Now that we are in our first Aurora cycle and we have gotten the bug
flags set up for the new rapid release cycle, I'd like to describe in
more detail how these flags should be used. First, a brief description
of the flags:

tracking-firefoxN: ?, +, -

The tracking flag is used to alert release drivers of bugs which may
need to be addressed during the release cycle.

During the mozilla-central portion of the release cycle, any any major
new features should also be nominated (currently by setting
tracking-firefox6:?). In addition, new regressions (functionality or
stability) should be nominated. Tracking bugs are not necessarily
"blockers": it merely means that release drivers will look at the bug
during the weekly triage sessions.

status-firefoxN: unaffected, affected, fixed

The status flag is used to track bugs for particular release cycles. I
hope that the values are pretty self-explanatory. The status flag is
only available once a release has branched for aurora: before that time,
just use the bugzilla resolutions NEW/ASSIGNED or FIXED.

approval-mozilla-aurora and approval-mozilla-beta

These patch flags are used to mark changes which are approved for the
current aurora and beta release train. ALL changes in aurora and beta
require explicit approval, even backouts. This rule is in place so that
release drivers know what is landing and can inform relevant
stakeholders (addons, l10n, marketing, docs) of any feature changes that
happen during stabilization.

FAQ:

    * What are the approval criteria for landing on aurora (and beta)?
      The only changes being accepted on aurora are backouts, trivial
      fixes for new regressions, and security/stability fixes. "new
      code" is not acceptable and should wait for the next release
      train. Patches which affect extension compatibility, localization,
      or APIs are generally not acceptable unless they are necessary
      backouts to fix critical issues. As the aurora period proceeds,
      approval requirements become much more stringent: by the time we
      reach beta, builds are basically release candidates and only the
      most critical issues will be granted approval.
    * I found a regression bug: what do I do?
      Add the 'regression' keyword, as always. Set tracking-firefox6:?
      and tracking-firefox5:?. If we know that the bug affects aurora,
      set status-firefox5:affected. If we don't know what branches are
      affected, add the qawanted keyword.
    * I want to back out a change from aurora because of issues that
      were found: what do I do?
      Make sure a bug is on file. Set tracking-firefox5:? on the bug.
      Attach a patch for the backout, or a text file indicating what `hg
      backout` command will be used, and set approval-mozilla-aurora:?//
      on the patch/attachment.

Any additional questions, please ask!

--BDS