Thank you for taking the time to contribute to Matrix!
This repository is for proposals to changes to the Matrix protocol. The process for submitting a proposal is spelt out in detail at https://spec.matrix.org/proposals (in particular, https://spec.matrix.org/proposals/#process).
However, in brief, it amounts to:
-
Create a pull request adding a new file to the
proposals
directory, expaining what you think should be changed, and why. (Ideally, the file should be numbered according to the pull request number, which normally means you need to rename it once you've opened the PR.) -
Seek feedback on your proposal, for example in #matrix-spec:matrix.org.
We ask that everybody who contributes to this project signs off their contributions, as explained below.
We follow a simple 'inbound=outbound' model for contributions: the act of submitting an 'inbound' contribution means that the contributor agrees to license their contribution under the same terms as the project's overall 'outbound' license - in our case, this is Apache Software License v2 (see LICENSE).
In order to have a concrete record that your contribution is intentional and you agree to license it under the same terms as the project's license, we've adopted the same lightweight approach used by the Linux Kernel, Docker, and many other projects: the Developer Certificate of Origin (DCO). This is a simple declaration that you wrote the contribution or otherwise have the right to contribute it to Matrix:
Developer Certificate of Origin
Version 1.1
Copyright (C) 2004, 2006 The Linux Foundation and its contributors.
660 York Street, Suite 102,
San Francisco, CA 94110 USA
Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this
license document, but changing it is not allowed.
Developer's Certificate of Origin 1.1
By making a contribution to this project, I certify that:
(a) The contribution was created in whole or in part by me and I
have the right to submit it under the open source license
indicated in the file; or
(b) The contribution is based upon previous work that, to the best
of my knowledge, is covered under an appropriate open source
license and I have the right under that license to submit that
work with modifications, whether created in whole or in part
by me, under the same open source license (unless I am
permitted to submit under a different license), as indicated
in the file; or
(c) The contribution was provided directly to me by some other
person who certified (a), (b) or (c) and I have not modified
it.
(d) I understand and agree that this project and the contribution
are public and that a record of the contribution (including all
personal information I submit with it, including my sign-off) is
maintained indefinitely and may be redistributed consistent with
this project or the open source license(s) involved.
If you agree to this for your contribution, then all that's needed is to include the line in your commit or pull request comment:
Signed-off-by: Your Name <[email protected]>
...using your real name; unfortunately pseudonyms and anonymous contributions
can't be accepted. Git makes this trivial - just use the -s flag when you do
git commit
, having first set user.name
and user.email
git configs
(which you should have done anyway :)