Help shape a new way to recognize Fedora contributors – Fedora Community Blog

The Fedora Project is proposing a new contributor status called “Fedora Verified” to better recognize all forms of community contribution, and we need your feedback. Following the Fedora Council 2026 Strategy Summit, Fedora leadership reflects on how we recognize, support and empower the people who make Fedora possible. Please read our proposal below and share your thoughts in the Fedora Verified Community Survey.

As the global open source community grows, the Fedora Project must ensure that our contributor recognition systems keep pace. Historically, open source recognition has leaned heavily on easily-quantifiable systems like git repository commits and pull requests. But Fedora is built on much more than just code. We want to implement a more human-centered approach that equally values ​​all forms of contribution, including mentoring, documentation, design, event organization and community support.

To help us get there, we’re introducing a new contributor status called “Fedora Verified” (Name TBD – feedback welcome!). But before we finalize this model, we need your feedback.

What is the “Fedora Verified” status?

“Fedora Verified” is a proposed membership-driven approach to the Fedora account system that differentiates highly engaged, dedicated contributors from tens of thousands of standard registered accounts.

How does “Fedora Verified” differ from a standard account? Anyone can create a new account in the Fedora Account System (FAS) to start their journey, file bugs, or make initial contributions. A FAS account is the equivalent of a digital passport to access various applications and services offered by Fedora for users and contributors. “Fedora Verified” represents the next step: a mutual commitment between the contributor and the project, recognizing a sustained record of positive impact and adherence to our core principles as a community: the Four Foundations (Freedom, Friends, Features, First).

What are the proposed benefits? The primary motivation behind “Fedora Verified” is to build trust-based recognition that grants elevated, privileged rights within the project. Most importantly, this status determines suitability for strategic management activities, such as:

• Vote in Fedora Community Elections.
• Run for leadership or decision-making roles within the project (eg Fedora Board, FESCo, Mindshare Committee, EPEL Steering Committee).
• (Potential, unplanned) Access to specific shared project resources or educational opportunities (eg Red Hat training credits).

Suggested baseline statistics for Fedora verified

To ensure fairness and transparency, we propose a set of baseline criteria that a contributor must meet before their request for “Fedora Verified” status goes to a human review. The proposed baseline includes:

• Sustained activity: Active involvement in the Fedora community for a minimum of two Fedora release cycles (ie sustained participation between at least 6-12 months).
• Consistent contributions: A measurable record of contributions across any recognized area (code, documentation, design, community support, etc.) in the current and previous Fedora release cycle.
• Good community standing: The contributor is in good standing in the community and does not have a history of behavior inconsistent with the Fedora Code of Conduct.

Unanswered questions for the Fedora community

While we have a framework, there are several big questions we need answered by the community before we move forward. Specifically, we want to know:

• Validation: Should applicants be approved by grassroots peer review, or an elected committee?
• Justice: Does this model really value non-code contributions equally?
• Progression: How tightly structured does the path need to be to be “Verified”?
• Maintenance: Should the status expire after 12 months of inactivity?

Share your vote on the proposal

We want to make sure that this proposed membership model is fair, sustainable and truly represents what our contributors value. Your feedback will directly influence how this policy is drafted and implemented.

Take the Fedora Verified Community Survey!

The survey will be open until Sunday, May 5, 2026 at 23:59 UTC. Thanks for taking the time to share your perspective, and for all you do to make Fedora a great community!