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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


  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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