Guide :: Incubator Branding Guide

There are three stages in a podling’s life-cycle that have an impact on the types of "publicity seeking" (issuing press releases, seeding news stories, or otherwise affirmatively seeking publicity) they can engage in:

Podling is in proposal/or pre-code-drop process: No publicity seeking is permitted. You cannot refer to the podling as Apache Podling-Name until the podling is officially in Incubation, public mailing lists are active, and committers or contributors have submitted code into our repositories.

Podling has been approved for incubation, podling has launched public mailing lists, and podling has dropped code into repository: You now MUST refer to the podling as 'Apache Podling-Name' (see Naming below). A podling and affiliated persons can issue press releases that reference the podling, but cannot issue press releases with the specific intent of announcing the podling. The podling can conduct informal press release activities such as media outreach, blog publicity, etc. The ASF will not issue any press releases for any podling at this stage. The Apache Press Team MUST review any releases by affiliated organizations or groups to ensure they comply with our branding guidelines.

Podling has graduated from the Incubator: The Apache Public Relations Committee is willing to issue formal press releases for all podlings that successfully graduate from the Incubator and are interested in issuing a press release. The ASF may also enter into a joint press release with any other affiliated organizations or groups.

After a podling has been approved, the lists are created, and the initial code drop has commenced, you MUST refer to the podling as Apache Podling-Name AND mention that the project is under Incubation. Suitable mentions include:

The Incubator PMC (IPMC) must approve other references before you publish them. You only need to make these statements upon the first reference to the podling in a document.

Specifically, you MUST include these statements in the README file of each repository belonging to the podling. You SHOULD add a link to the Disclaimers in the README file. You CAN also refer the podling as Apache Podling-Name (Incubating) in the GitHub repository description.

Podling web sites MUST include a clear disclaimer on their website and in all documentation (including releases) stating that they are in incubation. Podlings SHOULD use the following text for all disclaimers (replace the underlined phrases as appropriate):

Podlings wishing to use a different disclaimer message MUST have the disclaimer approved by the Incubator PMC prior to use.

For releases, the text SHOULD be included in a separate DISCLAIMER file stored alongside the NOTICE and LICENSE files.

Podlings websites should follow the logo description from Press Kit for Podlings.

Podlings MUST coordinate with the Apache Public Relations Committee on all their publicity activities.

Media activities in the Open Source space can be difficult to negotiate even for experienced professionals. The ASF’s Marketing & Publicity team understands this space and it is in the best interests of all that you consult with them prior to embarking on formal outreach or related publicity. Refer to the Apache Podling Publicity/Media Guidelines or contact ASF Marketing & Publicity at press(at)apache(dot)org for more information.

The Apache Public Relations Committee SHALL affirmatively and publicly respond to any unapproved statements surrounding podlings which are factually incorrect.