Hi Greg,
Yes, I remember they told us that ("Merits never expire," etc.)
But see here: https://www.apache.org/dev/pmc.html
"Should a PMC remove inactive members?
Projects can establish their own policy on handling inactive members, as
long as they apply it consistently. It is not a problem to retain members
of the PMC who have become inactive, and it can make it easier for them to
stay in touch with the project if they choose to become active again."
This means if we decide to do it, we legally can.
I agree that merits never expire; perhaps we can display pictures of all
previous contributors on a wall inside the Apache Foundation, similar to
the pictures of previous presidents. Why not? :-D
BR,
Alan
On Wed, Oct 7, 2026 at 6:23 PM Gregory Nutt <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> We can propose removing committers and PMCs who are not involved in the
> project (ASF allows this; we need to notify them).
>
> Are you sure of this. I recall being told that once a committer, you are
> a committer for life. I do find this:
>
> Note it is possible to remove a committer's access to repositories in an
> urgent situation, such as their account being taken over by a hacker.
> However, the PMC chair should not take this action for situations such as a
> committer's extended inactivity. In 2026, the ASF Security team is working
> on proposals that may clarify the conditions under which a committer's
> rights to commit code can be suspended or removed.
>
> My case is different.. I am officially emeritus. Emeritus members are
> required to be listed on the project page, but did not follow that. See
> https://infra.apache.org/committers.html and
> https://www.apache.org/foundation/members
>
> Emeritus members can re-instate themselves immediately without a vote if
> the wish to become full members again. Note: A person must ask to be made
> emeritus. I don't think that the PMC has authority to modify anyone's
> membership.
>
>
