Should use_github_links() really be on the release checklist?

[DavisVaughan]

It comes with usethis::use_release_issue()

It tries to change URL: https://vctrs.r-lib.org/ to URL: https://github.com/r-lib/vctrs, which is not what we wanted.

@hadley said this is likely a more community focused function, so we probably don't need it in our release checklist?

[jennybc]

I recently had an experience when spring cleaning which made me add this commit:

dac38d0

use_github_links() is not in the release checklist unconditionally; it's based on a test for whether the URL field looks like it needs to add GitHub links (has_github_links()). So I think the preferred solution is to improve has_github_links().

What was the full before and after for vctrs? I.e. if vctrs only listed the pkgdown site, I assume you would want to add the GitHub site. So maybe there's also something here about appending?

Related: I think it's also possible that we should have use_release_issue() for the community and use_tidy_release_issue().

[DavisVaughan]

Yea so unlike dplyr:

URL: https://dplyr.tidyverse.org, https://github.com/tidyverse/dplyr

the vctrs URLs only include the pkgdown site

URL: https://vctrs.r-lib.org/

I'm not opposed to adding the github one too

[jennybc]

Also for context, here's why it got added: #1704

[jennybc]

It's definitely our de facto standard to have both the pkgdown site and the GitHub site and I really hope we're not talking about changing that.

[DavisVaughan]

Yea it sounds like maybe the detection of the github link is working, but it should be appending to the list of existing urls rather than overwriting them entirely?

[jennybc]

I think up 'til now we've basically accepted that if this function does something to your URL field ... it might not do exactly what you want. But it gets your attention, so you do something.

[ateucher]

I think:

• has_github_links() is doing what it should - it looks for both the issues url in BugReports and the github repo url in URL. I think the fact that use_github_links() showed up in the vctrs release issue is correct as it only had the pkgdown site (I don't think it should detect a pkgdown site as a github link).
• If the github repo url is not present, use_github_links() should just append it to the list of urls rather than overwrite it (as @DavisVaughan said), otherwise do nothing.
• use_github_links() updates the BugReports url unconditionally with the issues url, which I think is fine

If this sounds right I'll do a PR so that use_github_links() appends the github url.

[jennybc]

Yes @ateucher sounds like a good plan.