Re: [PATCH 3/3] docs: submitting-patches: clarify that signers may use their discretion on tags

[Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>]

On Sun, Jan 12, 2025 at 10:47:02AM -0500, Neal Gompa wrote:
> On Sun, Jan 12, 2025 at 10:30 AM Miguel Ojeda <ojeda@kernel.org> wrote:
> >
> > Tags are really appreciated by maintainers in general, since it means
> > someone is willing to put their name on a commit, be it as a reviewer,
> > tester, etc.
> >
> > However, signers (i.e. submitters carrying tags from previous versions
> > and maintainers applying patches) may need to take or drop tags, on a
> > case-by-case basis, for different reasons.
> >
> > Yet this is not explicitly spelled out in the documentation, thus there
> > may be instances [1] where contributors may feel unwelcome.
> >
> > Thus, to clarify, state this clearly.
> >
> > Link: https://lore.kernel.org/rust-for-linux/CAEg-Je-h4NitWb2ErFGCOqt0KQfXuyKWLhpnNHCdRzZdxi018Q@mail.gmail.com/ [1]
> > Suggested-by: Dan Williams <dan.j.williams@intel.com>
> > Acked-by: Shuah Khan <skhan@linuxfoundation.org>
> > Acked-by: Dan Williams <dan.j.williams@intel.com>
> > Signed-off-by: Miguel Ojeda <ojeda@kernel.org>
> > ---
> >  Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst | 4 ++++
> >  1 file changed, 4 insertions(+)
> >
> > diff --git a/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst b/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
> > index 7b0ac7370cb1..6754bc15f989 100644
> > --- a/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
> > +++ b/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
> > @@ -614,6 +614,10 @@ process nor the requirement to Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org on all stable
> >  patch candidates. For more information, please read
> >  Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst.
> >
> > +Finally, while providing tags is welcome and typically very appreciated, please
> > +note that signers (i.e. submitters and maintainers) may use their discretion in
> > +applying offered tags.
> > +
> >  .. _the_canonical_patch_format:
> >
> >  The canonical patch format
> > --
> > 2.48.0
> >
> 
> A tag must not be dropped without the tag submitter's authorization.
> Otherwise it doesn't matter what you write here, the submitter *will*
> feel unwelcome.
> 
> It is rude and discouraging to do so without their acceptance of doing so.

I accidentally "drop" them all the time by virtue of them coming in
_after_ the patch is committed to my git tree.  I can't rebase, so they
just don't get applied to the commit, which is fine.  The tag stays
"as-is" in the email thread for forever, so there's no real problem
here.

Also, sometimes, we can't apply a tag from some entities for various
reasons, so please don't think that anyone can force a maintainer to
take things that they aren't allowed to, or want to, take.  But this is
a rare occurance.

thanks,

greg k-h