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CONTRIBUTING.md

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+# Contributing to Open Semantic Interchange (OSI)
+
+We welcome contributions from everyone — whether you are a developer, a data engineer, a BI analyst, or simply someone interested in the future of semantic interoperability.
+
+## Ways to Contribute
+
+- **Specification Feedback**: Review proposed specification changes and share your perspective on GitHub pull requests and issues.
+- **Use Case Discussions**: Share how your organization uses semantic models and what challenges you face — this helps shape the specification to address real-world needs.
+- **Code Contributions**: Contribute to validation tooling, converters, examples, or any other part of the project.
+- **Documentation**: Help improve and expand the project documentation.
+- **Community Support**: Answer questions, participate in discussions, and help onboard new contributors.
+
+## Getting Started
+
+1. **Read the Specification**: Familiarize yourself with the [core specification](core-spec/spec.md) to understand the semantic model format.
+2. **Explore the Examples**: Review the [TPC-DS example](examples/tpcds_semantic_model.yaml) to see a complete semantic model in practice.
+3. **Join the Conversation**: Open or participate in [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/open-semantic-interchange) and Discussions to share ideas and feedback.
+4. **Submit a Pull Request**: Fork the repository, make your changes, and submit a pull request. All contributions go through the standard review process described below.
+5. **Join the Slack workspace**: Chat directly with the community by [joining Slack](https://join.slack.com/t/opensemanticx/shared_invite/zt-3pq1j0lid-tQBbEvAngAvz0I0vZm~HJw).
+
+## Contribution Guidelines
+
+### Specification Changes
+
+Changes to the OSI Specification follow a structured process:
+
+1. **Proposal**: Submit a GitHub pull request with a clear description of the motivation, the change itself, and its impact on existing implementations.
+2. **Discussion period**: The community has a minimum of 7 days to review and discuss the proposed change. Complex changes may require a longer review window.
+3. **Vote**: Once the discussion period has elapsed, a vote is called. TSC members and committers cast votes:
+   - **+1** (Yes): In favor of the change
+   - **0** (Abstain): No opinion or willing to go with the majority
+   - **-1** (Veto): Against the change — must be accompanied by a technical justification
+
+   TSC member votes are binding. A specification change passes with at least 2 binding +1 votes and no vetoes. A veto can only be overridden by addressing the stated concern or by a supermajority (two-thirds) vote of the TSC.
+
+### All Other Contributions
+
+Non-specification contributions (bug fixes, tooling, documentation, converters) go through standard GitHub pull request review. Committers review and merge these contributions.
+
+## Community Values
+
+OSI follows the Apache Way, built on these principles:
+
+- **Meritocracy**: Merit is based on contribution and never expires. Any constructive contribution earns merit — code, documentation, testing, community support, and specification reviews all count equally.
+- **Peer-based**: Every participant is treated as a peer regardless of employer affiliation or seniority. Decisions are made by the community, not by any single company or individual.
+- **Consensus decision making**: We strive for consensus in all decisions. When full consensus cannot be reached, a formal vote may be called.
+- **Open Communications**: All technical discussions, design decisions, and specification changes happen in the open — on GitHub issues, pull requests, and discussions. If it didn't happen on a public resource, it didn't happen.
+- **Responsible oversight**: The community collectively ensures the specification and tooling remain high quality, secure, and aligned with the project's mission.
+- **Independence**: The project operates independently of any single vendor or organization.
+
+## Roles and Responsibilities
+
+### Contributors
+
+Anyone who contributes to the project in any form — code, documentation, bug reports, specification feedback, or community support. Contributors do not have binding vote rights but are encouraged to participate in all discussions.
+
+### Specification Reviewers
+
+Community members with domain expertise (e.g., in BI, AI, data engineering) who review proposed specification changes for correctness, completeness, and practical applicability.
+
+### Committers
+
+Contributors who have earned write access to the repository through sustained, high-quality contributions. Committers can merge pull requests and have binding votes on non-specification matters.
+
+### Technical Steering Committee (TSC)
+
+The TSC is responsible for the overall technical direction of the OSI Specification. TSC members have binding votes on specification changes. New TSC members are elected by existing TSC members.
+
+## Becoming a Committer
+
+Committership is earned through sustained contribution to the project. There is no fixed formula — the community recognizes contributors who demonstrate consistent, high-quality involvement over time.
+
+### What counts
+
+Committer candidacy is based on the breadth and quality of your contributions across any of these areas:
+
+- Code contributions (converters, validation tooling, examples, tests)
+- Specification feedback and review participation
+- Documentation improvements
+- Community support (answering questions, helping onboard others)
+- Working group participation
+
+### The process
+
+1. Any existing committer or TSC member may nominate a contributor by opening a discussion (GitHub Discussions or the project mailing list).
+2. The nomination includes a summary of the candidate's contributions and a rationale for committer status.
+3. Existing committers and TSC members discuss the nomination. The standard consensus voting convention applies (+1 / 0 / -1).
+4. A nomination passes with lazy consensus — if no -1 votes are received within 72 hours, the candidate is welcomed as a committer.
+5. The new committer is added to the repository with write access and listed in the project documentation.
+
+There is no minimum time requirement. What matters is the quality, consistency, and impact of your contributions. A focused burst of high-value work can carry as much weight as a longer track record.
+
+## Code of Conduct
+
+All participants in the OSI community are expected to treat each other with respect and professionalism. We are committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone, regardless of background or experience level.
+
+## License
+
+- **Code**: Licensed under the [Apache License 2.0](LICENSE).
+- **Specification and Documentation**: Licensed under the [Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY)](LICENSE-Docs).
+
+By submitting a contribution, you agree that your contribution will be licensed under the same terms.