Re: Proper way to checkout a tag?

On Wed, Dec 1, 2010 at 1:51 PM, Jonathan Nieder [off-list ref] wrote:

The idea is this: when you check out a tag or a remote-tracking
branch, it is not to make changes to it.  Tags are unchanging,
remote-tracking branches track remote state that the user does not
directly control.

Yes, users checkout a release tag just so they can build parts of it.
There's definitely no intention of creating new changes on top of
them, and if there is then it should properly be a head (branch).

I guess that's exactly the use-case for detached HEAD, so I guess the
answer is that we should all stop being afraid of that superficially
scary term.

Thanks, D