# Setting up a new SIG

## Get Approval

Anyone can propose to setup a SIG, but needs to get the agreement and participation of a member of the CentOS Governing Board. To request a new Special interest group to be started, here is what needs to be done:

* Look at the presently functional SIG's and make sure that your effort will not overlap with another team

* The topic for the SIG must be related to CentOS, or a use scenario for CentOS

* Open a new discussion topic in the CentOS-Devel mailing list, asking for comments and interest.

* Once the topic has been discussed, send a seperate proposal email to the CentOS-Devel mailing list.  (Link to a template here)

* One of the CentOS Board members need to be part of the proposed SIG.

* The SIG needs to be approved by the board.

## Initial Setup

After the SIG has been approved, various things need to be setup.

join the effort, once that happens then that Board member can :

* Board members: List SIG on Active SIG page

* SIG Chair or Board mentor: Request a version control system.

* SIG Chair or Board mentor: Setup documentation using a version control system (Recommended be the same as setup above)

* SIG Chair or Board mentor: Request a new mailing list to be created (if needed)

### RPM based setup steps

* SIG meets with Infra SIG member to discuss how the dist git repo is going to be setup

* SIG Chair or Board mentor: setup a SIG-specific signing key to live on CentOS Project signing server and/or locally to the builder

* SIG Chair or Board mentor: request CBS build tag

* SIG Chair or Board mentor: request CBS targets and tags

* SIG Chair or Board mentor: if using git.centos.org request import of SRPMs

# Requirements

## Basic Requirements

* There must be adequate control and feedback into the CentOS community.

* All code produced within the SIG must be compatible with a FOSS license presently used by CentOS.

* All documentation5. produced within the SIG must be compatible with the license of this wiki

* At least one member of the SIG, who need not be the lead, needs to be a member of the CentOS Devteam.

## Communication

Generally, all communication as to the work of the SIG should be public, understanding that sometimes a matter may need to be private.  Private communication should be an exception, and not a general policy of the SIG.

* If a SIG mailing list is created, the lists are open and can be joined freely.

* The SIG team leader may be asked to be the SIG mailing list moderator; generally however, CentOS mailing lists are not moderated.

## Membership

Each SIG should list it's membership policy in it's initial proposal.  It should also have it listed in it's documentation.  Normally, the following rule for SIG membership apply:

* SIG members are appointed by the SIG team leader, and may have elevated privileges, like write access to the relevant Wiki section or git repo, depending on the role of the SIG member.

## SIG Reporting

SIGs are expected to report quarterly, with a brief summary of what they've accomplished in the past quarter. A suggested outline for this report is as follows:

* Membership update (members added, removed. Chair changes.)

* Releases in the most recent quarter (or most recent release, if none in that quarter)

* Health report and general activity narrative.

* Issues for the board to address, if any