[PATCH v4 1/3] MyFirstContribution: recommend shallow threading of cover letters

From: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
Date: Jun 15, 2026, 12:59 UTC
Message-ID: <20260615-pks-b4-v4-1-22cfca8f19c5@pks.im>
In-Reply-To: <20260615-pks-b4-v4-0-22cfca8f19c5@pks.im>

The "MyFirstContribution" document recommends the use of deep threading of cover letters: every cover letter of subsequent iterations shall be linked to the cover letter of the preceding version. The result of this is that eventually, threads with many versions are getting nested so deep that it becomes hard to follow.

Adapt the recommendation to instead propose shallow threading of cover letters: instead of linking the cover letter to the previous cover letter, the user is supposed to always link it to the first cover letter. This still makes it easy to follow the iterations, but has the benefit of nesting to a much shallower level.

Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
---
 Documentation/MyFirstContribution.adoc | 8 ++++----
 1 file changed, 4 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/MyFirstContribution.adoc b/Documentation/MyFirstContribution.adoc
index b9fdefce02..984b7f5aa8 100644
--- a/Documentation/MyFirstContribution.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/MyFirstContribution.adoc
@@ -790,7 +790,7 @@ We can note a few things:
   v3", etc. in place of "PATCH". For example, "[PATCH v2 1/3]" would be the first of
   three patches in the second iteration. Each iteration is sent with a new cover
   letter (like "[PATCH v2 0/3]" above), itself a reply to the cover letter of the
-  previous iteration (more on that below).
+  first iteration (more on that below).
 
 NOTE: A single-patch topic is sent with "[PATCH]", "[PATCH v2]", etc. without
 _i_/_n_ numbering (in the above thread overview, no single-patch topic appears,
@@ -1214,7 +1214,7 @@ between your last version and now, if it's something significant. You do not
 need the exact same body in your second cover letter; focus on explaining to
 reviewers the changes you've made that may not be as visible.
 
-You will also need to go and find the Message-ID of your previous cover letter.
+You will also need to go and find the Message-ID of your first cover letter.
 You can either note it when you send the first series, from the output of `git
 send-email`, or you can look it up on the
 https://lore.kernel.org/git[mailing list]. Find your cover letter in the
@@ -1227,8 +1227,8 @@ Message-ID: <foo.12345.author@example.com>
 
 Your Message-ID is `<foo.12345.author@example.com>`. This example will be used
 below as well; make sure to replace it with the correct Message-ID for your
-**previous cover letter** - that is, if you're sending v2, use the Message-ID
-from v1; if you're sending v3, use the Message-ID from v2.
+**first cover letter** - that is, for any subsequent version that you send,
+always use the Message-ID from v1.
 
 While you're looking at the email, you should also note who is CC'd, as it's
 common practice in the mailing list to keep all CCs on a thread. You can add

-- 
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