Re: [PATCH v2] SubmittingPatches: document how to retract a topic

[Michael Montalbo <mmontalbo@gmail.com>]

On Wed, Jul 08, 2026 at 10:09:49AM -0700, Junio C Hamano wrote:
> While this document outlines an idealized lifecycle where an author
> develops a patch, refines it with reviewer feedback, and
> successfully merges it into Git, reality is rarely so seamless.
> 
> Sometimes, a topic must be abandoned. Doing so explicitly is far
> better than leaving it in limbo, especially since topics can always
> be resurrected later.
> 
> Clearly state that we encourage contributors to retract any topic
> that does not pan out.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
> ---
> 
>  * Added the third bullet that talks about when and how a topic
>    becomes stalled and discarded.
> 
>  Documentation/SubmittingPatches | 14 ++++++++++++++
>  1 file changed, 14 insertions(+)
> 
> diff --git a/Documentation/SubmittingPatches b/Documentation/SubmittingPatches
> index d2d82eb543..c269e474e3 100644
> --- a/Documentation/SubmittingPatches
> +++ b/Documentation/SubmittingPatches
> @@ -123,6 +123,20 @@ of review.
>    top, it gets merged to the 'master' branch and waits to become part
>    of the next major release.
>  
> +But sometimes things do not work as planned:
> +
> +. If a mailing list discussion convinces you that your changes aren't
> +  ideal, please explicitly retract the topic to save the maintainer
> +  time and effort.
> +
> +. If you must drop a topic due to shifting priorities, lack of time,
> +  or other commitments, notify the list as a courtesy so others can
> +  take over. Anyone can resurrect the topic later when they have the
> +  capacity to do so.
> +
> +. Topics with unaddressed review comments that remain inactive for
> +  four weeks may be discarded by the maintainer.
> +

Nice, I think these points read smoothly and the additional "four weeks
until may be discarded" guidance is helpful.

LGTM.