[PATCH] doc: develop/process: Clarify name usage in the Signed-off-by line

[PATCH] doc: develop/process: Clarify name usage in the Signed-off-by line

[Tom Rini]

Long ago we took the Linux Kernel documentation about adding a
Signed-off-by line and adjusted it slightly for how we organized things.
In 2003 Linus clarified the intent and then re-worded what the name
portion of the Signed-off-by line can be. Mirror that change here.

Link: https://git.kernel.org/torvalds/c/d4563201f33a
Signed-off-by: Tom Rini <trini@konsulko.com>
---
 doc/develop/process.rst | 3 +--
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/doc/develop/process.rst b/doc/develop/process.rst
index fd81d9c5ebd4..3c783ed5a0e9 100644
--- a/doc/develop/process.rst
+++ b/doc/develop/process.rst
@@ -139,8 +139,7 @@ document.
   message by which the signer certifies that they were involved in the development
   of the patch and that they accept the `Developer Certificate of Origin
   <https://developercertificate.org/>`_. Following this and adding a
-  ``Signed-off-by:`` line that contains the developer's name and email address
-  is required.
+  ``Signed-off-by:`` line using a known identity and email address is required.
 
    * Please note that in U-Boot, we do not add a ``Signed-off-by`` tag if we
      just pass on a patch without any changes.
-- 
2.43.0

Re: [PATCH] doc: develop/process: Clarify name usage in the Signed-off-by line

[Quentin Schulz]

Hi Tom,

On 2/3/26 8:16 PM, Tom Rini wrote:
> Long ago we took the Linux Kernel documentation about adding a
> Signed-off-by line and adjusted it slightly for how we organized things.
> In 2003 Linus clarified the intent and then re-worded what the name
> portion of the Signed-off-by line can be. Mirror that change here.
> 
> Link: https://git.kernel.org/torvalds/c/d4563201f33a
> Signed-off-by: Tom Rini <trini@konsulko.com>
> ---
>   doc/develop/process.rst | 3 +--
>   1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 2 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/doc/develop/process.rst b/doc/develop/process.rst
> index fd81d9c5ebd4..3c783ed5a0e9 100644
> --- a/doc/develop/process.rst
> +++ b/doc/develop/process.rst
> @@ -139,8 +139,7 @@ document.
>     message by which the signer certifies that they were involved in the development
>     of the patch and that they accept the `Developer Certificate of Origin
>     <https://developercertificate.org/>`_. Following this and adding a
> -  ``Signed-off-by:`` line that contains the developer's name and email address
> -  is required.
> +  ``Signed-off-by:`` line using a known identity and email address is required.
>   

Just for your information, the kernel docs also have an additional note:

(sorry, no anonymous contributions.)

Not sure if it's a necessary distinction but it's there. See 
https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/process/submitting-patches.html#developer-s-certificate-of-origin-1-1 
(a bit lower).

Looks good to me in any case.

Reviewed-by: Quentin Schulz <quentin.schulz@cherry.de>

Thanks!
Quentin

Re: [PATCH] doc: develop/process: Clarify name usage in the Signed-off-by line

[Tom Rini]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 1892 bytes --]

On Tue, Feb 03, 2026 at 08:58:44PM +0100, Quentin Schulz wrote:
> Hi Tom,
> 
> On 2/3/26 8:16 PM, Tom Rini wrote:
> > Long ago we took the Linux Kernel documentation about adding a
> > Signed-off-by line and adjusted it slightly for how we organized things.
> > In 2003 Linus clarified the intent and then re-worded what the name
> > portion of the Signed-off-by line can be. Mirror that change here.
> > 
> > Link: https://git.kernel.org/torvalds/c/d4563201f33a
> > Signed-off-by: Tom Rini <trini@konsulko.com>
> > ---
> >   doc/develop/process.rst | 3 +--
> >   1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 2 deletions(-)
> > 
> > diff --git a/doc/develop/process.rst b/doc/develop/process.rst
> > index fd81d9c5ebd4..3c783ed5a0e9 100644
> > --- a/doc/develop/process.rst
> > +++ b/doc/develop/process.rst
> > @@ -139,8 +139,7 @@ document.
> >     message by which the signer certifies that they were involved in the development
> >     of the patch and that they accept the `Developer Certificate of Origin
> >     <https://developercertificate.org/>`_. Following this and adding a
> > -  ``Signed-off-by:`` line that contains the developer's name and email address
> > -  is required.
> > +  ``Signed-off-by:`` line using a known identity and email address is required.
> 
> Just for your information, the kernel docs also have an additional note:
> 
> (sorry, no anonymous contributions.)

Yes, true. And the linked commit dropped the "pseudonyms" part. Since we
didn't have that part at all I decided to refrain from adding it.

> 
> Not sure if it's a necessary distinction but it's there. See https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/process/submitting-patches.html#developer-s-certificate-of-origin-1-1
> (a bit lower).
> 
> Looks good to me in any case.
> 
> Reviewed-by: Quentin Schulz <quentin.schulz@cherry.de>

And thanks for the review!

-- 
Tom

[-- Attachment #2: signature.asc --]
[-- Type: application/pgp-signature, Size: 228 bytes --]