Subject: Re: [PATCH v2] git-commit.txt: clarify -t requires editing message

From: Junio C Hamano <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:05:43 -0700

Adam Monsen <[email-masked]> writes:

> diff --git a/Documentation/git-commit.txt b/Documentation/git-commit.txt
> index 5cc84a1..c6df120 100644
> --- a/Documentation/git-commit.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/git-commit.txt
> @@ -133,10 +133,12 @@ OPTIONS
>  -t <file>::
>  --template=<file>::
>  	Use the contents of the given file as the initial version
> +	of the commit message. The editor is invoked so you can
> +	make subsequent changes. If you make no changes, the message
> +	is considered empty and the commit is aborted. If a message
> +	is specified using the `-m` or `-F` options, this option has
> +	no effect. This overrides the `commit.template`
> +	configuration variable.

First, think of template not as the "initial version" but as "a form that
needs to be filled", and imagine that you are explaining to a beginner how
to create a commit.

The word you would choose to use would be very different if you rephrase
the above after doing that mental exercise, and I suspect that it would
become much easier to read.

For example:

    - subsequent changes --> fill in the form
    - If ... considerede empty and --> If you did not fill the form