[development] adoption for 'abandoned' modules?

[Jill Elaine]

Hello Coders,
Jeff Eaton's post requesting permission to add himself to the CVS access 
list for an neglected module brings up the topic of the proper procedure 
for adoption of modules that have been neglected or abandoned.

 From this list, I gather that a user can essentially 'take over' a 
neglected module...or add themselves as a maintainer...by applying for a 
CVS account and explaining the situation.

The documented procedure to update a module (fix a bug, add a feature) 
is "open an issue" and "submit a patch". But there is no documentation 
that explains what to do if good, tested patches are never applied to 
the module and/or the maintainer cannot be contacted.

I am on the documentation list and would like to write up something that 
explains what to do in this situation.

As maintainers of modules, what do you think this procedure should be?

For instance, with your module, what would you like to see happen if you 
were 'run over by a truck' and disappeared from the Drupal world?
** What would be a reasonable set of steps so that your module continued 
to be maintained?
** What is a reasonable length of time to wait for a response from you?
** Who should be contacted if your profile is set to 'no contact'?
** What else needs to be considered here?

Thank you so much for your input.
jillelaine