This is a continuation of the effort the release team had started after the Denver PTG with simplifying and better aligning the release models in use. We noticed a handful of projects that had, intentionally or unintentionally, only made one release during the Rocky cycle. This result wasn't quite was intended, so we had discussed how we might encourage things so consumers of the community output get what they are expecting during the cycle. The intermediary model should be used to be able to deliver multiple releases at any point throughout the cycle. It should not be used as a way to avoid doing any releases until the very end of the cycle. To encourage (force?) this, we would require at least two releases of a non-library cycle-with-intermediary project during the cycle. If a release is not done by milestone 2, these projects would be switched to the new cycle-with-rc. This may actually be preferable for some with the reduced administrative overhead that should provide. Of course, teams are encouraged to decide and follow their preferred release model for whatever makes the most sense for their project. If you are the PTL or release liaison for one of these projects, please take some time to consider if the current cycle-with-intermediary release model is right for you, or if you should switch over to the newer cycle-with-rc model. The release team will review the current state of things after the second milestone at the beginning of January to try to help any projects that may benefit from choosing a different declared release model. Thanks! Sean McGinnis and the Release Team