Developing with Eclipse and Maven
B.2. Contributors, Authors, and Editors
As with any open source effort, the contributors to the m2eclipse book are grouped into a simple hierarchy. Sonatype's writing efforts are loosely structured, but we have found it necessary to define some formal categories for contributors.
- Reviewers
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Many individuals have read the book and taken the time to report typos and bugs. Reviewers are always credited in the Foreword of the book and they make an important contribution to the quality of the book.
- Contributors
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Contributors are individuals who have contributed one or more sections to the book. Many contributors make a one time contribution to a particular section or collection of sections. Contributors are always credited in the Foreword of the book, and if a contributor sustains a constant level of contribution which adds up to the equivalent of an entire chapter, a contributors name will be added to the list of contributing authors.
- Authors
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Authors have made a significant contribution to the book equal to the equivalent of one or more chapters. A long-time contributor can also be transitioned to the status of Author at the discretion of an Editor. Authors are often given editorial control over specific chapters or sections of a book, working with Contributors to review, accept, and refine contributions to defined sections of the book.
- Editors
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An Author can also be an Editor. Each book has at least one editor (and ideally no more than two Editors at any time). On Sonatype Open book projects, Editors are the arbiters of content, they review content submissions and make final decisions about content direction.
For each of these levels, the adjective "Active" can be used if a contributor, author, or editor has been active during the previous 12 months. If you have any questions about contributor status, send any inquiries to book@sonatype.com.