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Adopt Gitlab Description Templates for new issues and PRs

Currently the infrastructure repository does not seem to be using any templates for posting new issues or submitting PRs. This can be problematic as it is left to the reporter's discretion what type of information to include which might be insufficient.

Now, according to @svenstaro:

All in all, I don't want to over complicate things for us and I don't estimate us getting too many MRs for infrastructure and so we might not need it but I might be wrong.

This is totally understandable since infrastructure is not a software project per se that includes releases, bug fixes and that is consumed directly by users. Maybe my engineering roots are kicking in but I personally feel that some form of standardization is needed. We can start with simple templates and adjust them as we see fit after seeing how things pan out.

I do not want to enforce any changes on how things should work since I am new here but I propose that we at least give it a try.

Here are some benefits of issue and PR templates:

  • It will make the repository look more professional to existing contributors and outside users. Initial impressions are very important,
  • A well organized repository will possibly attract new contributors who have standards (we should be aiming to grow the team not only for the infra repo but the whole spectrum of Arch projects).
  • It will encourage people (internally and externally) to report issues since they will just have to fill in the blanks based on what we specify
  • It will ensure that all the info we need to take on an issue / review a PR is available upon submission
  • It is possible to have multiple templates per issue type bug,feature etc that will further improve prioritization and organization

Overall I like to think about this as taking things seriously. You know what they say now when working from home wake up early, dress properly and act as if you are in the office. Same goes for all projects. I know the issues /PRs are mostly created by the existing team but still we should be aiming for better workflow regardless of how small repo/team we are.

Another relevant part is that it seems like we are missing a contributing guide which is also of equal importance. We need to eliminate things like:

image

which is a very valid point and should be made more apparent to all contributors existing ones and new ones.

The efforts necessary to put some templates together is relatively small but it will require input from the core DevOps team so that everyone is in agreement of what each template includes.

Here is the documentation link to get started!

https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/description_templates.html

I will be happy to discuss more with the team so please do share your thoughts.

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