WHATWG Invited Individual Policy

Joining the WHATWG as an Invited Individual

Persons who wish to join the WHATWG and participate in their personal capacity (the Requestor), but for various reasons are unable to sign the Contributor and Workstream Participant Agreement as an Entity or as an Individual not working in the Field of Web Technologies (for example, the Individual is working in the Field of Web Technologies and the Entity employing the individual is unable to join), may request special Invited Individual status. This policy describes the conditions and procedures for this process.

The Steering Group expects to grant invitations sparingly. Wherever possible, persons employed by, contracting, or otherwise working for an Entity should seek to have the Entity execute the Contributor and Workstream Participant Agreement.

The Steering Group must approve an invitation by unanimous consent.

How to request Invited Individual status

File an issue in the Steering Group’s repository requesting Invited Individual status along with other relevant details or information relevant to the request.
The Steering Group will discuss the matter with the Requestor in the issue.
Either the Requestor or the Steering Group may request a private meeting to discuss confidential special considerations.
The Workstreams the Requestor will participate in and the term of the invitation (usually 36 months) are established.
Each Steering Group Member must indicate support in the issue (for example by a “+1” or explicit indication of support).
Once all Steering Group Members have indicated support, and the scope of the Requestor’s Workstream participation is understood, the Requestor’s information is added to a database, and the Requestor is invited to sign the Contributor and Workstream Participant Agreement as an Individual with Invited Individual status.

Steering Group decision considerations

The Steering Group reserves the right to approve or reject a request for Invited Individual status for any reason.

Some factors that the Steering Group will consider when evaluating a request are (but are not limited to):

Hardship or difficulty in getting approval for a related Entity to join.
The type and nature of the related Entity and potential IPR concerns.
The expected value of the potential participant’s Contributions.
The degree of involvement to which the Individual or Entity is in the Field of Web Technologies.
Number of Workstreams and desired participation length.
Other specific circumstances related to the Individual or Entity.

Signing the Contributor and Workstream Participant Agreement

A person wishing to join the WHATWG using the Invited Individual status must sign the Contributor and Workstream Participant Agreement. The Requestor will select the option to sign as an Individual who has been invited by the Steering Group. Signing the Agreement may come before or after the person makes a Contribution, however until the Agreement has been signed and subsequently verified, any Contributions by the Requestor will be blocked.

Term of Participation

Invited Individual status is typically granted for a period of 36 months (3 years). Upon expiration the Individual will need to request that their status be renewed by contacting the Steering Group as noted above. The Individual must contact the Steering Group if there are any changes in employment that could affect the status of their invitation. The Steering Group may customize the length of validity for each invitation as per individual circumstances.

Cancelation of Workstream Participant Invitation

The Steering Group reserves the right to terminate the Invited Individual status as indicated in Termination. The person may re-execute the agreement under any of the other existing terms, but will no longer be able to use the Invited Individual status.

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