Definition

in Debian, maintainers are people who work on uploaded packages. There are :

* Debian Developers

Debian Project members who have gone through the Debian New Maintainers process and had their application accepted are called Debian Developers

* Debian Maintainers (DM)

Debian Maintainer is an official status of people, who are allowed to upload specific packages (with a DM field set). They don't need to request for sponsorship.

* Sponsored maintainers

A mentor can upload your package if you make a request for sponsorship. After some time he can advocate you to become a Debian Maintainer. The best is to join a team. See mentors.debian.net.

disambiguation

Here is a list of expressions which use the word "maintainer" :

* Debian New Maintainer

The Debian New Maintainers process, is the process of becoming an official Debian Developer (DD).

* Debian New Maintainers' Guide

The Debian New Maintainers' Guide is the first document to read if you want to work with packages.