[QGIS-Developer] Two proposals -- moratorium on LLM use, and requiring a "proof of life" for contributors

[Tim Sutton]

Hi Ale


On Wed, Sep 23, 2026 at 10:56 AM Alessandro Pasotti <apasotti at gmail.com>
wrote:

>
> Tim, thank you for your summary, I disagree with the CLA signing request,
> can you please keep that out from the AI/LLM discussion?
>


No problem, it was just an example of how we might convery to contributors
that no LLM contributions are allowed.

Regards

Tim


>
> Thank you.
>
>
> On Wed, Sep 23, 2026 at 11:49 AM Tim Sutton via QGIS-Developer <
> qgis-developer at lists.osgeo.org> wrote:
>
>> Hi Nyall and friends
>>
>> Thank you to everyone who has been participating in this thread. I wanted
>> to share the PSC member perspective here. I think our job is to get out of
>> your (developers, contributors) way and try to make sure nothing gets in
>> your way. If that includes banning AI / LLM use in
>> https://github.com/qgis/qgis we are fine with that. I think we have had
>> ample time to debate the issue in various email threads and on the internet
>> at large and we can bring this into a project policy. Could we just take
>> Stefanos' comment (
>> https://github.com/qgis/QGIS/pull/67509#issuecomment-5772186522) as a
>> good summary of how we should deal with this and put it through the
>> processes we have set up to create policies. Personally,  I would prefer we
>> remove any derisive language or easter eggs like mentioned above in the
>> CONTRIBUTING.md and just keep it clean and tidy. Our proposed way forward
>> would be:
>>
>>
>> 1. Define a clear policy that establishes the scope of what is allowed:
>> "No LLM assisted code contributions are allowed in the
>> https://github.com/qgis/qgis repository. We know this is difficult to
>> enforce, but if we subsequently discover that you have used and LLM for
>> your contribution, you risk code reversion and contributor rights
>> sanctioning."
>> 2. Post this in our CONTRIBUTING.md and wire it into incoming PRs if you
>> can figure out how to do that.  Perhaps it is time to establish a CLA
>> workflow that requires signing before any PRs are accepted. I suggest we
>> use a modified version of the OSGEO CLA to add any clauses you think are
>> appropriate in nice clear, neutral language. See e.g.
>> https://gist.github.com/timlinux/cc20c0b8860648da977a261d46b170d4
>> 3. Ideally this should go through the QEP process if you can survive the
>> vibe coding hordes for another two weeks. I would be happy to help write
>> the proposal if you like.
>>
>> In the QEP and CLA / Policy I would not put any rationale as to why we
>> have the policy as that takes us down a rabbit hole of people arguing about
>> nuances when IMHO all we should care about is the "what". Similar to how we
>> don't explain why my arcane variable naming rules from 2003 persist, just
>> that they should be followed :-P
>>
>> If you don't mind would you roll back the template change long enough for
>> use to lay down the policy through a QEP and then have at it in terms of
>> putting whatever tooling you need to reject LLM originated requests?
>>
>> I am happy to jump in to help with QEP writing etc. if needed, just let
>> me know. Personally speaking, I know you and Even have expended a lot of
>> mental energy on LLM related discussions and I would really love to see us
>> provide an environment where it is simply a non-issue,we have clear
>> policies and you can get on with the stuff you (hopefully) love - building
>> the greatest GIS on planet earth!
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> Tim
>>
>>
>> (No LLM was used to compose this email)
>>
>>
-------------------snip 8<------------------



> --
>>
>> Tim Sutton
>>
>> *Kartoza Cofounder*Tim is a member of the QGIS Project Steering Committee
>>
>> *E *: tim at kartoza.com          *W* : kartoza.com
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
> --
> Alessandro Pasotti
> QCooperative:  www.qcooperative.net
> ItOpen:   www.itopen.it
>


-- 

Tim Sutton

*Kartoza Cofounder*Tim is a member of the QGIS Project Steering Committee

*E *: tim at kartoza.com          *W* : kartoza.com



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