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docs: add GOVERNANCE.md with roles and release cadence#150

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docs: add GOVERNANCE.md with roles and release cadence#150
mrbrandao wants to merge 1 commit into
LobsterTrap:mainfrom
mrbrandao:docs/governance

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@mrbrandao mrbrandao commented May 21, 2026

Summary

  • Add GOVERNANCE.md defining project roles (Lead, Core Maintainer, Maintainer, Contributor), contributor ladder, decision-making process, release cadence (monthly, last Wednesday), and communication channels
  • Link GOVERNANCE.md from README.md and docs/dev-guide/contributing.md

Related Issues

Part of AAIF readiness work.

Test Plan

  • GOVERNANCE.md is present at repo root
  • README.md links to GOVERNANCE.md
  • docs/dev-guide/contributing.md links to GOVERNANCE.md

Checklist

  • Tests pass (pytest)
  • Linting passes (ruff check src tests)
  • Type checking passes (ty check)

AI Disclosure

AI-assisted with Claude Code

Summary by CodeRabbit

  • Documentation
    • Added governance documentation detailing contributor roles and advancement ladder, decision-making process via lazy consensus with 48-hour objection windows and Lead tie-breaking, monthly release cadence with ad-hoc patch releases, community code of conduct with reporting channels, and primary communication forums
    • Updated README and contributor guide to reference governance documentation

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coderabbitai Bot commented May 21, 2026

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info
⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: defaults

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Run ID: ed0ae0ca-51f9-4e2b-b65f-4113cd17dd15

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between de87f1c and afc5b0c.

📒 Files selected for processing (3)
  • GOVERNANCE.md
  • README.md
  • docs/dev-guide/contributing.md

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

This PR introduces comprehensive project governance documentation for Lola. A new GOVERNANCE.md file defines organizational roles, contributor advancement, decision-making via lazy consensus, PR approval rules, release cadence, conduct expectations, and amendment requirements. The README and contributing guide are updated with cross-references to the governance model.

Changes

Governance Model Documentation

Layer / File(s) Summary
Governance documentation and cross-references
GOVERNANCE.md, README.md, docs/dev-guide/contributing.md
New GOVERNANCE.md establishes roles, decision-making process (lazy consensus, 48-hour objection window), PR approval rules, release cadence (monthly last Wednesday), Code of Conduct, communication channels, and amendment requirements. README and contributing guide add references linking to this governance model.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 1 (Trivial) | ⏱️ ~3 minutes

Poem

🐰 A governance scroll unfurls with care,
Roles and rules now crystal clear,
Lazy consensus, Lead's fair say,
Monthly cadence leads the way,
Community thrives with open air!

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5
✅ Passed checks (5 passed)
Check name Status Explanation
Description Check ✅ Passed Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check ✅ Passed The title clearly and concisely summarizes the main change: adding GOVERNANCE.md documentation with roles and release cadence, which is the primary objective of this pull request.
Docstring Coverage ✅ Passed No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.
Linked Issues check ✅ Passed Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check ✅ Passed Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.

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✨ Finishing Touches
🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)
  • Create PR with unit tests

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@mrbrandao mrbrandao requested a review from SecKatie May 21, 2026 18:37
@mrbrandao mrbrandao added enhancement New feature or request documentation Improvements or additions to documentation labels May 21, 2026
Comment thread GOVERNANCE.md

Day-to-day decisions (PR merges, bug fixes, documentation, dependency updates) use
**lazy consensus**: a Maintainer or Core Maintainer approves the change, and if no
objection is raised within 48 hours, the change lands.
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Does this mean all PRs must wait for 48 hours before merging?

Comment thread GOVERNANCE.md
This project follows the
[Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct v2.1](https://www.contributor-covenant.org/version/2/1/code_of_conduct/).
Violations may be reported to the Core Maintainers via a GitHub Discussion marked
private, or by contacting the Lead directly.
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How should people contact the lead? Should we share emails/contact info?

Comment thread GOVERNANCE.md
Project discussions happen openly in
[GitHub Issues](https://github.com/LobsterTrap/lola/issues) and
[GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/LobsterTrap/lola/discussions).
A community channel is planned and will be linked here once available.
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If we have a community chat I would argue for either a public matrix room or a Zulip Chat.

@mrbrandao mrbrandao requested a review from dmartinol May 25, 2026 14:09
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