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authorJakub Kicinski <kuba@kernel.org>2023-05-22 16:09:03 -0700
committerJakub Kicinski <kuba@kernel.org>2023-05-23 21:11:54 -0700
commit7e7b3b097a9d95cd76fb462f83dc740b71bd73c0 (patch)
treef1797545d7aec771f9efd50ed5cca76816d527fc /Documentation/process
parent8a02fb71d7192ff1a9a47c9d937624966c6e09af (diff)
docs: netdev: document the existence of the mail bot
We had a good run, but after 4 weeks of use we heard someone asking about pw-bot commands. Let's explain its existence in the docs. It's not a complete documentation but hopefully it's enough for the casual contributor. The project and scope are in flux so the details would likely become out of date, if we were to document more in depth. Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20230522140057.GB18381@nucnuc.mle/ Reviewed-by: Andrew Lunn <andrew@lunn.ch> Reviewed-by: Simon Horman <simon.horman@corigine.com> Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20230522230903.1853151-1-kuba@kernel.org Signed-off-by: Jakub Kicinski <kuba@kernel.org>
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/process')
-rw-r--r--Documentation/process/maintainer-netdev.rst33
1 files changed, 26 insertions, 7 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/process/maintainer-netdev.rst b/Documentation/process/maintainer-netdev.rst
index f73ac9e175a8..83614cec9328 100644
--- a/Documentation/process/maintainer-netdev.rst
+++ b/Documentation/process/maintainer-netdev.rst
@@ -127,13 +127,32 @@ the value of ``Message-ID`` to the URL above.
Updating patch status
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-It may be tempting to help the maintainers and update the state of your
-own patches when you post a new version or spot a bug. Please **do not**
-do that.
-Interfering with the patch status on patchwork will only cause confusion. Leave
-it to the maintainer to figure out what is the most recent and current
-version that should be applied. If there is any doubt, the maintainer
-will reply and ask what should be done.
+Contributors and reviewers do not have the permissions to update patch
+state directly in patchwork. Patchwork doesn't expose much information
+about the history of the state of patches, therefore having multiple
+people update the state leads to confusion.
+
+Instead of delegating patchwork permissions netdev uses a simple mail
+bot which looks for special commands/lines within the emails sent to
+the mailing list. For example to mark a series as Changes Requested
+one needs to send the following line anywhere in the email thread::
+
+ pw-bot: changes-requested
+
+As a result the bot will set the entire series to Changes Requested.
+This may be useful when author discovers a bug in their own series
+and wants to prevent it from getting applied.
+
+The use of the bot is entirely optional, if in doubt ignore its existence
+completely. Maintainers will classify and update the state of the patches
+themselves. No email should ever be sent to the list with the main purpose
+of communicating with the bot, the bot commands should be seen as metadata.
+
+The use of the bot is restricted to authors of the patches (the ``From:``
+header on patch submission and command must match!), maintainers themselves
+and a handful of senior reviewers. Bot records its activity here:
+
+ https://patchwork.hopto.org/pw-bot.html
Review timelines
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~