Social Media and Marketing Communications Policy

README.rst

@@ -30,6 +30,11 @@ It contains the following items:
    PHP License, version 4, and the Zend Engine License, version 3, and their
    deprecation in favor of the Modified BSD License.
 
+-  `Social Media and Marketing Communications
+   <social-media-and-marketing-communications.rst>`_: Governs the PHP project's
+   official presence on social media and other marketing communication
+   platforms, including roles for account custody and content authority.
+
 ***********************
  Requirements Notation
 ***********************

social-media-and-marketing-communications.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,305 @@
+##################################################
+ Social Media and Marketing Communications Policy
+##################################################
+
+.. NOTE::
+
+   This policy was adopted by the `Social Media and Marketing Communications
+   Policy RFC`_.
+
+This policy governs the PHP project's official presence on social media and
+other marketing communication platforms. It defines the platforms in scope, the
+principles guiding official communications, and a division of responsibilities
+between the *PHP Infrastructure Team* (which holds credentials and operates the
+accounts) and the *PHP Social Media Team* (which decides what is posted).
+
+*********
+ Purpose
+*********
+
+To ensure that the PHP project communicates with its community and the broader
+technology ecosystem in a consistent, accountable, and sustainable manner. The
+policy separates account custody (a technical responsibility, retained by the
+Infrastructure Team) from content authority (a communications responsibility,
+held by an open-volunteer Social Media Team).
+
+*******
+ Scope
+*******
+
+This policy applies to all accounts officially representing the PHP project on
+text-based communication platforms. At the time of adoption, these include:
+
+-  Twitter/X (`@official_php <https://twitter.com/official_php>`_)
+-  Mastodon (`@php@fosstodon.org <https://fosstodon.org/@php>`_)
+-  LinkedIn (`@phpnet <https://www.linkedin.com/company/phpnet/>`_)
+
+Changes to this list — adding a new official account or retiring an existing one
+— are made by pull request to this document, following the procedures defined in
+the Social Media Team's `operational policies`_.
+
+Video platforms (for example, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram) require significant
+content-production resources and are explicitly out of scope. They MAY be
+addressed by a future policy update.
+
+This policy does not govern personal accounts of community members or core
+developers. Personal advocacy for PHP is encouraged and remains outside the
+scope of this document.
+
+************
+ Principles
+************
+
+Official PHP communications SHALL be governed by the following principles:
+
+#. **Reach.** PHP SHOULD maintain a presence on text-based platforms with a
+   significant developer audience, subject to the discretion principle below.
+
+#. **Discretion.** Presence on any given platform is at the project's
+   discretion. Nothing in this policy obliges the project to establish or
+   maintain a presence on any particular platform. A decision to add or retire
+   an account MUST be deliberate and documented: it MUST follow the procedures
+   defined in the Social Media Team's `operational policies`_, and a retirement
+   MUST be announced on the internals mailing list before taking effect. The
+   community MAY escalate a contested decision to an RFC.
+
+#. **No silent abandonment.** While a platform is listed in the Scope_ section,
+   posting SHALL continue — at minimum, automated content where the platform
+   technically permits it. Ceasing activity on a listed platform other than
+   through the retirement procedure violates this policy.
+
+#. **Automation.** Communications SHOULD be automated where feasible, to
+   minimize volunteer burden and ensure consistency.
+
+#. **Neutrality.** Communications MUST focus on PHP — the language, its
+   releases, security advisories, and community events — and MUST NOT take
+   positions on platform politics or non-PHP commercial matters. Official
+   accounts MUST NOT be used as a venue for advocacy unrelated to PHP.
+
+#. **Shared stewardship.** Credentials for each official account MUST be held by
+   multiple Infrastructure Team members, with documented succession.
+
+#. **Transparency.** This policy SHALL be publicly available and versioned via
+   the RFC process. The current Social Media Team roster SHALL be public.
+
+****************************
+ Roles and Responsibilities
+****************************
+
+PHP Infrastructure Team: Account Custody
+========================================
+
+For the purposes of this policy, the *PHP Infrastructure Team* is the existing
+group of volunteers who maintain the PHP project's infrastructure, coordinated
+through the ``systems@php.net`` mailing list and the `php/infrastructure`_
+repository.
+
+The PHP Infrastructure Team is responsible for the technical custody and
+operation of official accounts. The Infrastructure Team:
+
+-  MUST hold the credentials for all official PHP social media accounts.
+
+-  MUST maintain secure credential storage accessible to a minimum of three (3)
+   authorized holders per account.
+
+-  MUST implement and maintain automation for cross-platform posting where the
+   platform supports it.
+
+-  MUST ensure credential succession when a holder steps down.
+
+-  MUST maintain a public list of the credential holders for each official
+   account (for example, in the `php/infrastructure`_ repository or in this
+   repository).
+
+-  SHALL handle technical operations such as account recovery, security
+   incidents, and platform compliance.
+
+-  SHALL act on posting requests from the Social Media Team for content that is
+   not posted automatically, and SHOULD provide the Social Media Team with the
+   technical means (for example, scoped access, automation hooks, or a posting
+   workflow) to publish approved content efficiently.
+
+The Infrastructure Team's role is operational and technical. It does not decide
+content.
+
+PHP Social Media Team: Content Authority
+========================================
+
+The *PHP Social Media Team* is responsible for content on official PHP accounts.
+The Social Media Team:
+
+-  SHALL decide what is posted on official channels, including messaging,
+   timing, and tone, subject to the `Prohibited Content`_ rules below.
+-  SHALL develop and maintain its own `operational policies`_ (see below).
+-  SHOULD coordinate with the Infrastructure Team on technical execution.
+-  SHOULD advise on platform presence, audience strategy, and communications
+   priorities.
+-  MAY initiate marketing efforts beyond automated content, as defined in its
+   operational policies.
+-  MAY delegate specific responsibilities to the PHP Foundation (see `Delegation
+   to the PHP Foundation`_).
+
+Operational Policies
+--------------------
+
+The Social Media Team SHALL develop and maintain its own operational policies —
+for example, content categories and approval workflow, procedures for adding and
+retiring official accounts, and member onboarding. These operational policies:
+
+-  SHALL be maintained in the `Social Media Team Operations`_ document in this
+   repository.
+-  SHALL be developed and amended through an open and transparent process, by
+   pull request to this repository. Changes do NOT require an RFC.
+-  MUST NOT conflict with this policy. In case of conflict, this policy
+   prevails.
+
+Composition
+-----------
+
+The Social Media Team is composed of open volunteers from the PHP project
+community. Membership is self-organized: the team SHOULD agree on its own
+internal processes for adding and removing members, coordinating posts, and
+resolving disagreements.
+
+-  Anyone interested in joining MAY propose themselves to the existing team. The
+   team SHOULD respond within a reasonable time.
+
+-  Each member SHOULD have a demonstrated connection to the PHP community (for
+   example, contributions to php-src, the documentation, the infrastructure, a
+   PHP user group, or comparable involvement).
+
+-  The current roster is maintained in the `Current Members`_ section below and
+   SHOULD be updated by pull request to this repository when membership changes.
+
+-  Additions to the roster SHALL be announced on the internals mailing list, and
+   the roster pull request SHOULD remain open for at least one (1) week to allow
+   community comment. Sustained objections SHOULD be resolved before the pull
+   request is merged.
+
+-  The team SHOULD have at least three (3) active members at all times. If the
+   team drops below this number, the remaining members SHOULD recruit
+   replacements within thirty (30) days; if they cannot, the matter SHOULD be
+   raised on the internals mailing list.
+
+-  While membership is below three, automated posting SHALL continue; content
+   requiring the team's approval (as defined in its operational policies) is
+   paused.
+
+The team MAY remove a member according to its internal process. In addition, the
+team is accountable to the project as a whole: the community MAY remove a
+member, or reconstitute the team, through the project's RFC process.
+
+Members of the Social Media Team do not, by virtue of that membership, hold
+account credentials. Credential custody remains with the Infrastructure Team. An
+individual MAY belong to both teams if they meet the criteria for each.
+
+Delegation to the PHP Foundation
+--------------------------------
+
+The Social Media Team MAY delegate specific responsibilities to the `PHP
+Foundation`_ — for example, drafting marketing initiatives, curating content, or
+running coordinated campaigns. Such delegation:
+
+-  MAY be open-ended or scoped to particular content categories.
+-  SHALL be recorded in this policy file or in a sub-document under this
+   repository, linked from this section.
+-  MAY be revoked by the team at any time.
+
+Delegation does not transfer credential custody — credentials remain with the
+Infrastructure Team. The Social Media Team retains overall content authority and
+remains accountable for content posted under delegated authority.
+
+********************
+ Prohibited Content
+********************
+
+Content categories, approval workflows, and other content processes are defined
+by the Social Media Team in its `operational policies`_. Regardless of those
+policies, official PHP accounts MUST NOT post:
+
+-  Political statements unrelated to PHP
+-  Commercial endorsements of products or services unrelated to PHP
+-  Personal opinions presented as the PHP project's official position
+-  Personal grievances or interpersonal disputes between contributors
+
+Applying these rules — including judging whether a topic is related to PHP —
+requires contextual judgment. That judgment rests with the Social Media Team.
+Disagreements SHOULD be raised on the internals mailing list.
+
+***********************
+ Credential Management
+***********************
+
+For each official account:
+
+-  Credentials MUST be stored securely with documented access procedures.
+-  When a credential holder steps down, replacement MUST be coordinated within
+   thirty (30) days.
+-  Emergency access procedures MUST be documented and tested.
+-  Credentials MUST NOT be shared with Social Media Team members who are not
+   also part of the Infrastructure Team.
+
+********************
+ Account Transition
+********************
+
+Upon adoption of this policy:
+
+#. The Infrastructure Team SHALL inventory all accounts currently representing
+   PHP officially across platforms.
+
+#. Current credential holders SHALL be requested to transfer credentials to the
+   Infrastructure Team's secure storage within sixty (60) days.
+
+#. If a credential holder declines or does not respond within sixty (60) days,
+   the Infrastructure Team and the Social Media Team SHALL jointly determine
+   whether to:
+
+   #. Petition the platform for account recovery (where supported);
+   #. Establish a new official account on that platform; or
+   #. Mark the original account as non-official on PHP.net.
+
+****************
+ Implementation
+****************
+
+Automated posting SHOULD be implemented via GitHub Actions or equivalent
+automation, following the model already in use for the Mastodon account.
+Automations SHOULD be hosted under the PHP organization on GitHub and SHOULD be
+maintainable by the Infrastructure Team. Where feasible, the Infrastructure Team
+SHOULD provide the Social Media Team with self-serve mechanisms (for example, a
+posting workflow or PR-based trigger) so that team-approved content does not
+require manual intervention for every post.
+
+************
+ Amendments
+************
+
+This policy MAY be amended by a future RFC with a 2/3 majority approval.
+
+The following changes do NOT require an RFC and SHOULD be made by pull request
+to this repository:
+
+-  Updates to the `Current Members`_ list.
+-  Updates to the account list in the Scope_ section, following the Social Media
+   Team's `operational policies`_, unless escalated by the community.
+-  Changes to the `Social Media Team Operations`_ document.
+
+*****************
+ Current Members
+*****************
+
+The current roster of the PHP Social Media Team is listed below. Update by pull
+request when membership changes.
+
+-  *(To be populated upon adoption.)*
+
+.. _operational policies: social-media/team-operations.rst
+
+.. _php foundation: https://thephp.foundation/
+
+.. _php/infrastructure: https://github.com/php/infrastructure
+
+.. _social media and marketing communications policy rfc: https://wiki.php.net/rfc/social-media-policy
+
+.. _social media team operations: social-media/team-operations.rst