RFC-001: RFC documents

rfc-001-dillo-rfc-documents.md

@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+---
+state: Draft
+start-date: 2024-07-07
+author: Rodrigo Arias Mallo <[email protected]>
+---
+
+# Dillo RFC 001: RFC documents
+
+This document is reserved to describe how to write RFC proposals.
+
+We should consider some aspects such as
+[bike-shedding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_triviality) and how to
+avoid blocking RFCs for too long.
+
+We may follow some other project policies as a quick start.
+
+We may change the prefix to something else than "RFC" as not to confuse them
+with IETF RFCs.
+
+## Motivation
+
+Some proposals require more thought to be carried out, in particular those that
+involve design of new features.
+
+By having a single document that describes the motivation behind the change, how
+and why it is done that way and not in another helps having a clear picture to
+decide if the change should be done or not and to avoid potential pitfalls.
+
+## Design
+
+To implement a RFC proposal system, we will use several pieces.
+
+### Markdown files
+
+The proposals will be written in Markdown and stored in a git repository so they
+can be tracked with version control. This also allows users to easily write RFCs
+without having to invest a lot of time learning a new language.
+
+### RFC name
+
+Each RFC should have an unique name prefixed with a unique number. For now we
+will use the printf format "RFC-%3d" to pad the number with zeros, so they are
+sorted alphanumerically.
+
+The name of the RFC document should be composed of lowercase letters joined by
+hyphens (-), for example:
+
+    001-rfc-documents.md
+
+### Structure of a RFC
+
+An RFC should contain at least the following sections:
+
+- Abstract: Summary of the proposal in a few lines.
+- Motivation: Describes the current problems and provides a justification on why
+  a change is needed.
+- Design: Explains how to implement the proposal. The content here may be split
+  in several sections with other section names.
+- Validation: Describes how to determine if the proposal has been implemented
+  correctly.
+
+### Acceptance procedure
+
+A RFC is submitted by opening a MR in the RFC repository or by sending a patch
+via email to the Dillo mailing list.
+
+A new RFC begins as a "draft" while it gathers feedback and while it is still in
+development. After enough consensus is gathered, the RFC is accepted or
+rejected.
+
+Once accepted, it will become the decision on how to implement the proposal
+that should be followed.
+
+### Criteria to create new RFCs
+
+Smaller changes that can be done in a few weeks should not become RFCs, but
+rather just issues. A practical approach is to try to cover it using a single
+issue, and if it becomes too big then consider drafting an RFC.
+
+## Validation
+
+Once implemented we should be able to go to a git repository or web and read
+the RFCs.