[PATCH v3 3/4] SubmittingPatches: clarify DCO is our --signoff rule
- From
Bradley M. Kuhn <bkuhn@sfconservancy.org>
- Date
- Oct 20, 2020, 01:03 UTC
- Message-ID
- <2047100ba2b72e765b7afaa1ae5ea7d26644d9d9.1603155607.git.bkuhn@sfconservancy.org>
- In-Reply-To
- <cover.1603155607.git.bkuhn@sfconservancy.org>
From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
The description on sign-off and DCO was written back in the days where there was only a choice between "use sign-off and it means the contributor agrees to the Linux-kernel style DCO" and "not using sign-off at all will make your patch unusable". These days, we are trying to clarify that the exact meaning of a sign-off varies project to project.
Let's be more explicit when presenting what _our_ rules are. It is of secondary importance that it originally came from the kernel project, so move the description as a historical note at the end, while cautioning that what a sign-off means to us may be different from what it means to other projects contributors may have been used to.
Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> Reviewed-by: Taylor Blau <me@ttaylorr.com> Reviewed-by: Bradley M. Kuhn <bkuhn@sfconservancy.org> --- Documentation/SubmittingPatches | 25 ++++++++++++++----------- 1 file changed, 14 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)
diff --git a/Documentation/SubmittingPatches b/Documentation/SubmittingPatches index 291b61e262..f83a050b35 100644 --- a/Documentation/SubmittingPatches +++ b/Documentation/SubmittingPatches @@ -300,15 +300,12 @@ patch. [[sign-off]] === Certify your work by adding your "Signed-off-by: " line -To improve tracking of who did what, we've borrowed the -"sign-off" procedure from the Linux kernel project on patches -that are being emailed around. Although core Git is a lot -smaller project it is a good discipline to follow it. +To improve tracking of who did what, we ask you to certify that you +wrote the patch or have the right to pass it on under the same license +as ours, by "signing off" your patch. Without sign-off, we cannot +accept your patches. -The sign-off is a simple line at the end of the explanation for -the patch, which certifies that you wrote it or otherwise have -the right to pass it on as an open-source patch. The rules are -pretty simple: if you can certify the below D-C-O: +If you can certify the below D-C-O: [[dco]] .Developer's Certificate of Origin 1.1 @@ -338,14 +335,15 @@ d. I understand and agree that this project and the contribution this project or the open source license(s) involved. ____ -then you just add a line saying +you add a "Signed-off-by" trailer to your commit, that looks like +this: .... Signed-off-by: Random J Developer <random@developer.example.org> .... -This line can be automatically added by Git if you run the git-commit -command with the -s option. +This line can be added by Git if you run the git-commit command with +the -s option. Notice that you can place your own Signed-off-by: line when forwarding somebody else's patch with the above rules for @@ -353,6 +351,11 @@ D-C-O. Indeed you are encouraged to do so. Do not forget to place an in-body "From: " line at the beginning to properly attribute the change to its true author (see (2) above). +This procedure originally came from the Linux kernel project, so our +rule is quite similar to theirs, but what exactly it means to sign-off +your patch differs from project to project, so it may be different +from that of the project you are accustomed to. + [[real-name]] Also notice that a real name is used in the Signed-off-by: line. Please don't hide your real name.
-- Bradley M. Kuhn - he/him Policy Fellow & Hacker-in-Residence at Software Freedom Conservancy ======================================================================== Become a Conservancy Supporter today: https://sfconservancy.org/supporter