Published at LXer:

Andrew Morton submitted some documentation explaining the use of the "Signed-off-by" and "Acked-by" tags added when patches are submitted for conclusion into the Linux kernel. "The Signed-off-by: tag implies that the signer was involved in the development of the patch, or that he/she was in the patch's delivery path," the documentation explains, "if a person was not directly involved in the preparation or handling of a patch but wishes to signify and record their approval of it then they can arrange to have an Acked-by: line added to the patch's changelog."

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