Define AF OSS tiers (naming and definitions)

Purpose

Name and define the AF OSS adoption tiers, plus the criteria for placement and promotion between them. This anchors how every intake decision categorizes a project.

Current working model (2026-04-23 Tier Model)

Open naming question

Proposed simplification: Owned / Endorsed / Affiliated (vs the current Foundation-Owned / Foundation-Endorsed / Community-Associated).

Also pending: a "rings of adoption" framing to remove the status-hierarchy connotation. Concentric model: inner ring (Owned) is AF at the center, outer ring (Affiliated) is AF-blessed but independent.

To decide

• Tier names: Owned / Endorsed / Affiliated, vs current names, vs rings-of-adoption framing.
• Precise definition of each tier.
• Placement criteria: how a project lands in a tier (default to repo location: agenticsorg implies Owned; author namespace implies Endorsed or Affiliated).
• Promotion criteria: Affiliated to Endorsed adds CI + CLA + review SLA; Endorsed to Owned transfers the repo to agenticsorg.

References

• 2026-04-23 Tier Model Diagram.
• Scope boundary: five containers (2026-05-13).

Start with the current working model and the 2026-04-23 Tier Model Diagram, then check the five-container scope boundary from 2026-05-13. Resolve the naming, ring framing, tier definitions, placement criteria, and promotion criteria; done means the issue records one agreed model and criteria for all three tiers.