DCO: Was: Re: Contributing to gdb

[Eli Zaretskii]

> From: NightStrike <nightstrike@gmail.com>
> Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2024 20:43:05 -0400
> Cc: Arsen Arsenović <arsen@aarsen.me>, blarsen@redhat.com, 
> 	pinskia@gmail.com, gdb@sourceware.org, binutils@sourceware.org
> 
> On Tue, Jun 18, 2024 at 7:55 AM Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> wrote:
> > > From: Arsen Arsenović <arsen@aarsen.me>
> > > I've, for a long time, avoided contributing to projects with 'legal
> > > routine' requirements (DCO included) due to the implications of sharing
> > > real names.
> >
> > There's no need to share a real name.  The assignments on file have
> > quite a few names that are withheld, with only a pseudonym on file.
> > This is a non-issue, for all practical purposes.  And, as you point
> > out, using DCOs doesn't change this aspect in any way.
> 
> Is this really true?  I was denied being able to work on GCC for this
> reason (many years ago, before DCO), because I refused to reveal my
> PII.  I pointed out that a real-sounding fake name is no better than a
> fake-sounding fake name, which eventually led to someone (I think Ian)
> explaining that sharing your name is only the first step in validating
> someone's identity.  I never pursued it further.

IME, it's true.  Like I said, I see in the assignments on file names
of people that are pseudonyms, with real names "withheld".

> Can you please explain how copyright assignments are validated if you
> don't have to share your real name, as opposed to providing a
> real-sounding fake name?  This one point has prevented my own
> contributions since 2008; I've limited myself to simply running tests
> and opening PR's.

If you are asking me from the POV of a maintainer of a GNU project
(Emacs), then whether the name is real or not doesn't bother me.  As
long as the assignment for "Some Name <some@email.address>" is on
file, I accept the contributions, no questions asked.

If you are asking me from the POV of the FSF copyright-assignment
clerk, the person who deals with the copyright-assignment process,
then I don't know how they do it.  I suggest to ask them.  They can be
reached at copyright-clerk@fsf.org.