Debian to officially welcome non-packaging contributors

Today, the Debian Project has overwhelmingly decided in a General Resolution to formally acknowlege the contribution made by many people who help Debian in ways other than maintaining packages - by opening up the process of becoming an officially recognised Debian Developer.

While the Debian Project has always welcomed non-packaging contributors, for example documentation writers and translators, there was low takeup of official Debian Developer status (including full voting rights and other privileges). As there was no clear documented procedure for these non-packaging contributors, it was handled on a case-by-case basis.

It was decided to end this nuisance by finally welcoming all contributors, regardless of the nature of their contribution into the heart of the Debian Project and invite the Debian Account Managers to establish procedures to evaluate and accept non-packaging contributors.

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