From 3abd4a67d912e0c0980aa34def6ea55ebde84947 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Bradley M. Kuhn" Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2020 18:03:55 -0700 Subject: Documentation: stylistically normalize references to Signed-off-by: Ted reported an old typo in the git-commit.txt and merge-options.txt. Namely, the phrase "Signed-off-by line" was used without either a definite nor indefinite article. Upon examination, it seems that the documentation (including items in Documentation/, but also option help strings) have been quite inconsistent on usage when referring to `Signed-off-by`. First, very few places used a definite or indefinite article with the phrase "Signed-off-by line", but that was the initial typo that led to this investigation. So, normalize using either an indefinite or definite article consistently. The original phrasing, in Commit 3f971fc425b (Documentation updates, 2005-08-14), is "Add Signed-off-by line". Commit 6f855371a53 (Add --signoff, --check, and long option-names. 2005-12-09) switched to using "Add `Signed-off-by:` line", but didn't normalize the former commit to match. Later commits seem to have cut and pasted from one or the other, which is likely how the usage became so inconsistent. Junio stated on the git mailing list in a preference to leave off the colon. Thus, prefer `Signed-off-by` (with backticks) for the documentation files and Signed-off-by (without backticks) for option help strings. Additionally, Junio argued that "trailer" is now the standard term to refer to `Signed-off-by`, saying that "becomes plenty clear that we are not talking about any random line in the log message". As such, prefer "trailer" over "line" anywhere the former word fits. However, leave alone those few places in documentation that use Signed-off-by to refer to the process (rather than the specific trailer), or in places where mail headers are generally discussed in comparison with Signed-off-by. Reported-by: "Theodore Y. Ts'o" Signed-off-by: Bradley M. Kuhn Acked-by: Taylor Blau Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano --- Documentation/SubmittingPatches | 10 +++++----- 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-) (limited to 'Documentation/SubmittingPatches') diff --git a/Documentation/SubmittingPatches b/Documentation/SubmittingPatches index f83a050b35..3bf2147787 100644 --- a/Documentation/SubmittingPatches +++ b/Documentation/SubmittingPatches @@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ send them as replies to either an additional "cover letter" message (see below), the first patch, or the respective preceding patch. If your log message (including your name on the -Signed-off-by line) is not writable in ASCII, make sure that +`Signed-off-by` trailer) is not writable in ASCII, make sure that you send off a message in the correct encoding. WARNING: Be wary of your MUAs word-wrap @@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ previously sent. The `git format-patch` command follows the best current practice to format the body of an e-mail message. At the beginning of the patch should come your commit message, ending with the -Signed-off-by: lines, and a line that consists of three dashes, +`Signed-off-by` trailers, and a line that consists of three dashes, followed by the diffstat information and the patch itself. If you are forwarding a patch from somebody else, optionally, at the beginning of the e-mail message just before the commit @@ -298,7 +298,7 @@ Do not forget to add trailers such as `Acked-by:`, `Reviewed-by:` and patch. [[sign-off]] -=== Certify your work by adding your "Signed-off-by: " line +=== Certify your work by adding your `Signed-off-by` trailer 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 @@ -345,7 +345,7 @@ this: 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 +Notice that you can place your own `Signed-off-by` trailer when forwarding somebody else's patch with the above rules for 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 @@ -357,7 +357,7 @@ 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 +Also notice that a real name is used in the `Signed-off-by` trailer. Please don't hide your real name. [[commit-trailers]] -- cgit v1.2.3