Adding maintainers to opensearch-project.

MAINTAINERS.md

@@ -13,7 +13,17 @@
   - [Release Frequently](#release-frequently)
   - [Promote Other Maintainers](#promote-other-maintainers)
   - [Describe the Repo](#describe-the-repo)
-
+- [Becoming a Maintainer](#becoming-a-maintainer)
+  - [Preparation](#preparation)
+  - [Interest](#interest)
+  - [Public Confirmation](#public-confirmation)
+  - [Maintainer Decision](#maintainer-decision)
+  - [Adding the New Maintainer](#adding-the-new-maintainer)
+- [Removing a Maintainer](#removing-a-maintainer)
+  - [Moving On](#moving-on)
+  - [Inactivity](#inactivity)
+  - [Negative Impact on the Project](#negative-impact-on-the-project)
+
 ## Overview
 
 This document explains who the maintainers are (see below), what they do in this repo, and how they should be doing it. If you're interested in contributing, see [CONTRIBUTING](CONTRIBUTING.md).
@@ -77,8 +87,73 @@ Make frequent project releases to the community.
 
 ### Promote Other Maintainers
 
-Assist, add, and remove [MAINTAINERS](MAINTAINERS.md). Exercise good judgement, and propose high quality contributors to become co-maintainers.
+Assist, add, and remove [MAINTAINERS](MAINTAINERS.md). Exercise good judgement, and propose high quality contributors to become co-maintainers. See [Becoming a Maintainer](#becoming-a-maintainer) for more information.
 
 ### Describe the Repo
 
 Make sure the repo has a well-written, accurate, and complete description. See [opensearch-project/.github#38](https://github.com/opensearch-project/.github/issues/38) for some helpful tips to describe your repo.
+
+## Becoming a Maintainer
+
+You can become a maintainer by actively [contributing](CONTRIBUTING.md) to any project, and being nominated by an existing maintainer.
+
+### Nomination
+
+Any current maintainer starts an e-mail thread (until we have a better mechanism, e-mails can usually be found via MAINTAINERS.md + DCO) with all other maintainers on that repository to discuss nomination using the template below. In order to be approved, at least 3 positive maintainer votes are necessary, and no vetoes. Any disagreements can be escalated to the repo [Admin](ADMINS.md).
+
+> I propose inviting Vacha Shah ([@vachashah](https://github.com/vachashah)) as a co-maintainer on [opensearch-project/OpenSearch](https://github.com/opensearch-project/OpenSearch). 
+> 
+> Vacha has contributed a lot of automation across many repositories.
+> 
+> - https://github.com/opensearch-project/OpenSearch/pull/877 — Added a broken link checker
+> - https://github.com/opensearch-project/OpenSearch/issues/894 — Fixed broken links across the OpenSearch-Project
+> - https://github.com/opensearch-project/opensearch-build/pull/17  — Updated labels across all OpenSearch repos
+> - https://github.com/opensearch-project/opensearch-plugins/pull/70 — Updated plugin documentation
+> 
+> Vacha has worked tenaciously on non-glamorous tasks, because they raise the overall Engineering bar for the entire project. 
+
+### Interest
+
+Upon receiving at least 3 positive maintainer votes, and no vetoes, from other maintainers within a maximum period of 2 weeks, the nominating maintainer asks a potential nominee whether they might be interested in becoming a maintainer on the repository, which typically happens via e-mail obtained via DCO, but may also be a comment to a pull request, following a substantial contribution.
+
+> This is great work, Vacha! Would you be interested in becoming a [co-maintainer](https://github.com/opensearch-project/.github/blob/main/MAINTAINERS.md) on this project? I’d be honored to nominate you.
+
+Individuals accept the nomination by replying, or commenting, for example _"Thank you! I would love to."_
+
+### Public Confirmation
+
+Upon receiving 3 positive maintainer votes, and no vetoes, from other maintainers, and after having confirmed interest with the nominee, the maintainer opens a public issue in order to make the vote visible to the community. 
+
+> _Content from the above nomination._
+> 
+> Here is my +1.
+> 
+> If you support this nomination, please add your +1 or a comment. 
+> 
+> If you do not support this nomination, we invite you to e-mail all/some of the current [project maintainers](https://github.com/opensearch-project/OpenSearch/blob/main/MAINTAINERS.md) in the next 2 weeks. We will keep your feedback private to this group and discuss offline. We will not publicly post the reasons for a decision not to add this co-maintainer, or publicize your name. 
+> 
+> Anyone, including maintainers, can publicly add +1s as requested in the nomination issue if they support the nomination or contact the maintainers in private if they oppose. The issue stays open for 2 weeks.
+
+### Maintainer Decision
+
+If a positive decision has been reached, the nomination is accepted and the nominating maintainer can thus comment on the issue with _"maintainers has been added"_. If a decision cannot be reached for any reason, the nomination is rejected with _"a decision could not be reached"_ with no further explanation necessary.
+
+### Adding the New Maintainer 
+
+The Repo Admin adjusts the new maintainer’s permissions accordingly. The nominating maintainer opens a pull request to add the new maintainer to MAINTAINERS.md, and closes the nomination issue when that is merged and the individual has been given maintainer-level permissions.
+
+## Removing a Maintainer
+
+Removing a maintainer is a disruptive action that the community of maintainers should not undertake lightly. There are several reasons a maintainer might be removed from the project, such as inactivity, or taking actions that negatively impact the project.
+
+### Moving On
+
+There are plenty of reasons that might cause someone to want to take a step back or even a hiatus from a project. Existing maintainers can choose to leave the project at any time, with or without reason, by making a pull request to move themselves to the "Emeritus" section of MAINTAINERS.md, and asking an admin to remove their permissions.
+
+### Inactivity
+
+If the maintainers on the project notice that another maintainer is no longer an active or visible member of the community, the first step will be to tell the repo owner to contact the inactive maintainer to check-in. If the inactive maintainer responds and intends to reengage, no action is required. If the maintainer does not respond after a week, or indicates they no longer wish to be a maintainer, the repo owner can remove the inactive maintainer’s permissions and make a pull request to add them to the "Emeritus" section of the MAINTAINERS.md.
+
+### Negative Impact on the Project
+
+Actions that negatively impact the project will be handled by the Admins, in coordination with other maintainers, in balance with the urgency of the issue. Examples would be [Code of Conduct](CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md) violations and security risks.