Merge pull request psf#2570 from sigmavirus24/release-process-docs

Add new release process to docs

docs/community/release-process.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+Release Process and Rules
+=========================
+
+.. versionadded:: v2.6.2
+
+Starting with the version to be released after ``v2.6.2``, the following rules
+will govern and describe how the Requests core team produces a new release.
+
+Major Releases
+--------------
+
+A major release will include breaking changes. When it is versioned, it will
+be versioned as ``vX.0.0``. For example, if the previous release was
+``v10.2.7`` the next version will be ``v11.0.0``.
+
+Breaking changes are changes that break backwards compatibility with prior
+versions. If the project were to change the ``text`` attribute on a
+``Response`` object to a method, that would only happen in a Major release.
+
+Major releases may also include miscellaneous bug fixes and upgrades to
+vendored packages. The core developers of Requests are committed to providing
+a good user experience. This means we're also committed to preserving
+backwards compatibility as much as possible. Major releases will be infrequent
+and will need strong justifications before they are considered.
+
+Minor Releases
+--------------
+
+A minor release will not include breaking changes but may include
+miscellaneous bug fixes and upgrades to vendored packages. If the previous
+version of Requests released was ``v10.2.7`` a minor release would be
+versioned as ``v10.3.0``.
+
+Minor releases will be backwards compatible with releases that have the same
+major version number. In other words, all versions that would start with
+``v10.`` should be compatible with each other.
+
+Hotfix Releases
+---------------
+
+A hotfix release will only include bug fixes that were missed when the project
+released the previous version. If the previous version of Requests released
+``v10.2.7`` the hotfix release would be versioned as ``v10.2.8``.
+
+Hotfixes will **not** include upgrades to vendored dependences after
+``v2.6.2``
+
+Reasoning
+---------
+
+In the 2.5 and 2.6 release series, the Requests core team upgraded vendored
+dependencies and caused a great deal of headaches for both users and the core
+team. To reduce this pain, we're forming a concrete set of procedures so
+expectations will be properly set.

docs/index.rst

@@ -115,10 +115,11 @@ Requests ecosystem and community.
 
    community/faq
    community/recommended
-   community/out-there.rst
+   community/out-there
    community/support
    community/vulnerabilities
    community/updates
+   community/release-process
 
 API Documentation
 -----------------