Re: [PATCH 2/6] MyFirstContribution: what if I don't get a reply?

From: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
Date: Jul 17, 2026, 11:12 UTC
Message-ID: <aloOAwOtutgPbJu2@pks.im>
In-Reply-To: <20260711192650.2417665-3-gitster@pobox.com>

On Sat, Jul 11, 2026 at 12:26:46PM -0700, Junio C Hamano wrote:

Show 22 quoted lines

> Tell readers that pinging is a perfectly sensible thing to do when
> they do not see a response.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
> ---
>  Documentation/MyFirstContribution.adoc | 13 +++++++++++++
>  1 file changed, 13 insertions(+)
> 
> diff --git a/Documentation/MyFirstContribution.adoc b/Documentation/MyFirstContribution.adoc
> index 4832e5bad5..fc2ce2e785 100644
> --- a/Documentation/MyFirstContribution.adoc
> +++ b/Documentation/MyFirstContribution.adoc
> @@ -1438,6 +1438,19 @@ substantial rework, and mention which parts of the current series will become
>  obsolete so reviewers can avoid spending time on them until the updated series
>  is ready.
>  
> +=== What if I don't get a reply?
> +
> +If you don't receive any review comments after a week or two, do not
> +assume your patch has been accepted or merged.  In the Git project,
> +silence does not equal approval.  It usually means reviewers are busy
> +or haven't noticed your contribution.

Should we also add the third reason: reviewers are simply not interested in the patch? It's a bit brutal, but that's quite a common reason, too. In the best case we'd of course tell the submitter that we don't want the patch to not leave them hanging.

Show 5 quoted lines

> +If your patch is overlooked, it is perfectly acceptable to send a
> +polite ping to the thread.  You can do this by replying to your own
> +cover letter (or patch) to ask if anyone has had a chance to look at
> +it.  You can also CC additional people who might be interested; use
> +the `git-contacts` script (mentioned earlier) to find relevant contributors.

And this paragraph here can remain as-is regardless of which of the three reasons applies.

Patrick