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You’ve been invited to join a project PMC? Congratulations! What should you do now?

Being part of an ASF Project Management Committee is more than just an acknowledgement of your contributions. It’s a new level of responsibility for the project’s health and sustainability. The Board of Directors is relying on you to provide oversight of the project code, and project community

Join the conversation

If you haven’t already, you need to subscribe to the PMC/Private mailing list. This is the list on which confidential PMC business is conducted, and is also the channel that the Board uses to contact the PMC.

See also these tips for using the private mailing list

We also encourage you to join the developer and user mailing lists, if you’re not already on them. This is where the day-to-day business of the project happens. It’s also one place where you will interact with your users, and understand their pains and needs.

Take a moment to introduce yourself on the dev list, if you’re not already well known there. You might include such information as where you are in the world, what portion of the project you’re most engaged with, and what communications channel you’re most accessible on.

This will help developers know when you’re likely to be available, how to get in touch with you, and what topics you’re most likely to be able to help them with.

Read the docs

There are policies and procedures for how the PMC should conduct itself. You are expected to read, understand, and abide by these policies

Also have a look at the overview of PMC responsibilities to understand best practices of governing your project. Two other key documents are about maintaining project independence, and protecting your project’s trademarks.

Ask a lot of questions

As you get used to your new role on the PMC, be sure to ask lots of questions. Don’t be afraid to question the status quo. As why things are done the way they are, particularly if you see a chance to improve. Your beginner’s mind can offer insights that more senior members are blind to.