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CLA-FAQ

Revision as of 22:13, 12 March 2013 by Fungi (talk | contribs) (1. Why am I getting an error message about an expired CLA when trying to submit patches for review?: specify date)

FAQ for Contributor License Agreements

1. Why am I getting an error message about an expired CLA when trying to submit patches for review?

This is because we expired the old OpenStack LLC agreements on March 3, 2013, requiring active contributors to sign new agreements with the OpenStack Foundation instead.

2. Okay, so I understand the reasons for needing to sign a new CLA but why all the process changes?

We also took the opportunity to automate and integrate more of the Individual Contributor License Agreement signing process, eliminating convoluted requirements for wiki updates and group memberships. Gone are the days of applying to an LP group and waiting a business day or two for approval before you can contribute patches--now we have something new contributors can complete in a matter of minutes and get started right away.

3. When trying to sign the new ICLA and include contact information, why am I'm getting an error message saying that my E-mail address doesn't correspond to a Foundation membership?

If you haven't signed up with the Foundation yet, you'll need to do so before proceeding. If you've already got a Foundation membership and are still getting this error, be aware that the "Preferred Email" you set in Gerrit needs to match (at least temporarily) the "Primary Email Address" in your Foundation Profile.

4. Why am I getting an error message about the ICLA requiring contact information when trying to submit patches for review?

This is because you've apparently managed to sign the ICLA but avoided providing any contact information. Go to the Contact Information in your Gerrit Settings (in its Web interface), and put relevant data in at least the Mailing Address text entry field (plus any others you want to enter). Then save your changes.

5. I don't have appropriate information to put in some of the contact information fields--is that a problem?

No, they don't all need data entered in them, just put in what you can. You just need something in at least the Mailing Address field for Gerrit to be able to process it and fulfill the contact information requirement for the ICLA (Country, Phone Number and Fax Number fields are optional). Of course it would be great if the information you provided were to be accurate, but we don't have any way to confirm that.

6. Why do I need to provide contact information anyway?

At the moment, this is mainly an existing feature in Gerrit we're able to leverage to help signal the Foundation that you're a code contributor and also allow Gerrit to confirm you have a valid Foundation membership at the same time. In the future the Foundation may also integrate it with the contact information in member profiles or use it as a fall-back when attempting to contact past contributors they're unable to reach through usual channels.

7. Everything seems to be working for me and I know I provided contact information in Gerrit, so why are those fields blank now?

Mailing addresses and phone numbers are not stored on the Gerrit server, but merely forwarded (encrypted) to the Foundation member system. You'll see it lists the date you last updated your contact information--this is the best way of confirming it really was filed.

8. What can you tell me about the Corporate CLA or the U.S. Government CLA?

Not much... the processes for those have not changed to the best of my knowledge and are documented on the wiki. I gather there are new versions of them which refer to the Foundation now instead of the LLC. If you have questions about either of these, you should get in touch with the OpenStack Foundation and they can help you out.

9. When choosing a CLA to sign I see a USG CLA and a System CLA with scary-looking descriptions; should I sign these?

No. Please, please just... no. We adjusted the descriptions and provided detailed text to try and dissuade anyone from signing, but it didn't stop some people. Then we adjusted them again with even more all-caps shouting warnings in the descriptions, and it still didn't stop a few from mistakenly choosing one of those, ignoring the page they were provided and trying to agree anyway. These are an artifact of how we implemented the U.S. Government CLA backend and also how we integrate some outside tools which need to submit changes. We'd like to hide them from the interface but it's going to require a patch to Gerrit. If you do accidentally try to sign one of those, it won't work (it will be shown as pending approval) and you'll no longer be able to send in patches for review until someone clears that from the database. Don't be that person.

Quick links related to things discussed above...