Update the attribution policy to use the 'Author' property of a git commit

Summary:
The older method of adding 'Patch by John Doe' is documented in the
`Attribution of Changes` section to support correct attribution of commits
that pre-date the adoption of git.

Reviewers: hfinkel, aaron.ballman, mehdi_amini

Subscribers: llvm-commits

Tags: #llvm

Differential Revision: https://reviews.llvm.org/D72468

diff --git a/llvm/docs/DeveloperPolicy.rst b/llvm/docs/DeveloperPolicy.rst
index 09574fe..b31ef42 100644 (file)
--- a/llvm/docs/DeveloperPolicy.rst
+++ b/llvm/docs/DeveloperPolicy.rst
@@ -292,8 +292,15 @@ all there is to the change.
 
 Below are some guidelines about the format of the message itself:
 
-* Separate the commit message into title, body and, if you're not the original
-  author, a "Patch by" attribution line (see below).
+* Separate the commit message into title and body separated by a blank line.
+
+* If you're not the original author, ensure the 'Author' property of the commit is
+  set to the original author and the 'Committer' property is set to yourself.
+  You can use a command similar to
+  ``git commit --amend --author="John Doe <jdoe@llvm.org>`` to correct the
+  author property if it is incorrect. See `Attribution of Changes`_ for more
+  information including the method we used for attribution before the project
+  migrated to git.
 
 * The title should be concise. Because all commits are emailed to the list with
   the first line as the subject, long titles are frowned upon.  Short titles
@@ -314,11 +321,6 @@ Below are some guidelines about the format of the message itself:
 
 * If the patch fixes a bug in bugzilla, please include the PR# in the message.
 
-* `Attribution of Changes`_ should be in a separate line, after the end of
-  the body, as simple as "Patch by John Doe.". This is how we officially
-  handle attribution, and there are automated processes that rely on this
-  format.
-
 * Text formatting and spelling should follow the same rules as documentation
   and in-code comments, ex. capitalization, full stop, etc.
 
@@ -340,6 +342,11 @@ We grant commit access to contributors with a track record of submitting high
 quality patches.  If you would like commit access, please send an email to
 `Chris <mailto:clattner@llvm.org>`_ with your GitHub username.
 
+Prior to obtaining commit access, it is common practice to request that
+someone with commit access commits on your behalf. When doing so, please
+provide the name and email address you would like to use in the Author
+property of the commit.
+
 Your first commit to a repository may require the autogenerated email to be
 approved by a moderator of the mailing list.
 This is normal and will be done when the mailing list owner has time.
@@ -489,6 +496,11 @@ etc.). The author should first submit them to the relevant project's commit
 list, development list, or LLVM bug tracker component. If someone sends you
 a patch privately, encourage them to submit it to the appropriate list first.
 
+Our previous version control system (subversion) did not distinguish between the
+author and the committer like git does. As such, older commits used a different
+attribution mechanism. The previous method was to include "Patch by John Doe."
+in a separate line of the commit message and there are automated processes that
+rely on this format.
 
 .. _IR backwards compatibility: