Re: [PATCH v2] docs: Clarify the usage and sign-off requirements for Co-developed-by

Sean Christopherson
2019-03-21T19:23:43Z

On Thu, Mar 21, 2019 at 11:43:16AM -0700, Sean Christopherson wrote:
> The documentation for Co-developed-by is a bit light on details, e.g. it
> doesn't explicitly state that:
>
> - Multiple Co-developed-by tags are perfectly acceptable
> - Co-developed-by and Signed-off-by must be paired together
> - SOB ordering should still follow standard sign-off procedure
>
> Lack of explicit direciton has resulted in developers taking a variety
> of approaches, often lacking any intent whatsoever, e.g. scattering SOBs
> willy-nilly, collecting them all at the end or the beginning, etc...
>
> Tweak the wording to make it clear that multiple co-authors are allowed,
> and document the expectation that standard sign-off procedures are to
> be followed. Provide examples to (hopefully) eliminate any ambiguity.
>
> Cc: Thomas Gleixner <tglx@linutronix.de>
> Cc: Jani Nikula <jani.nikula@linux.intel.com>
> Cc: Jorge Ramirez-Ortiz <jorge.ramirez-ortiz@linaro.org>
> Cc: Jonathan Cameron <jic23@kernel.org>
> Cc: Joe Perches <joe@perches.com>
> Cc: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>
> Cc: Niklas Cassel <niklas.cassel@linaro.org>
> Cc: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>
> Signed-off-by: Sean Christopherson <sean.j.christopherson@intel.com>
> ---
>
> v1: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20190320151140.32432-1-sean.j.christopherson@intel.com
> v2: Rewrite the blurb to state standard sign-off procedure should be
> followed as opposed to dictating the original author's SOB be last.
>
> Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst | 24 +++++++++++++++++---
> 1 file changed, 21 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst b/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
> index be7d1829c3af..a7a9da68a384 100644
> --- a/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
> +++ b/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
> @@ -545,10 +545,28 @@ person it names - but it should indicate that this person was copied on the
> patch. This tag documents that potentially interested parties
> have been included in the discussion.
>
> -A Co-developed-by: states that the patch was also created by another developer
> +A Co-developed-by: states that the patch was co-created by other developer(s)
> along with the original author. This is useful at times when multiple people
> -work on a single patch. Note, this person also needs to have a Signed-off-by:
> -line in the patch as well.
> +work on a single patch. Every Co-developed-by: must be immediately followed by
> +a Signed-off-by: of the co-author. Standard sign-off procedure applies, i.e.
> +the ordering of Co-developed-by:/Signed-off-by: pairs should reflect the
> +chronological history of the patch insofar as possible. Notably, the last
> +Signed-off-by: must always be that of the developer submitting the patch,
> +regardless of whether they are the original author or a co-author.
> +
> +Example of a patch with multiple co-authors, submitted by the original author::
> +
> + Co-developed-by: First Co-Author <first@coauthor.example.org>
> + Signed-off-by: First Co-Author <first@coauthor.example.org>
> + Co-developed-by: Second Co-Author <second@coauthor.example.org>
> + Signed-off-by: Second Co-Author <second@coauthor.example.org>
> + Signed-off-by: Original Author <original@author.example.org>
> +
> +Example of a patch submitted by a co-author::
> +
> + Signed-off-by: Original Author <original@author.example.org>
> + Co-developed-by: Submitting Co-Author <sub@coauthor.example.org>
> + Signed-off-by: Submitting Co-Author <sub@coauthor.example.org>
>
>
> 13) Using Reported-by:, Tested-by:, Reviewed-by:, Suggested-by: and Fixes:
> --

Belatedly discovered that Documentation/process/5.Posting.rst has a nearly
identical section on Co-developed-by. I'll send a v3 to tweak that
verbiage as well and add a link to submitting-patches.rst.