[llvm] [Policy] Replace "code owners" with "maintainers" (PR #107384)

[James Henderson via llvm-commits]

================
@@ -166,38 +166,81 @@ awareness of. For such changes, the following should be done:
   Discourse, and add the label to one of the watch categories under
   ``Notifications->Tags``.
 
-.. _code owners:
+.. _maintainers:
 
-Code Owners
+Maintainers
 -----------
 
-The LLVM Project relies on two features of its process to maintain rapid
-development in addition to the high quality of its source base: the combination
-of code review plus post-commit review for trusted maintainers.  Having both is
-a great way for the project to take advantage of the fact that most people do
-the right thing most of the time, and only commit patches without pre-commit
-review when they are confident they are right.
-
-The trick to this is that the project has to guarantee that all patches that are
-committed are reviewed after they go in: you don't want everyone to assume
-someone else will review it, allowing the patch to go unreviewed.  To solve this
-problem, we have a notion of an 'owner' for a piece of the code.  The sole
-responsibility of a code owner is to ensure that a commit to their area of the
-code is appropriately reviewed, either by themself or by someone else.  The list
-of current code owners can be found in the file `CODE_OWNERS.TXT
-<https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/blob/main/llvm/CODE_OWNERS.TXT>`_ in the
-root of the LLVM source tree.
-
-Note that code ownership is completely different than reviewers: anyone can
-review a piece of code, and we welcome code review from anyone who is
-interested.  Code owners are the "last line of defense" to guarantee that all
-patches that are committed are actually reviewed.
-
-Being a code owner is a somewhat unglamorous position, but it is incredibly
-important for the ongoing success of the project.  Because people get busy,
-interests change, and unexpected things happen, code ownership is purely opt-in,
-and anyone can choose to resign their "title" at any time. For now, we do not
-have an official policy on how one gets elected to be a code owner.
+The LLVM Project aims to evolve features quickly while continually being in a
+release-ready state. In order to accomplish this, the project needs volunteers
+willing to do the less-glamorous work to ensure we produce robust, high-quality
+products.
+
+Maintainers are those volunteers; they are regular contributors who volunteer
+to take on additional community responsibilities beyond code contributions.
+Community members can find active and inactive maintainers for a project in the
+``Maintainers.rst`` file at the root directory of the individual project.
+
+Maintainers are volunteering to take on the following shared responsibilities
+within an area of a project:
+
+    * ensure that commits receive high-quality review, either by the maintainer
+      or by someone else,
+    * help to confirm and comment on issues,
+    * mediate code review disagreements through collaboration with other
+      maintainers (and other reviewers) to come to a consensus on how best to
+      proceed with disputed changes,
+    * actively engage with relevant RFCs,
+    * aid release managers with backporting and other release-related
+      activities,
+    * be a point of contact for contributors who need help (answering questions
+      on Discord/Discourse/IRC or holding office hours).
+
+Each top-level project in the monorepo will specify one or more
+lead maintainers who are responsible for ensuring community needs are
+met for that project. This role is like any other maintainer role,
+except the responsibilities span the project rather than a limited area
+within the project. If you cannot reach a maintainer or don't know which
+maintainer to reach out to, a lead maintainer is always a good choice
+to reach out to.
+
+All contributors with commit access to the LLVM Project are eligible to be a
+maintainer. However, we are looking for people who can commit to:
+
+    * engaging in their responsibilities the majority of the days in a month,
+    * ensuring that they, and the community members they interact with, abide by
+      the LLVM Community Code of Conduct, and
+    * performing these duties for at least three months.
+
+We recognize that priorities shift, job changes happen, burnout is real,
+extended vacations are a blessing, and people's lives are generally complex.
+Therefore, we want as little friction as possible for someone to become a
+maintainer or to step down as a maintainer.
+
+*To become a new maintainer*, you can volunteer yourself by posting a PR which
+adds yourself to the area(s) you are volunteering for. Alternatively, an
+existing maintainer can nominate you by posting a PR, but the nominee must
+explicitly accept the PR so that it's clear they agree to volunteer within the
+proposed area(s). The PR will be accepted so long as at least one maintainer in
+the same project vouches for their ability to perform the responsibilities and
+there are no explicit objections raised by the community.
+
+*To step down as a maintainer*, you can move your name to the "inactive
+maintainers" section of the ``Maintainers.rst`` file for the project, or remove
+your name entirely; no PR review is necessary. Additionally, any maintainer who
+has not been actively performing their responsibilities over an extended period
+of time can be moved to the "inactive maintainers" section by another active
+maintainer within that project with agreement from one other active maintainer
+within that project. However, please discuss the situation with the inactive
+maintainer before such removal to avoid accidental miscommunications. Stepping
----------------
jh7370 wrote:

All looks good, thanks!

https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/pull/107384