections occur in two stages:

       1.  Candidates advertise their interest in serving. Candidates must be nominated by an active
           Core Team member.  Self-nominations  are  allowed.   Nominated  candidates  may  share  a
           statement about their candidacy with the Core Team.

       2.  If  there  are  no  more candidates than open seats, no vote is required.  The candidates
           will be declared to have won when the nomination period ends.

           Otherwise, active Core Team Members vote by ranking all candidates.  Voting is  performed
           anonymously.   After  voting  is  complete,  candidates  are  ranked  using the Condorcet
           Internet Voting Service's proportional representation mode.  If a tie occurs, it  may  be
           resolved  by mutual agreement among the tied candidates, or else the tie will be resolved
           through random selection by the Vote Administrator.

       Anyone voted off the Core Team is not eligible to be a candidate for Steering Council  unless
       re-instated to the Core Team.

       For a Term Election, each phase will last two weeks.  At the end of the second phase, the top
       three ranked candidates are elected as the new Steering Council.

       For  a  Special  Election,  each  phase  will last one week.  At the end of the second phase,
       vacancies are filled from the ordered list of candidates until no vacancies remain.

       The election of the first Steering Council will be a Term Election.  Ricardo Signes  will  be
       the  Vote Administrator for the initial Term Election unless he is a candidate, in which case
       he will select a non-candidate administrator to replace him.

   The Vote Administrator
       Every election or vote requires a Vote Administrator who manages communication, collection of
       secret ballots, and all other necessary activities to complete the voting process.

       Unless otherwise specified, the Steering Council selects the Vote Administrator.

       A Vote Administrator must not be a member of the Steering Council nor a candidate or  subject
       of  the  vote.   A Vote Administrator may be a member of the Core Team and, if so, may cast a
       vote while also serving as administrator.  If the  Vote  Administrator  becomes  a  candidate
       during an election vote, they will appoint a non-candidate replacement.

       If  the entire Steering Council is vacant or is the subject of a No Confidence Vote, then the
       Core Team will select a Vote Administrator by consensus.   If  consensus  cannot  be  reached
       within one week, the President of The Perl Foundation will select a Vote Administrator.

Steering Council and Core Team Members
       The  list  below  names  the  members  of  the Steering Council and Core Team responsible for
       creating the release of perl with which this document shipped.

       Remember, though that if you're reading the copy of this document  that  was  installed  with
       perl,  it's  very  likely  out of date.  Because every new stable feature release triggers an
       election, you're  better  off  looking  at  the  most  up  to  date  copy  of  this  document
       <https://github.com/Perl/perl5/blob/blead/pod/perlgov.pod>, in the blead branch of Perl's git
       repository.  Because it's git, you can also see how the membership has changed over time.

Steering Council Members
       •   Paul Evans

       •   Philippe Bruhat

       •   Ricardo Signes

Core Team Members
       The current members of the Perl Core Team are:

   Active Members
       Chad Granum <exodist7 AT gmail.com>
       Chris 'BinGOs' Williams <chris AT bingosnet.uk>
       Craig Berry <craigberry AT mac.com>
       Dagfinn Ilmari Mannsåker <ilmari AT ilmari.org>
       David Mitchell <davem AT iabyn.com>
       Graham Knop <haarg AT haarg.org>
       H. Merijn Brand <perl5 AT tux.nl>
       Hugo van der Sanden <hv AT crypt.org>
       James E Keenan <jkeenan AT cpan.org>
       Karen Etheridge <ether AT cpan.org>
       Karl Williamson <khw AT cpan.org>
       Leon Timmermans <fawaka AT gmail.com>
       Matthew Horsfall <wolfsage AT gmail.com>
       Max Maischein <cpan AT corion.net>
       Neil Bowers <neilb AT neilb.org>
       Nicholas Clark <nick AT ccl4.org>
       Nicolas R <atoomic AT cpan.org>
       Paul "LeoNerd" Evans <leonerd AT leonerd.uk>
       Philippe "BooK" Bruhat <book AT cpan.org>
       Ricardo Signes <rjbs AT semiotic.systems>
       Steve Hay <steve.m.hay AT googlemail.com>
       Stuart Mackintosh <stuart AT perlfoundation.org>
       Todd Rinaldo <toddr AT cpanel.net>
       Tony Cook <tony AT develop-help.com>
       Yves Orton <demerphq AT gmail.com>

   Inactive Members
       Abhijit Menon-Sen <ams AT toroid.org>
       Andy Dougherty <doughera AT lafayette.edu>
       David Golden <xdg AT xdg.me>
       Jan Dubois <jan AT jandubois.com>
       Jason McIntosh <jmac AT jmac.org>
       Jesse Vincent <jesse AT fsck.com>

perl v5.38.2                                 2026-08-18                                   PERLGOV(1)