Re: [GIT PULL] tracing: Fix to recursion protection for 5.15

From: Linus Torvalds
Date: Thu Oct 21 2021 - 02:27:38 EST


On Wed, Oct 20, 2021 at 8:16 PM Joe Perches <joe@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Generally, a tool like b4 should be able to create a list of any
> email addresses in a thread linked commit.

I really think Cc lines are very useful.

That said, they are *more* useful when they are thought about, than
when they are automated.

IOW, the "these people are relevant to this patch" is simply very
useful information, and no, neither "get_maintainer" nor some set
gathered automatically from a patch submission is a replacement for
actual _thought_ behind it.

I will, for example, strive to put the people who _participated_ in
some discussion as the "Cc" list - they may not have acked a patch, or
reviewed it, but they might have piped up in the discussion, and that
probably merits them then knowing about any problems it causes.

And honestly, the "b4" information you mention is almost useless. Why?
Because people who do the "Link:" and "Cc:" information based on the
automation they picked up the patch from often don't look at the part
that is _really_ relevant, namely the discussion that _caused_ the
patch. IOW, the original report, possibly earlier versions of the
patch etc etc.

Mindless "take the cc list from the emailed submission of the patch"
is still somewhat useful in that it avoids having to look it up later
when something happens, but really, a bit of human mindful editing is
probably called for.

Linus