docs(governance): add emeritus transition process

[cythecode]

Overview

Adds Governance/processes/EMERITUS_TRANSITION.md: the operational companion to
Governance/roles/EMERITUS.md. The role document defines what emeritus status is;
this process defines the transition itself — when a member moves to emeritus, which
privileges are retained and which are withdrawn, and the recorded path back to active
status, each step with an owner and a deadline.

The process names three triggers (voluntary step-down, end of a fixed term, role
consolidation), runs all of them through one recorded sequence (request or consented
proposal, acknowledgement within 3 business days, recorded decision within 10 business
days, privileges applied within 5 business days), keeps emeritus opt-in and separate
from the inactivity and misconduct paths, and matches the reinstatement thresholds
already committed in Governance/policies/INACTIVITY.md.

Related Issue

Fixes the governance gap tracked in #1488: Governance/ had no
Governance/processes/EMERITUS_TRANSITION.md, so the transition into emeritus and the
path back to active status were not written down in a single, versioned reference.

Changes

Emeritus transition process

• [ADD] Governance/processes/EMERITUS_TRANSITION.md

  • When a Member Moves to Emeritus — the three triggers and the single recorded
    sequence they all run, with the acknowledgement, decision, and apply deadlines, and
    the rule that a proposal without the member's consent does not proceed.
  • Privileges Retained — recognition, attribution, read access, community
    participation, a non-voting voice at meetings, and consented informal consultation.
  • Privileges Withdrawn — voting and quorum, role decision authority, elevated
    repository permissions, CODEOWNERS placement, private-channel access, and external
    representation.
  • Returning to Active Status — contributor returns on a merged pull request,
    reviewer/moderator after two completed reviews with one maintainer approval,
    maintainer after four reviews or pulls in 60 days with two approvals and onboarding,
    plus appointment by nomination under Governance/processes/NOMINATION.md, and a
    3-business-day acknowledgement / 10-business-day decision clock.
  • Cross-references Governance/roles/EMERITUS.md, Governance/roles/CONTRIBUTOR.md,
    Governance/roles/MAINTAINER.md, Governance/policies/INACTIVITY.md,
    Governance/RECOGNITION.md, and Governance/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md.

• [ADD] Governance/processes/EMERITUS_TRANSITION.test.ts

  • 27 assertions pinning the document structure, the three triggers, the retained and
    withdrawn privileges, and the return path to the checked-in document, and checking
    the thresholds against Governance/policies/INACTIVITY.md and
    Governance/roles/EMERITUS.md at test time.

Verification Results

Ran against a tree staged from the Git Data API (no local clone of the upstream repo).

Governance/processes/EMERITUS_TRANSITION.test.ts
  Test Files  1 passed (1)
  Tests       27 passed (27)

Mutation checks (document edited, suite re-run):
  - drop "Authority to represent the project externally..." -> 1 failed | 26 passed
  - remove the return-request acknowledgement/decision clock  -> 2 failed | 25 passed
  - rename "Privileges Withdrawn" heading                    -> structure assertion fails
Restored document -> 27 passed (27)

Both files are Prettier 2.8.8 clean under the repository .prettierrc (printWidth 100).
The document stays within the 82-column house limit asserted by its own test suite.

Acceptance Criteria	Status
Governance requirement is implemented successfully	✅ Governance/processes/EMERITUS_TRANSITION.md defines the transition, retained/withdrawn privileges, and return path
Scope is limited to a maximum of two files	✅ Exactly two files added
No changes are made outside the Governance folder	✅ Both files live under Governance/processes/
No regression in existing functionality	✅ No application code, manifests, or lockfiles touched
Tests pass and code follows project standards	✅ 27/27 pass; Prettier 2.8.8 clean; ≤82 columns
Change is documented	✅ Process document plus the companion regression suite

Closes #1488

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[Copilot]

Copilot review overview

🟡 Changes recommended

Unresolved moderate documentation gaps and a critical test-runtime failure remain.

Review effort: Lite
Findings: 1 · 1

Open (2)

• Use import.meta.url instead of undefined __dirname · New
• Document return paths for all scoped roles · New

What changed in this PR

Adds an emeritus transition process and regression tests under Governance/.

Changes:

• Documents transition triggers, deadlines, privileges, and return-to-active paths.
• Adds tests validating the process structure and governance references.

File	Summary and findings
Governance/​processes/​EMERITUS_TRANSITION.md	Documents the emeritus lifecycle. Five moderate findings remain: clarify contributor return timing, handle the absent CODEOWNERS file, define return paths for all scoped roles, assign the initial recording step, and explicitly revoke private-channel and external-representation privileges.
Governance/​processes/​EMERITUS_TRANSITION.test.ts	Adds regression tests. One critical finding remains: replace __dirname with an ES-module-compatible path derived from import.meta.url at the noted locations.

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