Update schema development process

And also add some section headers and clarify publishing a bit.

Author: handrews

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -14,12 +14,6 @@ If in doubt about a policy, please [ask on our Slack](https://communityinviter.c
 
 No changes, ***no matter how trivial***, are ever made to the contents of published specifications.  The only potential changes to those documents are updates to link URLs _if and only if_ the targeted document is moved by a 3rd party.  Other changes to link URLs are not allowed.
 
-### Changing the schemas
-
-Schemas are only changed _after_ the specification is changed.
-Changes are made to the YAML versions on the `main` branch.
-The JSON versions are generated when published to the [spec site](https://spec.openapis.org/), at which time the `WORK-IN-PROGRESS` URI placeholders are replaced with the publication date.
-
 ### Authoritative source of truth
 
 The [spec site](https://spec.openapis.org) is the source of truth.
@@ -30,10 +24,20 @@ This changed in 2024, as the markdown files on `main` do not include certain cre
 
 As of October 2024 (post-OAS 3.0.4 and 3.1.1), the OAS is developed in the `src/oas.md` file on minor release `X.Y-dev` branches that are derived from the baseline `dev` branch.
 
+Schema changes are made on the same branch, but can be released independently.  When making a specification change for a new minor or major release that has a schema impact, including the schema change in the PR is preferred.  Patch releases cannot contain changes that _require_ a schema update.
+
+### Using forks
+
 All work **MUST be done on a fork**, using a branch from the _earliest relevant and [active](#active-branches)_ `X.Y-dev` branch, and then submitted as a PR to that `X.Y-dev` branch.
 For example, if a change in November 2024 apples to both 3.1 and 3.2, the PR would go to the `v3.1-dev` branch, which will be merged up to `v3.2-dev` before the next 3.2 release.
 
-Releases are published to the [spec site](https://spec.opanapis.org) by creating an `X.Y.Z-rel` branch where `src/oas.md` is renamed to the appropriate `versions/X.Y.Z.md` file and them merged to `main`.  The HTML versions of the OAS are automatically generated from the `versions` directory on `main`.  This renaming on the `X.Y.Z-rel` branch preserves the commit history for the published file on `main` when using `git log --follow` (as is the case for all older published files).
+### Publishing
+
+The specification and schemas are published to the [spec site](https://spec.opanapis.org) by creating an `X.Y.Z-rel` branch where `src/oas.md` is renamed to the appropriate `versions/X.Y.Z.md` file and them merged to `main`.  The HTML versions of the OAS are automatically generated from the `versions` directory on `main`.  This renaming on the `X.Y.Z-rel` branch preserves the commit history for the published file on `main` when using `git log --follow` (as is the case for all older published files).
+
+The publishing process for schemas is still under discussion (see issues [#3715](https://github.com/OAI/OpenAPI-Specification/issues/3715) and [#3716](https://github.com/OAI/OpenAPI-Specification/issues/3716)), with the current proposal being to release them directly from the `X.Y-dev` branch without merging to `main`, as the schemas in source control have placeholder identifiers and are not intended to be used as-is.
+
+### Historical branch strategy
 
 For information on the branch and release strategy for OAS 3.0.4 and 3.1.1 and earlier, see the comments in [issue #3677](https://github.com/OAI/OpenAPI-Specification/issues/3677).
 
@@ -156,10 +160,6 @@ gitGraph TB:
   commit id:"3.3 work"
 ```
 
-### Schema development
-
-Development of schemas [currently occurs on `main`](#changing-the-schemas), but the process is [being re-evaluated and is likely to change](https://github.com/OAI/OpenAPI-Specification/issues/3715).
-
 #### Active branches
 
 The first PR for a change should be against the oldest release line to which it applies.  Changes can then be forward-ported as appropriate.