Voting should be avoided. Only if no clear consensus is reached should formal voting take place. All participants of the scope for which the vote is called upon, are eligible to vote. The vote is initiated by a Proposer. The Proposer presents a Proposal on the mailing list which is relevant to the proposal. These are the formal requirements of the Vote format;

1. The mail must be marked "[VOTE]" in the beginning of the Subject line.
2. It must be in the format of "In Favor" / "Not in favor", where "In Favor" reflects a change from current status quo.
3. It must state if it is a Majority Vote or an Absolute Majority Vote.
4. It must state the Voting Period.
5. It must refer to the discussion of the proposal in the mail archives.

Quorum

Quorum is established if either of

• >=50% of Active (commits no older than 6 months) developers.
• >=20% of all subscribers of the mailing list the vote is proposed on.

cast a vote.

Voting Period

The proposer will state the voting period in the proposal, but it must be no shorter than the voting period for the type of vote being held (see below), and no longer than 2 months. The Voting Period starts when the Proposal is sent to the mailing list. The mail archive will be used to determine the exact time, if dispute arises.

Casting Vote

Any participant who wants to partake, sends the vote to the mailing list. It must clearly indicate whether "In favor" or "Not in favor". Participants are allowed to change the vote up until the Voting Period has expired.

Majority Vote

1. In Favor: >50%
2. Voting Period: 2 weeks.

Absolute Majority Vote

1. In Favor: >66%
2. Voting Period: 4 weeks.

Results

After the Voting Period, the Proposer collates and counts the votes. The Proposer is responsible, but other participants should make sure it is done correctly, and aid the Proposer. The results are sent to the same mailing list with a subject line starting with [VOTE RESULTS] and contain a reference to the mail archive of the initiating Vote mail. It should show who voted "In favor" and who voted "Not in favor", so the participants can check the count of their own vote. Any discrepancies should be corrected in consensual manner. The project/product Vote page on Wiki should be updated with a reference to the Vote Result mail.

Appeals

After a vote, any participant can appeal to the Executive to over-turn the result. Appeals must refer to that the outcome of the vote will violate the Principles or Rules of ops4j.org and provide evidence thereof. The Executive will investigate, and meanwhile the vote is held in quarantine. The Executive must produce a resolution within 4 weeks, or the vote is valid.