Derrick Stolee [off-list ref] writes:

My initial thought was that the sign-off was supposed to be a purposeful
decision, but then I also realized that I never do anything in the Git
codebase that I _can't_ put online under the GPL. (It may not make it
upstream, but it will always be put online somewhere.)

Hmm...

Sorry, but I do not quite understand the flow of your logic here,
especially, how "but then I also realized" trumps "signing off a
patch is a conscious act---it would weaken the legal meaning if you
automate it", which was why we deliberately avoided adding this
configuration variable for the last 10+ years.

So, I dunno.