[cyphar]

It's so that when you print the git-log graph, you don't end up with wrapping of the subject text for deeply-nested trees.

Also, in the kernel generally you reference a different commit in a commit message with the form 'commit <12 char commit id> ("subject")'. So further restricting it makes sense.

[nirvdrum]

Okay. But I contend that makes the whole log worth less because the short commit messages are often devoid of useful info. Granted, I don't have an email-based patch workflow; I look at logs on both GitHub and pulled in from the CLI. On GitHub, things are even worse because I have to constantly expand commits to see what actually changed.

In any event, I think teams should be free to adopt the workflow that works best for them without tools getting in the way. GitHub wrapping commit messages at 70 chars, even though I have more than plenty enough horizontal real estate, isn't helping anyone.