This document outlines the procedure that the Technical Review Board (TRB) + follows when resolving disagreements of a technical nature. This document + does not describe the whole of the TRB responsibilities and procedures. + If at any time during the resolution of the conflict the two parties come + to a mutual agreement the TRB arbitration process will end.
+ +A technical dispute is brought to the TRB. This may happen at the + request of a participant in a deadlocked dispute. It may also happen + if it becomes clear to a member of the TRB or core that the disputing + parties are not able to resolve the issue in a timely or professional + manner.
+ +The TRB will announce on arch@ that it is considering an issue. A + request is made for all interested parties to submit one email + stating their position on this issue to the trb@ mailing list. These + emails are available to all committers via the trb archive.
+ +The TRB makes requests of those who have submitted their opinions on + the subject to clarify points. This discussion will continue on the + trb@ list. If possible the TRB will steer the involved parties + towards resolving the issue themselves.
+ +A member of the TRB produces a brief document describing the core + technical issues and a summary of the opinions of either side. If + the involved parties can not come to a conclusion themselves the + TRB will decide on a best plan of action based on the facts + presented.
+ +A vote is held on trb-private@. This is done privately to mitigate + any impressions of bias either way from individual members of TRB. + If a member of TRB has some non technical interest in the vote they + are required to abstain from voting.
+ +The results of the private vote are announced on arch@ and trb@. + This will include a short statement detailing the position of the + TRB on this issue and the number of votes for each option. The + decision will be based on a majority vote. The results are + considered final and all appeals must go through core@.
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