Implemented democratic voting process for project decisions

.github/CODEOWNERS

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+@eclipse-threadx/iot-threadx-project-leads @eclipse-threadx/iot-threadx-committers
+
+# Decision records can be approved by any project lead or committer.
+# A committer who participated in the vote can confirm the record
+# faithfully reflects the outcome.
+decisions/ @eclipse-threadx/iot-threadx-project-leads @eclipse-threadx/iot-threadx-committers

.github/DISCUSSION_TEMPLATE/proposal.yml

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+title: "[Proposal] "
+labels: ["proposal"]
+body:
+  - type: markdown
+    attributes:
+      value: |
+        > **Who can open proposals?** Only members of `@eclipse-threadx/iot-threadx-committers`
+        > or `@eclipse-threadx/iot-threadx-project-leads`.
+        >
+        > Voting opens immediately and closes **14 days** from the date this discussion is opened.
+
+  - type: textarea
+    id: proposal
+    attributes:
+      label: Proposal
+      description: What are you proposing? Be specific and self-contained.
+      placeholder: "I propose that we..."
+    validations:
+      required: true
+
+  - type: textarea
+    id: motivation
+    attributes:
+      label: Motivation
+      description: Why is this change needed? What problem does it solve?
+    validations:
+      required: true
+
+  - type: textarea
+    id: alternatives
+    attributes:
+      label: Alternatives considered
+      description: What other approaches were considered and why were they rejected?
+    validations:
+      required: false
+
+  - type: markdown
+    attributes:
+      value: |
+        ---
+        ### How to vote
+        Eligible voters (committers and project leads) cast their vote by posting a comment
+        containing exactly one of:
+        - `vote: yes`
+        - `vote: no`
+        - `vote: abstain`
+
+        Your last such comment is your final vote. Votes are tallied after the 14-day window closes.

.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/decision_record.md

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+# Decision Record PR
+
+<!--
+Use this template when adding a decision record to decisions/.
+The validate-decisions CI check must pass before this PR can be merged.
+-->
+
+## Checklist
+
+- [ ] File is named `DR-NNN-short-title.md`
+- [ ] All required metadata fields are filled in (Status, Opened, Closed, Discussion)
+- [ ] Discussion link points to the correct GitHub Discussion
+- [ ] Vote tally is complete with one row per voter
+- [ ] `**Result:**` line is present in the Vote Tally section
+- [ ] The linked Discussion has been locked (no further voting)
+
+## Linked Discussion
+
+<!-- Paste the URL of the GitHub Discussion where voting took place -->

.github/scripts/validate_decision.py

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+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+# ***************************************************************************
+# * Copyright (C) 2026 Eclipse ThreadX contributors
+# *
+# * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+# * terms of the MIT License which is available at
+# * https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT.
+# *
+# * AI Disclosure: This file was largely AI-generated by Copilot (Sonnet 4.6).
+# * The AI-generated portions may be considered public domain (CC0-1.0)
+# * and not subject to the project's licence. The human contributor has
+# * reviewed and verified that the code is correct.
+# *
+# * SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT and CC0-1.0
+# ***************************************************************************
+"""
+Validates that decision record files conform to the required template.
+Usage: python validate_decision.py decisions/DR-001-example.md [...]
+Exits non-zero if any file fails validation.
+"""
+
+import re
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+FILENAME_RE = re.compile(r"^DR-\d{3,}-[\w-]+\.md$")
+VALID_STATUSES = {"Accepted", "Rejected", "Deferred"}
+
+REQUIRED_TABLE_FIELDS = ["Status", "Opened", "Closed", "Discussion"]
+REQUIRED_SECTIONS = ["## Proposal", "## Vote Tally"]
+
+VOTE_ROW_RE = re.compile(r"^\|\s*@\w+\s*\|\s*(yes|no|abstain)\s*\|", re.IGNORECASE | re.MULTILINE)
+RESULT_RE = re.compile(r"\*\*Result:\*\*", re.IGNORECASE)
+STATUS_RE = re.compile(r"\|\s*Status\s*\|\s*(\w+)\s*\|")
+DISCUSSION_RE = re.compile(r"\|\s*Discussion\s*\|\s*(https://github\.com/[^\s|]+)\s*\|")
+DATE_RE = re.compile(r"\|\s*(Opened|Closed)\s*\|\s*(\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2})\s*\|")
+
+
+def validate(path: Path) -> list[str]:
+    errors = []
+
+    # 1. File name convention
+    if not FILENAME_RE.match(path.name):
+        errors.append(
+            f"Filename '{path.name}' must match DR-NNN-short-title.md "
+            "(e.g. DR-001-add-ci-pipeline.md)"
+        )
+
+    text = path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+
+    # 2. Required table fields
+    for field in REQUIRED_TABLE_FIELDS:
+        if not re.search(rf"\|\s*{field}\s*\|", text):
+            errors.append(f"Missing required metadata field: '{field}'")
+
+    # 3. Valid status value
+    status_match = STATUS_RE.search(text)
+    if status_match:
+        status = status_match.group(1)
+        if status not in VALID_STATUSES:
+            errors.append(
+                f"Invalid Status '{status}'. Must be one of: {', '.join(sorted(VALID_STATUSES))}"
+            )
+    # (missing Status field already caught above)
+
+    # 4. Discussion link is a real GitHub URL
+    disc_match = DISCUSSION_RE.search(text)
+    if not disc_match:
+        errors.append(
+            "Discussion field must contain a full GitHub URL "
+            "(e.g. https://github.com/eclipse-threadx/discussions/discussions/42)"
+        )
+
+    # 5. Opened and Closed dates are present and valid
+    dates_found = {m.group(1) for m in DATE_RE.finditer(text)}
+    for field in ("Opened", "Closed"):
+        if field not in dates_found:
+            errors.append(f"'{field}' date is missing or not in YYYY-MM-DD format")
+
+    # 6. Required sections
+    for section in REQUIRED_SECTIONS:
+        if section not in text:
+            errors.append(f"Missing required section: '{section}'")
+
+    # 7. Vote tally has at least one data row
+    if "## Vote Tally" in text:
+        tally_block = text.split("## Vote Tally", 1)[1].split("##")[0]
+        if not VOTE_ROW_RE.search(tally_block):
+            errors.append(
+                "## Vote Tally must contain at least one vote row "
+                "in the format '| @username | yes/no/abstain |'"
+            )
+
+        # 8. Result line is present
+        if not RESULT_RE.search(tally_block):
+            errors.append(
+                "## Vote Tally must contain a result line starting with '**Result:**'"
+            )
+
+    return errors
+
+
+def main():
+    if len(sys.argv) < 2:
+        print("Usage: validate_decision.py <file> [file ...]")
+        sys.exit(1)
+
+    files = [Path(p) for p in sys.argv[1:]]
+    all_passed = True
+
+    for path in files:
+        if not path.exists():
+            print(f"ERROR: File not found: {path}")
+            all_passed = False
+            continue
+
+        errors = validate(path)
+        if errors:
+            all_passed = False
+            print(f"\n❌  {path}")
+            for e in errors:
+                print(f"   • {e}")
+        else:
+            print(f"✅  {path}")
+
+    if not all_passed:
+        sys.exit(1)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()

.github/workflows/validate-decisions.yml

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+name: Validate Decision Records
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    paths:
+      - "decisions/**.md"
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+  pull-requests: write
+
+jobs:
+  validate:
+    name: Validate decision record format
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Find changed decision records
+        id: changed
+        run: |
+          files=$(git diff --name-only origin/${{ github.base_ref }}...HEAD -- 'decisions/*.md' | tr '\n' ' ')
+          echo "files=$files" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+      - name: Validate records
+        if: steps.changed.outputs.files != ''
+        run: python .github/scripts/validate_decision.py ${{ steps.changed.outputs.files }}
+
+      - name: Post validation failure comment
+        if: failure()
+        uses: actions/github-script@v7
+        with:
+          script: |
+            github.rest.issues.createComment({
+              issue_number: context.issue.number,
+              owner: context.repo.owner,
+              repo: context.repo.repo,
+              body: "❌ **Decision record validation failed.**\n\nPlease check the workflow logs and ensure your `decisions/*.md` file follows the required template. See `VOTING.md` for the template."
+            })

CONTRIBUTING.md

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+# Contributing to Eclipse ThreadX
+
+Thanks for your interest in this project.
+
+## About this repository
+This repository is used to host community discussions. It also contains decision records by the project's core team. 
+
+Non-team members cannot propose pull requests on this repository. However, everyone is welcome to participate in discussions and comment on decisions considered by the core team.
+
+The rest of this document applies to the project as a whole. Code and documentation contributions are welcome on most of our other repositories.
+
+## Project description
+
+Eclipse ThreadX provides a vendor-neutral, open source, safety-certified OS for
+real-time applications published on under a permissive license. The Eclipse
+ThreadX suite encompasses:  
+* ThreadX - advanced real-time operating system (RTOS) designed specifically for deeply embedded applications
+* NetX Duo - advanced, industrial-grade TCP/IP network stack designed specifically for deeply embedded real-time and IoT applications
+* FileX - high-performance, FAT-compatible file system that’s fully integrated with ThreadX kernel
+* GUIX - provides a complete, embedded graphical user interface (GUI) library
+* USBX - high-performance USB host, device, and on-the-go (OTG) embedded stack, that is fully integrated with ThreadX kernel
+* LevelX - flash wear leveling for FileX and stand-alone purposes
+* GuiX Studio - design environment, facilitating the creation and maintenance of all graphical elements for GUIX
+* TraceX - analysis tool that provides a graphical view of real-time system events to better understand the behavior of real-time systems
+
+Project websites: 
+* https://threadx.io
+* https://projects.eclipse.org/projects/iot.threadx
+
+## Terms of Use
+
+This repository is subject to the Terms of Use of the Eclipse Foundation  
+https://www.eclipse.org/legal/termsofuse.php
+
+## Developer resources
+
+Information regarding source code management, builds, coding standards, and more.
+https://projects.eclipse.org/projects/iot.threadx/developer
+
+The project maintains the following source code repositories
+
+* https://github.com/eclipse-threadx/.github
+* https://github.com/eclipse-threadx/cmsis-packs
+* https://github.com/eclipse-threadx/filex
+* https://github.com/eclipse-threadx/guix
+* https://github.com/eclipse-threadx/levelx
+* https://github.com/eclipse-threadx/netxduo
+* https://github.com/eclipse-threadx/rtos-docs-asciidoc
+* https://github.com/eclipse-threadx/rtos-docs-html
+* https://github.com/eclipse-threadx/samplex
+* https://github.com/eclipse-threadx/threadx
+* https://github.com/eclipse-threadx/tracex
+* https://github.com/eclipse-threadx/usbx
+
+## Eclipse Development Process
+
+This Eclipse Foundation open project is governed by the Eclipse Foundation
+Development Process and operates under the terms of the Eclipse IP Policy.
+
+* https://eclipse.org/projects/dev_process
+* https://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/Eclipse_IP_Policy.pdf
+
+## Eclipse Contributor Agreement
+
+In order to be able to contribute to Eclipse Foundation projects you must electronically sign the Eclipse Contributor Agreement (ECA).  
+https://www.eclipse.org/legal/ECA.php
+
+The ECA provides the Eclipse Foundation with a permanent record that you agree
+that each of your contributions will comply with the commitments documented in
+the Developer Certificate of Origin (DCO). Having an ECA on file associated with
+the email address matching the "Author" field of your contribution's Git commits
+fulfills the DCO's requirement that you sign-off on your contributions.
+
+For more information, please see the Eclipse Committer Handbook:  
+https://www.eclipse.org/projects/handbook/#resources-commit
+
+## Contact
+
+The project owns several mailing lists.
+
+### Main ThreadX mailing list
+News and updates about the ThreadX project and the ThreadX Alliance.
+https://accounts.eclipse.org/mailing-list/threadx
+
+### Developer mailing list
+Project team conversations. Feel free to jump in and ask non-technical questions there.
+https://accounts.eclipse.org/mailing-list/threadx-dev
+
+### User mailing list
+Ask your technical questions and discuss issues here.
+https://accounts.eclipse.org/mailing-list/threadx-users
+

LICENSE

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+MIT License
+
+Copyright (c) 2026 Eclipse ThreadX Contributors
+
+Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
+copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
+SOFTWARE.

README.md

@@ -1,2 +1,21 @@
-# discussions
-Community discussion forum for Q&A, feedback, and announcements. Decisions by the project team are also documented here.
+# Discussions
+
+Community discussion forum for Q&A, feedback, and announcements. Formal decisions by the project team are documented here as immutable decision records.
+
+**Everyone is welcome to participate in discussions and comment on proposals.** Only elected [committers](https://projects.eclipse.org/projects/iot.threadx/who) may vote on formal decisions. See [VOTING.md](VOTING.md) for the full rules.
+
+## Becoming a committer
+
+Interested in having a vote? Start by contributing! Submit pull requests to any Eclipse ThreadX repository. Once you have built a public record of merged contributions over time, you become eligible to be nominated and elected as a committer by the existing committer team. See the [Eclipse Foundation Project Handbook — Committer Elections](https://www.eclipse.org/projects/handbook/#elections-committer) for the full process.
+
+## Current committers
+
+The current list of committers is published on the [Eclipse ThreadX project page](https://projects.eclipse.org/projects/iot.threadx/who).
+
+## Key documents
+
+| Document | Purpose |
+|---|---|
+| [VOTING.md](VOTING.md) | Voting rules and decision-making process |
+| [decisions/TEMPLATE.md](decisions/TEMPLATE.md) | Template for authoring a decision record |
+| [SSH-SIGNING.md](SSH-SIGNING.md) | How to set up SSH commit signing (required for merging decision records) |