Re: [PATCH] merge: add instructions to the commit message when editing

From: Thomas Rast <trast@inf.ethz.ch>
Date: Jan 31, 2012, 07:46 UTC
Message-ID: <87k4488gcj.fsf@thomas.inf.ethz.ch>
In-Reply-To: <7vhazcamdl.fsf@alter.siamese.dyndns.org>

Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> writes:

Show 15 quoted lines

> Thomas Rast <trast@inf.ethz.ch> writes:
>
>>>   Please enter the commit message for your merge commit.  Explain
>>>   why the merge is necessary, especially if it merges an updated
>>>   upstream into a topic branch.
>>>
>>> ... because people who need to be told to "justify it" would probably be
>>> helped by a more explicit "explain _why_ it is needed".
>>
>> Why not.  The "explain..." might be construed as a bit too coercive, but
>> I cannot come up with a way to defuse it (well, except again tacking on
>> "you should") ...
>
> Would "Please enter the commit message for your merge commit, to explain
> why ..." work?

Yes, though it winds up as a rather long sentence. I could then shorten it to

  Please enter a commit message that explains why the merge commit is
  necessary, especially if it merges an updated upstream into a topic
  branch.

though that's only _implying_ that you're completing a merge.

Your pick ;-)

-- 
Thomas Rast
trast@{inf,student}.ethz.ch