Contributing to CAOS
Contributing to CAOS
Welcome and orientation
The CAOS community includes people with disabilities, accessibility professionals, and anyone who participates in or benefits from open source. That’s pretty much everyone. We believe that good ideas, useful feedback, and meaningful participation can come from anyone who thinks and cares about these important issues. Whether you’re a person with a disability, developer, advocate, researcher, open-source contributor/owner/user, or any combination thereof, we invite you to participate in CAOS. This document explains how to get involved, and explains the many different forms that involvement may take.
Ways to participate
Participation is not limited to any one activity. There are many ways to become an Agent of CAOS. Options include:
- Follow along — all governance documents, policy discussions, and meeting records are public. Staying informed is a legitimate and valued form of participation.
- Give feedback on the CAOS website or public materials — tell us what works, what doesn’t, and what’s missing.
- Participate in governance — comment on open policy discussions, propose changes to existing policies, or propose new ones.
- Volunteer — there’s lots to do. We’d love your help with a specific project, activity, or event that draws your interest. We also have dedicated working groups (also known as committees) and an Advisory Board with openings for contributors with a wide range of expertise and experience.
- Propose a program, activity, or event — if you have an idea for something CAOS should do, we want to hear it.
- Engage on a partner project — if you’re involved in an existing open-source project, you can help build a bridge of accessibility knowledge and disability awareness between their community and ours.
- Report an accessibility problem — anywhere in CAOS’s work: our website, documents, events, or governance processes.
Not sure where your idea fits? Just reach out — see Questions and contact below.
Before you contribute
We want to make sure everyone feels welcome and understands how our community operates. Before engaging as a contributor, please read the CAOS Code of Conduct and the CAOS Accessibility Policy. CAOS contributors are expected to understand and comply with both documents.
How to engage
Just as there are many different ways to contribute, there are many different ways to connect with CAOS. Here’s a quick guide:
| I want to… | Primary method | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Subscribe to the CAOS newsletter | Newsletter signup | Contact page |
| Suggest a policy change | Submit an issue in the governance repository | “Submit an Issue” link at the bottom of any CAOS policy page |
| Give website feedback | Submit an issue in the website repository | “Submit an Issue” link at the bottom of the relevant web page |
| Get involved in a program or activity | Submit an issue in that program’s repository | “Submit an Issue” link at the bottom of that program’s page |
| Suggest a program or activity | Contact page | programs@caos.org |
| Volunteer or get involved | Contact page | volunteer@caos.org |
| Apply to join the CAOS Advisory Board | Contact page | cab@caos.org |
| Report an accessibility problem | Contact page | accessibility@caos.org |
| Ask a general question | Contact page | info@caos.org |
If you file something in the wrong place, don’t worry — CAOS will redirect you. Within our GitHub organization, issues can be transferred between repositories without losing any history.
GitHub for governance contributions
The center4aos governance repository is where CAOS policy discussions happen in the open. Use GitHub when you want to:
- Comment on or ask questions about an existing policy
- Participate in an active policy discussion
- Propose a new policy or a change to an existing one
- Flag a concern about how a policy is working in practice
Opening an issue
Opening an issue is the right first step for all governance contributions — questions, concerns, and early-stage ideas all belong here before becoming formal proposals.
The easiest way to submit an issue on an existing policy is to find it on the CAOS website and click the “Submit an Issue” link in the page footer. This automatically opens a new issue in the governance repository with the right template, pre-filled with a reference to the specific policy document. If you’re comfortable using GitHub directly, you can also open an issue from the governance repository using the Policy Issue template.
To bring an issue to the attention of the full Board, mention @center4aos/board in your issue comment.
Submitting a proposal
All proposals begin as issues. Once an issue discussion has reached sufficient clarity and there is a clear direction to move forward, the Policy Maintainer will give the go-ahead to open a pull request. That pull request is the formal proposal.
For changes to an existing policy, the pull request edits the policy file directly.
For new policies, the pull request adds a new document to the /proposals/ directory using the policy template. Once approved, the Policy Maintainer moves it into the appropriate location in the repository.
The Policy Maintainer can open a pull request on behalf of contributors who are not comfortable with GitHub.
What happens after a pull request is opened
Opening a pull request triggers the 14-day formal review period:
- Formal review (14 days) — The community reviews the draft. Subject matter reviewers (legal, accessibility, financial, or technical as relevant) are invited to comment. The Policy Maintainer monitors and facilitates. If no clear progress is made within 14 days, the pull request is closed; the originating issue may be re-opened to continue discussion before a new PR is attempted.
- Revision — The proposer incorporates feedback and updates the draft.
- Decision — The Board votes on major policy changes at the next regular Board meeting. Minor editorial changes may be approved by the Policy Maintainer without a Board vote.
- Publication — Approved changes are merged and a new version is tagged.
Realistic timelines from pull request to published decision vary by the type of change:
- Minor editorial changes (clarifications, examples, formatting) — approved by the Policy Maintainer without a Board vote. Typically resolved within 2 to 3 weeks of the PR opening.
- Major policy changes (new obligations, new policies, structural revisions) — require a Board vote at a regular Board meeting. The Board meets quarterly at minimum, so timing depends on where the PR lands in the meeting cycle. Expect 4 to 16 weeks from PR opening to published decision.
Issue discussions prior to the PR have no fixed timeline.
Working groups and committees
CAOS working groups and committees develop proposals, conduct community consultation, and carry out specific organizational functions. Volunteering for a working group is one of the most direct ways to shape CAOS policy and programs.
[PLACEHOLDER: Link to working-groups.md and advisory-council.md once those documents exist.]
Accessibility of the contribution process
CAOS is committed to both accessible outputs and accessible processes.
If GitHub is not accessible for you, or if you prefer to participate another way, you can submit comments, questions, or proposals through our Contact page or by email to info@caos.org. We will ensure your contribution enters the public record and receives the same consideration as anything submitted through GitHub.
If you need documents in an alternative format, contact accessibility@caos.org and we will do our best to accommodate your request.
Questions and contact
Not sure where to start? Send us a note through our Contact page or send email to info@caos.org.