d117ea6b3f
.. noting that we require all submitted code to be licensed compatibly with the GPLv2 with "or later" clause Signed-off-by: Jeff Epler <jepler@unpythonic.net>
46 lines
2.4 KiB
Text
46 lines
2.4 KiB
Text
To improve tracking of who did what, we use the "sign-off" procedure
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introduced by the Linux kernel. The sign-off is a simple line at the
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end of the explanation for the patch, which certifies that you wrote
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it or otherwise have the right to pass it on as an open-source patch.
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The rules are pretty simple: if you can certify the Developer's
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Certificate of Origin 1.1 with GPLv2+ clause (see the
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developer-certificate-of-origin file), then you just add a line saying
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Signed-off-by: Random J Developer <random@developer.example.org>
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using your real name (sorry, no pseudonyms or anonymous
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contributions). This line can be automatically added by git if you
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run the git-commit command with the -s option.
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If you like, you can put extra tags at the end:
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1. "Reported-by:" is used to credit someone who found the bug that
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the patch attempts to fix.
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2. "Acked-by:" says that the person who is more familiar with the area
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the patch attempts to modify liked the patch.
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3. "Reviewed-by:", unlike the other tags, can only be offered by the
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reviewer and means that she is completely satisfied that the patch
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is ready for application. It is usually offered only after a
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detailed review.
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4. "Tested-by:" is used to indicate that the person applied the patch
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and found it to have the desired effect.
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You can also create your own tag or use one that's in common usage
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such as "Thanks-to:", "Based-on-patch-by:", or "Mentored-by:".
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Sometimes you need to slightly modify patches you receive in order to
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merge them, because the code is not exactly the same in your tree and
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the submitters'. If you stick strictly to rule (c), you should ask the
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submitter to rediff, but this is a totally counter-productive waste of
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time and energy. Rule (b) allows you to adjust the code, but then it
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is very impolite to change one submitter's code and make him endorse
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your bugs. To solve this problem, it is recommended that you add a
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line between the last Signed-off-by header and yours, indicating the
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nature of your changes. While there is nothing mandatory about this,
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it seems like prepending the description with your mail and/or name,
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all enclosed in square brackets, is noticeable enough to make it
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obvious that you are responsible for last-minute changes. Example :
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Signed-off-by: Random J Developer <random@developer.example.org>
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[lucky@maintainer.example.org: struct foo moved from foo.c to foo.h]
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Signed-off-by: Lucky K Maintainer <lucky@maintainer.example.org>
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