Re: RFC: Github PR bot questions

[Willy Tarreau <w@1wt.eu>]

Hi Konstantin,

On Wed, Jun 16, 2021 at 01:18:13PM -0400, Konstantin Ryabitsev wrote:
> - We can *probably* track when patch series get applied and auto-close pull
>   requests that are accepted

In haproxy we have a bot that forwards PRs to the mailing list. It
CCs the author and sends a gentle message saying that reviews are
made in public using plain-text e-mails, and that for this reason
the PR is automatically closed. And I think it's easier for both
sides, because users who are used to PRs would probably count a bit
too much on the "github mode", where they're certain that someone
will eventually notice that the PR count went from 1137 to 1138 and
will have a look, while it's certain that there will be quite some
losses, and by warning the submitter upfront there is less surprise.

In addition, responding to reviews over e-mail and having the submitter
do the same along the discussion basically means that everyone will
forget about closing the issue. Also one of the benefits of e-mail is
that maintainers can ultimately fix some typos in the commit message
or adjust the subject before committing, something which will quickly
confuse the bot.

For these reasons I think that instant close (with a gentle message)
will be more robust.

Just my two cents,
Willy