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[PATCH v2 0/3] Documentation for common user misconceptions

From
brian m. carlson <sandals@crustytoothpaste.net>
Date
Oct 17, 2019, 00:53 UTC
Message-ID
<20191017005330.9021-1-sandals@crustytoothpaste.net>

This series includes three patches that update the documentation to address common user misconceptions.

The first patch has seen the list before, which is why this is now v2. It addresses the attempt to use "user.name" as a username for $GIT_HOSTING_SERVICE instead of a person's personal name.

The second patch is new, and addresses a common desire (as seen on Stack Overflow) to ignore changes to tracked files. If folks want, I can add a paragraph to expand on the common use cases (IDE configuration and config files) and offer general suggestions for them; if not, we can leave the patch as it stands.

The final patch, also new, addresses a common source of bad advice in response to any push problem: raise http.postBuffer. The patch indicates why this is almost never an effective solution, so explain what the option really does and that it is not a panacea.

We probably should have a document such as a FAQ that addresses these and other common issues, both to make Git more approachable and less scary for newcomers, and provide accurate information for situations like these. I've started on some drafts of such a FAQ, but have gotten side-tracked with other things and haven't made much progress.

In the mean time, it's my hope that by providing documentation on these issues, we can point people to it and encourage people to solutions that solve their problems instead of having them receive incorrect information which is not effective.

Changes from v1:
* Remove parenthetical which was confusing.
* Add two more patches.
brian m. carlson (3):
  doc: provide guidance on user.name format
  doc: dissuade users from trying to ignore tracked files
  docs: mention when increasing http.postBuffer is valuable
 Documentation/config/http.txt      |  7 +++++++
 Documentation/git-commit-tree.txt  |  6 ++++++
 Documentation/git-update-index.txt | 10 ++++++++++
 3 files changed, 23 insertions(+)
Next: brian m. carlson
Message 1 of 10 in “Documentation for common user misconceptions”
  1. 0/3 Documentation for common user misconceptionsbrian m. carlson, Oct 17, 2019
  2. 3/3 docs: mention when increasing http.postBuffer is valuablebrian m. carlson, Oct 17, 2019
  3. Jeff KingOct 17, 2019
  4. 2/3 doc: dissuade users from trying to ignore tracked filesbrian m. carlson, Oct 17, 2019
  5. Jeff KingOct 17, 2019
  6. 1/3 doc: provide guidance on user.name formatbrian m. carlson, Oct 17, 2019
  7. Jeff KingOct 17, 2019
  8. Junio C HamanoOct 17, 2019
  9. brian m. carlsonOct 17, 2019
  10. Jeff KingOct 18, 2019

Read the whole thread, see it on lore, or plain text.

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