| PLEP | 2 |
|---|---|
| author(s) | Nicholas A. Murphy |
| contact email | namurphy@cfa.harvard.edu |
| date created | 2017-11-15 |
| date last revised | 2018-09-26 |
| type | process |
| status | accepted |
| DOI | 10.5281/zenodo.1435980 |
PlasmaPy’s Coordinating Committee (CC) shall oversee the PlasmaPy project and code development.
The CC shall consist of at least 4 members and no more than 12 members. Within these limits, the CC may increase or decrease the number of people serving on the CC, including for the purposes of staggering the terms of members. The CC should include core contributors, members working toward community engagement and education, and members of the broader plasma physics community. Current and former members of the CC shall be listed in PLEP 3.
All members shall be elected by the CC to serve terms of up to three years. However, the CC may extend the term until a successor has been elected. A member may be re-elected at the end of their term. The term of a CC member shall begin on January 1 of the first year in office and end on December 31 of the third year in office, unless the CC specifies different dates. The terms should be staggered so that roughly a third of members complete their terms each year.
The CC may fill vacancies or may appoint new members to fill a previously unfilled CC position, subject to the maximum number of allowed members specified in this document. Known upcoming vacancies should be advertised at least one month before the vacancy becomes available. Unanticipated vacancies should be advertised as soon as possible. All vacancies shall be advertised to the PlasmaPy community through normal channels of communication such as email lists, newsletters, and webpages. Before deciding upon new members of the CC, each member of the CC shall read at least one resource on unconscious bias.
A member may be removed by a two-thirds majority vote of the full CC if (a) the member is absent and unexcused from 50% or more meetings of the CC in a twelve month period; or (b) for cause or for no cause, if before any meeting of the CC at which a vote on removal will be made the member of the CC in question is given electronic or written notification of the CC’s intention to discuss their case and is given the opportunity to be heard at a meeting of the CC.
A strict majority (>50%) of CC members shall constitute a quorum for a meeting of the CC. No official decisions shall be made by the CC at any meeting at which a quorum is not present.
The CC should try to find compromises and reach a general consensus (i.e., the agreement of most CC members) so that the concerns raised by a minority of CC members can be addressed.
Votes of the CC may take place during either a meeting of the CC when a quorum is present or by using electronic communication.
An act of the majority of the members of the CC present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be an act of the CC, except as otherwise indicated.
An act of the CC may occur by a vote taken over email or other forms of remote communication that are readily available and accessible to all CC members. During such votes, all members shall be considered present (i.e., a majority vote means a majority of all CC members). Prior to a vote, there should be a period of discussion related to issue among the CC (and often the broader PlasmaPy community). A vote shall begin when a member of the CC sends a proposal to all members of the CC. Voting shall end either when enough members of the CC have voted such that the outcome has been determined, or seven days after the proposal has been sent out (whichever comes later). Members may change their votes up until the time when the outcome has been determined. Voting by proxy is not allowed.
A PlasmaPy Enhancement Proposal (PLEP) shall be accepted when at least two-thirds of the Coordinating Committee votes in favor of the PLEP. The vote may be taken in the discussion of the pull request on GitHub, over email, or at a Coordinating Committee meeting where voting is recorded in the minutes (as described in PLEP 1).
The CC should have at least one regular meeting each quarter at times and places fixed by the CC, or as needed. At each meeting, the time of the subsequent meeting should be decided or one or more CC members should be delegated to be responsible for scheduling and organizing the next meeting.
Special meetings of the CC may be called by any two members of the CC.
Meetings should generally be held remotely through conference calls, video chats, or text-based chats as decided by the CC. The CC may decide to have an in-person meeting as long as there is an option for remote participation. The people scheduling a meeting should make a reasonable effort to find a time that works for as many CC members as possible.
At least seven days notice of a meeting of the CC must be provided to each member of the CC (unless otherwise agreed by all CC members). This notice must include the time of the meeting and either the location of the meeting or information on how to join a remote meeting.
It is recommended but not required that the purpose and agenda of each meeting be sent out in advance of the meeting. Every CC member may add items to the agenda of a meeting.
The CC should also hold weekly or biweekly telecons or video conferences so that the CC and members of the PlasmaPy community may coordinate code development and other activities.
The responsibilities of the Coordinating Committee are to:
- Oversee the PlasmaPy project;
- Ensure that necessary roles are being filled;
- Coordinate and delegate tasks;
- Facilitate community-wide communication;
- Oversee code development;
- Manage the PlasmaPy repositories;
- Regulate intercompatibility between subpackages and affiliated packages;
- Seek funding mechanisms and coordinate grant proposals;
- Facilitate compromises and cooperation;
- Enforce the code of conduct;
- Foster a culture of appreciation; and
- Protect the universe from being invaded by evil robots from beyond the Moon.
- Some of this document has been adapted from the SunPy Organization Definition, which is released under a CC BY 4.0 license.