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All new projects proposed to the TSC are considered to be starting in Incubation status. If a project happens to fulfill the criteria to However, the Incubation exit criteria do not depend on any actual amount of time having been spent in Incubation. Whenever a project meets the Incubation exit criteria it can move to Active status. So, if a project happens to meet the Incubation exit criteria at the time a HIP is submitted to the TSC, the proposer of the project may submit a request to move to Active status at the same time or shortly after. The project may then effectively move through Incubation immediately at the time it is accepted as a HIP.
The same goes with the first major release.