Re: [PATCH] docs: submitting-patches: Clarify that in English "reviewer" is a person

["David Hildenbrand (Arm)" <david@kernel.org>]

On 5/16/26 16:39, Vlastimil Babka (SUSE) wrote:
> On 5/16/26 14:38, Krzysztof Kozlowski wrote:
>> Common understanding of word "Reviewer" is: a person performing a review
>> work [1]. Tools are not persons, thus cannot be reviewers in this term.
>> Also tools cannot make statements ("A Reviewed-by tag is a statement of
>> opinion"), since making a statement needs some sort of conscious mind.
>>
>> Our docs already clearly mark that "Reviewed-by" must come from a
>> person:
>>
>>  - "By offering my Reviewed-by: tag, I state that:"
>>
>>    Usage of first person "I" and word "state"
>>
>>  - "A Reviewed-by tag is *a statement of opinion* that the patch is an
>>     appropriate modification of the kernel without any remaining serious"
>>
>>    Only a person can make a statement of opinion.
>>
>>  - "Any interested reviewer (who has done the work) can offer a
>>    Reviewed-by"
>>
>>    A person can offer a tag thus above does not grant the tool
>>    permission to offer a tag.
>>
>> However this is not enough and apparently English is not that precise,
>> so let's clarify that only a person can state the "Reviewer's statement
>> of oversight".
>>
>> Link: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/reviewer [1]
>> Cc: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>
>> Cc: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@kernel.org>
>> Cc: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
>> Cc: David Hildenbrand <david@kernel.org>
>> Cc: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>
>> Signed-off-by: Krzysztof Kozlowski <krzysztof.kozlowski@oss.qualcomm.com>
> 
> I agree with the intent that the tag is for people (whether they use a tool
> or not to help them). We also don't put "Tested-by: kernel test robot" or
> syzkaller on every commit that they test and find no bugs. Review is also
> not just about absence of bugs, but agreeing with the larger design and
> whether the change makes sense to do in the first place.

I'd assume that SOB/RB/ACK would all be real persons, not tools.

For SOB we term it as "known identity". I'd assume that a tool is not an
identity ...

So maybe we should also talk about "know identity" here?

In any case, bots providing RB tags is stupid

Acked-by: David Hildenbrand (Arm) <david@kernel.org>
-- 
Cheers,

David