From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
To: git@vger.kernel.org
Subject: [PATCH 4/6] MyFirstContribution: clarify that 'seen' does not mean acceptance
Date: Sat, 11 Jul 2026 12:26:48 -0700 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260711192650.2417665-5-gitster@pobox.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260711192650.2417665-1-gitster@pobox.com>
Document that getting a patch picked up into 'seen' is not the end
of the story for contributors; it is merely the beginning.
This is also described in SubmittingPatches:[[patch-flow]] section,
but beneficial to make new contributors aware of it early.
Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
---
Documentation/MyFirstContribution.adoc | 18 ++++++++++++++----
1 file changed, 14 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)
diff --git a/Documentation/MyFirstContribution.adoc b/Documentation/MyFirstContribution.adoc
index 988f0d4fba..5acc265589 100644
--- a/Documentation/MyFirstContribution.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/MyFirstContribution.adoc
@@ -1534,10 +1534,20 @@ that received the `Reviewed-by:` trailer untouched.
[[after-approval]]
=== After Review Approval
-The Git project has four integration branches: `seen`, `next`, `master`, and
-`maint`. Your change will be placed into `seen` fairly early on by the maintainer
-while it is still in the review process; from there, when it is ready for wider
-testing, it will be merged into `next`. Plenty of early testers use `next` and
+The Git project maintains four integration branches: `seen`, `next`,
+`master`, and `maint`. The maintainer will often place your change
+into `seen` fairly early in the review process; sometimes even before
+it receives its first comments.
+
+However, being queued in `seen` does not mean your patch has been
+accepted. It is only there for integration testing, CI, and giving
+wider exposure and ready access to reviewers. To advance from `seen`
+to `next`, your topic needs positive reviews and community consensus
+on the mailing list. If reviews are favorable, the maintainer will
+mark the topic as "Will merge to `next`" in the "What's cooking"
+report before actually merging it.
+
+Plenty of early testers use `next` and
may report issues. Eventually, changes in `next` will make it to `master`,
which is typically considered stable. Finally, when a new release is cut,
`maint` is used to base bugfixes onto. As mentioned at the beginning of this
--
2.55.0-391-gdf86bf5712
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-07-11 19:26 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 17+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-07-11 19:26 [PATCH 0/6] Update Contributor Guides Junio C Hamano
2026-07-11 19:26 ` [PATCH 1/6] SubmittingPatches: clarify expected structure of commit log message Junio C Hamano
2026-07-12 14:49 ` Weijie Yuan
2026-07-12 16:07 ` Junio C Hamano
2026-07-13 14:14 ` Weijie Yuan
2026-07-12 20:26 ` Michael Montalbo
2026-07-13 0:07 ` Junio C Hamano
2026-07-13 14:14 ` Weijie Yuan
2026-07-11 19:26 ` [PATCH 2/6] MyFirstContribution: what if I don't get a reply? Junio C Hamano
2026-07-11 19:26 ` [PATCH 3/6] MyFirstContribution: carrying over trailers Junio C Hamano
2026-07-11 19:26 ` Junio C Hamano [this message]
2026-07-12 18:08 ` [PATCH 4/6] MyFirstContribution: clarify that 'seen' does not mean acceptance Matt Hunter
2026-07-12 19:04 ` Junio C Hamano
2026-07-11 19:26 ` [PATCH 5/6] SubmittingPatches: clarify the meaning of "Will queue" Junio C Hamano
2026-07-11 19:26 ` [PATCH 6/6] SubmittingPatches: clarify the writing style of whats-cooking Junio C Hamano
2026-07-12 20:41 ` Michael Montalbo
2026-07-13 4:20 ` Junio C Hamano
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