Re: [PATCH] Add a stub CONTRIBUTING.md pointing to the wiki

["Laszlo Ersek" <lersek@redhat.com>]

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On 08/12/20 00:51, Cole Robinson wrote:
> On 8/11/20 5:55 PM, Laszlo Ersek wrote:
>> On 08/11/20 20:09, Cole Robinson wrote:
>>> Googling for 'edk2 pull request' did not find this wiki page:
>>>
>>> https://github.com/tianocore/tianocore.github.io/wiki/EDK-II-Development-Process
>>>
>>> Add it to CONTRIBUTING.md for more discoverability
>>>
>>> Signed-off-by: Cole Robinson <crobinso@redhat.com>
>>> ---
>>> I tried submitting a PR to edk2: https://github.com/tianocore/edk2/pull/854
>>>
>>> It was auto closed with: `All checks passed. Auto close personal build.`
>>>
>>> That confused me quite a bit. I could not understand what it was trying
>>> to say. I looked at other successfully merged PRs, noticed some hits
>>> about a 'push' label, but on looking to resubmit the PR it didn't seem
>>> like I had permission to set labels. Googling did not turn up any explanatory
>>> hits in the first two pages either. Eventually Laszlo pointed me in the
>>> right direction though
>>>
>>> A couple other suggestions to avoid that confusion
>>>
>>> * Extend the mergify message to clarify PRs are largely only meant for
>>>   maintainers to use. Maybe point at the wiki page or CONTRIBUTING.md
>>>
>>> * Add a github new PR template with a comment giving more explanation:
>>> https://docs.github.com/en/github/building-a-strong-community/creating-a-pull-request-template-for-your-repository
>>>
>>>  CONTRIBUTING.md | 3 +++
>>>  1 file changed, 3 insertions(+)
>>>  create mode 100644 CONTRIBUTING.md
>>>
>>> diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
>>> new file mode 100644
>>> index 0000000000..212c69ce8b
>>> --- /dev/null
>>> +++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
>>> @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
>>> +# Contributing to EDK2
>>> +
>>> +Contributor documentation is maintained on the wiki: https://github.com/tianocore/tianocore.github.io/wiki/EDK-II-Development-Process
>>>
>>
>> Does github display "CONTRIBUTING.md" automatically?
>>
>> Hm... If I check <https://github.com/virt-manager/virt-manager/>, there's an explicit reference to "CONTRIBUTING.md" at the bottom of "README.md"; github.com seems to display "README.md" only.
>>
>> Is this patch useful without modifying "ReadMe.rst"?
>>
> 
> When submitting a new pull request via the web UI, github will link to
> CONTRIBUTING.md for that repo if it exists. I just tried with
> virt-manager: for first time PRs it will give a pop up notification, but
> it also always shows a link in a small line underneath the initial PR
> comment box. Previously it was linked at the top IIRC.
> 
> Some more info here:
> https://docs.github.com/en/github/building-a-strong-community/setting-guidelines-for-repository-contributors

This has convinced me, thanks. I've tried the above myself, and it is
indeed as you explain (see the screenshot with highlights attached). And
both highlighted links refer to:

https://github.com/virt-manager/virt-manager/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md


I suggest extending the commit message:

"""
Add it to CONTRIBUTING.md for more discoverability.

(When someone opens a pull request, they will see a link to
CONTRIBUTING.md; see
<https://docs.github.com/en/github/building-a-strong-community/setting-guidelines-for-repository-contributors>.)
"""

But we can edit the commit message like this this without a resubmit.


> 
>>
>> ... Actually, the section at
>>
>>   https://github.com/tianocore/edk2/#resources
>>
>> includes "How To Contribute" ->
>>
>>   https://github.com/tianocore/tianocore.github.io/wiki/How-To-Contribute
>>
>> Is that unhelpful (or difficult to find)?
> 
> I did not read the Readme TBH. I did grep sources for a link to that
> wiki page you linked me, and 'pull request' to see if I was missing doc
> links.
> 
> Maybe CONTRIBUTING.md isn't the way to go. I mostly wanted to start a
> discussion about how to make it clear to drive-by contributors that PRs
> aren't meant for them. Changing the mergify message or pull request
> message template is more targeted. But they will probably want to link
> to a document that explains the PR workflow better, and that
> EDK-II-Development-Process is the closest I've seen so far

I agree with both of your other suggestions (extending the mergify
message upon auto-close, and adding a PR template with some
explanation), but I'd also like us to apply this patch -- because github
does reference CONTRIBUTING.md automatically.

Reviewed-by: Laszlo Ersek <lersek@redhat.com>

Andrew, Leif, Mike, do you have comments?

Thanks!
Laszlo

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