# Governance

## Project Lead
EloPhanto is maintained by its creator under a BDFL (Benevolent Dictator
For Life) model. All major architectural decisions go through the project
lead.

## Contributing
See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for setup and guidelines.

## Decision Process
- **Bug fixes:** Submit a PR directly.
- **Small features:** Open an issue first for discussion, then PR.
- **Major changes:** Write an RFC (see docs/RFC-TEMPLATE.md), discuss in
  an issue, get approval from project lead, then implement.
- **New skills:** Follow SKILL_GUIDE.md, submit to EloPhantoHub.

## RFC Process
For major architectural changes (new subsystems, protocol changes,
breaking changes), write an RFC:
1. Copy `docs/RFC-TEMPLATE.md`
2. Fill in the template
3. Open a PR with the RFC
4. Discuss in PR comments
5. Project lead approves or requests changes
6. Merge RFC, then implement

## Code of Conduct
Be respectful. Technical disagreements are welcome; personal attacks are
not. The project lead has final say on disputes.

## Releases
Releases follow calendar versioning: `v2026.MM.DD`. The project lead
decides when to cut a release.
