Top post, but if my memory serves me properly Guidelines was used because the ASF’s ByLaws - https://www.apache.org/foundation/bylaws.html - must not be overridden by project “bylaws”.
Best, Dave > On Jul 3, 2024, at 12:35 PM, Carl Steinbach <c...@apache.org> wrote: > > In 2018, Justin McLean led an effort to draft a set of project bylaws that > a) apply to projects that don't have bylaws and b) serve as a convenient > starting point for projects that are drafting their own bylaws. This effort > ultimately resulted in the Default Project Guidelines [1] document > located on the Incubator wiki. One change that didn't trigger any > discussion at the time [2] was the decision to use the word "guideline" > instead of "bylaw." This strikes me as odd since there is a major > substantive difference between the meaning of these two words. > > Here's how the two words are defined in the Cambridge Dictionary: > > - Bylaw: "a rule that GOVERNS the members of an organization." [3] > [emphasis added] > > - Guideline: "information intended to advise people on how something SHOULD > BE done or what something SHOULD BE." [4] [emphasis added] > > Wikipedia, while not an authoritative source, provides useful context on > how these terms are used in practice: > > - "A bylaw ... is a set of rules or law established by an organization or > community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some > higher authority." [5] > > - "A guideline is similar to a rule, but are legally less binding as > justified deviations are possible." [6] > > I am neither a lawyer nor a lexicographer, but it seems clear that a > guideline carries no more weight than an officially approved suggestion, > while a bylaw is a binding rule. While it's up to each PMC to decide > whether they want to adopt a set of non-binding suggestions that SHOULD BE > [7] followed or a set of binding laws that MUST BE followed, I think it's > important for the IPMC to clarify that the former are called guidelines, > the latter are called bylaws, and that PMCs need to be aware of the > difference. > > Thanks. > > - Carl > > [1] > https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/INCUBATOR/Default+Project+Guidelines > [2] https://lists.apache.org/thread/h15qjp35ghg446xr5bnmmlg06p3hdoj9 > [3] https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/bylaw > [4] https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/guideline > [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=By-law&oldid=1215430864 > [6] https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guideline&oldid=1185185478 > [7] https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2119 --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: general-unsubscr...@incubator.apache.org For additional commands, e-mail: general-h...@incubator.apache.org
