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Re: [PATCH v3 1/3] MyFirstContribution: recommend shallow threading of cover letters

From
Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
Date
Jun 15, 2026, 12:58 UTC
Message-ID
<ai_26l4sYwK09kdY@pks.im>
In-Reply-To
<CAOLa=ZQE-kkpSX=pP2A6SXdbp_O6AHzRmbUDOtKCsvz2Yz66Ng@mail.gmail.com>
On Wed, Jun 10, 2026 at 07:08:33AM -0400, Karthik Nayak wrote:
Show 26 quoted lines
> Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im> writes:
> 
> > 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.
> 
> Should we also modify 'Documentation/SubmittingPatches'? Which states:
> 
>   All subsequent versions of a patch series and other related patches
>   should be grouped into their own e-mail thread to help readers find
>   all parts of the series.  To that end, send them as replies to either
>   an additional "cover letter" message (see below), the first patch, or
>   the respective preceding patch. Here is a
>   link:MyFirstContribution.html#v2-git-send-email[step-by-step guide] on
>   how to submit updated versions of a patch series.
> 
> Personally, I find it a bit awkward when new versions are sent as a new
> separate thread, especially when the subject is changed over versions.

I don't necessarily see this as contradicting advice, I rather read it as "patches of vN+1 should have their own subthread". But it certainly is confusingly written, and I'm not even sure myself whether I'm reading it correctly or not.

I kind of feel like this is a bit outside the scope of this series. Also because I'm not a 100% sure how to reword this to make it read nicer :) But I'm very happy to accept suggestions here.

Patrick
Previous: Karthik NayakNext: Patrick Steinhardt
Message 42 of 54 in “Documentation: recommend the use of b4”
  1. 0/2 Documentation: recommend the use of b4Patrick Steinhardt, Jun 2, 2026
  2. 1/2 b4: introduce configuration for the Git projectPatrick Steinhardt, Jun 2, 2026
  3. Junio C HamanoJun 2, 2026
  4. Patrick SteinhardtJun 2, 2026
  5. Ramsay JonesJun 2, 2026
  6. Junio C HamanoJun 3, 2026
  7. Patrick SteinhardtJun 3, 2026
  8. Tuomas AholaJun 2, 2026
  9. Weijie YuanJun 3, 2026
  10. Patrick SteinhardtJun 3, 2026
  11. Weijie YuanJun 3, 2026
  12. Weijie YuanJun 3, 2026
  13. SZEDER GáborJun 3, 2026
  14. Weijie YuanJun 3, 2026
  15. Tuomas AholaJun 3, 2026
  16. Junio C HamanoJun 4, 2026
  17. Patrick SteinhardtJun 8, 2026
  18. Patrick SteinhardtJun 8, 2026
  19. 2/2 Documentation/MyFirstContribution: recommend the use of b4Patrick Steinhardt, Jun 2, 2026
  20. Weijie YuanJun 2, 2026
  21. Patrick SteinhardtJun 3, 2026
  22. Weijie YuanJun 3, 2026
  23. Weijie YuanJun 3, 2026
  24. 0/3 Documentation: recommend the use of b4Patrick Steinhardt, Jun 3, 2026
  25. 1/3 Documentation/MyFirstContribution: recommend shallow threadingPatrick Steinhardt, Jun 3, 2026
  26. Tuomas AholaJun 3, 2026
  27. Patrick SteinhardtJun 8, 2026
  28. Weijie YuanJun 3, 2026
  29. Patrick SteinhardtJun 8, 2026
  30. Weijie YuanJun 8, 2026
  31. Kristoffer HaugsbakkJun 3, 2026
  32. Patrick SteinhardtJun 8, 2026
  33. 2/3 Documentation/MyFirstContribution: recommend the use of b4Patrick Steinhardt, Jun 3, 2026
  34. Toon ClaesJun 4, 2026
  35. Patrick SteinhardtJun 8, 2026
  36. 3/3 b4: introduce configuration for the Git projectPatrick Steinhardt, Jun 3, 2026
  37. Toon ClaesJun 3, 2026
  38. Patrick SteinhardtJun 8, 2026
  39. 0/3 Documentation: recommend the use of b4Patrick Steinhardt, Jun 8, 2026
  40. 1/3 MyFirstContribution: recommend shallow threading of cover lettersPatrick Steinhardt, Jun 8, 2026
  41. Karthik NayakJun 10, 2026
  42. Patrick SteinhardtJun 15, 2026
  43. 2/3 MyFirstContribution: recommend the use of b4Patrick Steinhardt, Jun 8, 2026
  44. 3/3 b4: introduce configuration for the Git projectPatrick Steinhardt, Jun 8, 2026
  45. Karthik NayakJun 10, 2026
  46. Patrick SteinhardtJun 15, 2026
  47. Toon ClaesJun 9, 2026
  48. Junio C HamanoJun 9, 2026
  49. Patrick SteinhardtJun 10, 2026
  50. 0/3 Documentation: recommend the use of b4Patrick Steinhardt, Jun 15, 2026
  51. 1/3 MyFirstContribution: recommend shallow threading of cover lettersPatrick Steinhardt, Jun 15, 2026
  52. 2/3 MyFirstContribution: recommend the use of b4Patrick Steinhardt, Jun 15, 2026
  53. 3/3 b4: introduce configuration for the Git projectPatrick Steinhardt, Jun 15, 2026
  54. Toon ClaesJun 16, 2026

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