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Thank you for considering mentoring an ASF project! The Incubator PMC appreciates your dedication to guiding new projects on their path to becoming top-level Apache projects. Your role is critical in nurturing healthy communities and helping podlings embrace The Apache Way. We encourage you to reach out with any questions or challenges. - andreww: THERE SHOULD BE INSTRUCTIONS, OR A LINK TO INSTRUCTIONS, ABOUT HOW TO REACH OUT Together, we build Apache’s future.

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• Learn and live The Apache Way—values Way—incorporating values like transparency, meritocracy, and collaborationinto their project.
• Follow ASF policies on governance, licensing, and releases.
• Encourage a welcoming, active, and sustainable community.
• Assist in creating clear and thoughtful podling reports.
• Ensure reports are submitted on time and sign off on reports.
• Participate in release and graduation votes as part of the Incubator PMC.
• Maintain a presence in mailing lists—answer questions and address issues early.

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3.4 Your First Steps as Mentor

• Subscribe to the podling’s dev@ and private@ mailing lists.
• Please introduce Introduce yourself on the dev@ list, explaining your role and how to contact you.
• Help the podling complete any outstanding setup tasks.
• Encourage open, transparent discussions on mailing lists.

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• Using GitHub or private channels instead of mailing lists for to make decisions. Private, off-list decisions reduce transparency.
• Slow adoption of ASF infrastructure, like mailing lists and issue trackers.
• Overdependence on a single company or individual.
• Misuse of ASF trademarks.
• Lack of contributor onboarding or community growth.
• Misunderstanding of ASF governance or The Apache Way.
• Missing or unclear documentation that blocks new contributors.
• Delays or gaps in reporting.
• Use of non-compliant licenses or dependencies.

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• Control or direct podling decisions — communities govern themselves, following The Apache Way.
• Act as project managers or primary contributors.
• Make unilateral governance or policy decisions.
• Replace the Incubator PMC or ASF officers.
• Handle all conflicts independently — escalate serious issues as needed.
• Keep key discussions or decisions private — always promote transparency.
• Speak on behalf of the podling — the community should represent itself.
• Override community consensus — mentors advise, not dictate.

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• Lack of transparency or secretive decisions.
• Slow ASF infrastructure adoption.
• Dominance by one company or individual.
• Low community engagement or contributor loss.
• Non-compliance with ASF policies.
• Conflicts or disruptive behavior within the community.
• Legal or licensing concerns.
• Slow to make releases.
• Staying too long in the Incubator. andreww: maybe define when 'too long' starts, based on podling graduation history.

Escalate serious issues to the Incubator PMC or ASF officers promptly.

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• Building a sustainable, active community with steady growth and diverse contributors.
• Maintaining transparent, meritocratic governance following The Apache Way.
• Fully adopting ASF infrastructure and complying with the The ASFs policies.
• Delivering successful releases under ASF licensing requirements.
• Growing the PPMC and increasing the number of project committers.
• Respecting ASF trademarks and branding guidelines.
• Completing the Incubator graduation vote successfully.

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• Incubator PMC Mailing Lists:
  • General: general@incubator.apache.org
  • Private: private@incubator.apache.org
• ASF Infrastructure: https://infra.apache.org/contact.html
• ASF Conduct Committee: For conduct issues. website or email?
• ASF Legal Affairs: For licensing or trademark questions.- website or email?
• Incubator Website: https://incubator.apache.org/

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• ASF (Apache Software Foundation): The non-profit organization that oversees Apache projects and their governance.
• Podling: A project incubating within the Apache Incubator, working toward becoming a top-level Apache project.
• PMC (Project Management Committee): A group responsible for the management and oversight of an Apache project.
• PPMC (Podling PMC): The group responsible for the podling’s governance and project management during incubation.
• Incubator PMC: The group that oversees the incubation process and mentors.
• The Apache Way: The ASF’s philosophy emphasizing community-led development, meritocracy, transparency, and openness.
• Lazy Consensus: A decision-making process where process in which lack of objection within a given timeframe implies consent.
• Committer: A Generally, a contributor with write access to the project’s code repository. Committers focusing on contributions related to documentation or testing may have limited access to the code repository
• Release Vote: A formal vote within the The ASF to approve a new official release of the software.
• Graduation: The process by which a podling becomes a fully-fledged Apache top-level project.

Thank you for your dedication to the Apache Incubator! Your efforts help new projects thrive through open collaboration.

andreww: is there any process through which mentors share their experiences and support each other? If there is, there should be a section describing it; if not, maybe there should be. Seems like, without it, we may lose a lot of wisdom and opportunities to mentor a new mentor

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