Update stewardship guildelines and process

[ksen0]

Resolves #5719

This PR proposes a more structured approach to stewardship, to streamline the existing stewardship model.

I look forward to feedback of current, past, and prospective stewards as well as contributors on any improvements - either technical or conceptual. Please feel free to add code review and comments on anything in this PR, comment in this thread!

In this PR, you will find:

• An update to the steward guidelines that covers what stewardship is, what are the areas, and how to become a steward
• A structured YAML file stewards.yml that contains the current list of active stewards
• A GitHub Actions automation that will update the Stewards table in the repository's README every time this file is updated. (These will be synced between the main and dev-2.0 branch.)

In the future, we hope to work on:

• Technical improvements: developing a reusable GitHub Action rather than a script in utils which could support other projects interested in adopting a similar model
• Governance improvements: learning from other open source communities on how they do community care and collective decision making about software

Anyone who is interested in collectively revising on the stewardship process itself in the future, please feel free to comment accordingly! The proposed revision is based on discussion within the maintainers team, and we would be happy for input / co-creation of any future revisions.

[ksen0]

Currently active stewards include: @aferriss @calebfoss @davepagurek @dhowe @Qianqianye @ogbabydiesal @limzykenneth @perminder-17 @lukeplowden @Divyansh013 @GregStanton @holomorfo - if you are on the list and you prefer to step down, or change your area(s), please comment below! The list is made based on the existing table and on recent activity.

While preparing this proposal we (the maintainers) also saw recently active contributors who seem already taking on stewardship activities, so anyone on the below list is welcome to comment if you'd like to be a steward (you can suggest different area(s)):

• @error-four-o-four (DevOps)
• @clairep94 (p5.js-website)
• @VANSH3104 (Documentation)
• @Vaivaswat2244 (DevOps)
• @takshittt (i18n)
• @lirenjie95 (i18n)
• @Darrenhqf (i18n)
• @Forchapeatl (WebGL or Shapes)
• @Juan31416 (i18n)
• @RandomGamingDev (Core/WebGL)
• @Garima3110 (Core/WebGL)

You're welcome to comment with your interest and ideas below whether or not you are in either of these lists!

[davepagurek]

This looks great!

[RandomGamingDev]

I would love to be a steward for p5.js.
As for subject, would it be possible to add Math alongside Core & WebGL for my area since I'd like to further work on p5.Math and other areas of inefficiency or lost potential related to math?

[lirenjie95]

Thank you for the invitation. I'd love to be the steward of i18n-zh(Hans).
Could you please add me as the steward of the build process as well? I have also previously contributed to the GitHub actions. Thank you!

[Divyansh013]

Very good initiative, happy to help!

[limzykenneth]

Made a couple suggestions regarding clarification on the role of a steward. To clarify here as well, stewards are mainly a role responsible for issue and PR review/triaging. It is a role somewhat unrelated to contribution/feature suggestions, that is still done under the capacity of a contributor, meaning you don't need to be a steward if you want to make feature suggestions.

[IIITM-Jay]

Hi maintainers and stewards!

I would love to be a steward for the area Friendly Errors as one of the areas mentioned in the issue #5719 . I have raised some PRs #7824 , #7843 related to this area, fixed one of the bug (#7795) and have been also discussing on the issue #7752 . Will also be looking some of the open issues on FES and other related areas of it. If the maintainers feel, I would love to be a part of stewardship and keep this journey on ahead.

CC: @ksen0 , @limzykenneth , @davepagurek

[ksen0]

Thanks so much for the suggestions @limzykenneth ! In addition to your edits, I added some more clarifications to the list of steward responsibilities, and how that's distinct from contribution:

1. Welcoming new contributors to GitHub through friendly comments and helpful code reviews
2. Helping to facilitate feature discussions and resolve technical disagreements. For example, this means making connections to other past discussion, or offering input from prior relevant experience. Suggesting features or working on them is contribution, rather than stewardship.
3. Participating in releases of the p5.js software through supporting bug fixing and feature completion. For example, this means guiding other contributors and reviewing their PRs. Fixing bugs is contribution, rather than stewardship.

@RandomGamingDev What do you think about the above? So, the intent here is that the stewards are focusing on community care. If your main interest is to propose and work on features, then you are welcome to continue doing that as a contributor. As a steward, practically speaking, the focus is on reviewing PRs and helping to triage bugs (ie, helping people clarify the bug, and helping other contributors fix it). Is that something you are interested in as well, and which of the areas (Math, Core, or WebGL) would be most relevant? Unlike in the previous process, the goal here is to keep the list of stewards quite focused, with up to around 3 per area.

@lirenjie95 I also added a small clarification on translation stewardship. As above, stewardship is more about reviewing or helping triage - though of course you are welcome to make translations too (as a contributor)! Let me know what your thoughts are about this approach to stewardship on DevOps.

[Vaivaswat2244]

Thank you for the invitation. It would be an honor to be a steward for p5.js. I'd be happy to be a steward for DevOps category.

[RandomGamingDev]

@RandomGamingDev What do you think about the above? So, the intent here is that the stewards are focusing on community care. If your main interest is to propose and work on features, then you are welcome to continue doing that as a contributor. As a steward, practically speaking, the focus is on reviewing PRs and helping to triage bugs (ie, helping people clarify the bug, and helping other contributors fix it). Is that something you are interested in as well, and which of the areas (Math, Core, or WebGL) would be most relevant? Unlike in the previous process, the goal here is to keep the list of stewards quite focused, with up to around 3 per area.

Yes, I believe that one of the best way to further develop these features is to help review PRs and triage bugs, which is why I am interested in being a steward. While I'd like to be a steward for multiple fields if possible, if I had to choose one I'd like to choose WebGL.

[lirenjie95]

@lirenjie95 I also added a small clarification on translation stewardship. As above, stewardship is more about reviewing or helping triage - though of course you are welcome to make translations too (as a contributor)! Let me know what your thoughts are about this approach to stewardship on DevOps.

Thank you for the update and clarification. It's an honor to serve as a steward to p5.js. I would like to review PRs and assist new contributors in understanding the bug fixing process in both translation and DevOps.

[VANSH3104]

@ksen0 Thank you so much for the recognition! I’m truly honored by the opportunity and would be excited to serve as a steward for Documentation.

[perminder-17]

Everything looks good to me :)

[error-four-o-four]

@ksen0 I am truly grateful and appreciate the opportunity. I'm a little unsure whether I can devote enough time but I'll try my best

[takshittt]

Thank you for the invitation — I’d be happy to take on the role of steward for i18n.
Looking forward to contributing more in this area!

[clairep94]

Hi, thanks so much for the invite, I would love to be a steward for p5.js-website :)

[ksen0]

Thanks @lirenjie95 @clairep94 @takshittt @error-four-o-four @VANSH3104 @Vaivaswat2244 @IIITM-Jay @RandomGamingDev! I've added you to the list. Please feel free to step back whenever if you find you don't have time, and reapply in the future, too!

I've updated the guidelines with some more resources, which I hope can be helpful. Especially if you're starting out or unsure, it would be really helpful if you find anything in the guideline that I can improve or clarify! Please feel free to add your reviews on the text of that guideline, and I'd be happy to update it.