[james-skemp]

Based upon username will assume author shared it here:

You've neglected to state what commit messages do matter, unless you think none do.

In my experience, commit messages only don't matter if the code is never used beyond the first creation.

Once you have to maintain the code, commit messages absolutely matter.

Does it need to include the granular details mentioned in the article? No. But commit messages help determine what commits should be reviewed during maintenance (including adding new functionality).

(I also experienced a touch of cosmic fear while reading the article, thinking about someone who might rebase or squash every commit, leaving only one commit for an entire repo.)