Elijah Newren [off-list ref] writes:

Also, gitgitgadget #1156 was opened because of my suggestion to do
this as a "leftoverbit", i.e. I was suggesting it as a micro-project
to new people.  I should have checked at the time that it was a valid
micro-project, but neglected to do so.  You merely came along and
started implementing what was suggested.

Anyway, the point of the GSoC microprojects are to make sure you are
familiar with how to format and submit patches to the mailing list and
respond; having the code you contribute in a microproject be accepted
is not required, just a bonus.  And you clearly managed to send the
patch to the list, had a correctly formatted commit message (short
summary with area and correct lack of capitalization, good
descriptions, signed-off-by), got the additional notes for reviewers
(very helpful!) in the correct spot, etc., so I still see this as a
successful microproject for you.  I apologize for not doing my due
diligence when I suggested it, and for us not catching that it should
have been closed when someone implemented the valid half of the
suggestion last year.

One possible action item for us may be to rename or give comment to
highlight the in-place destructive nature of the function to make it
easier for developers to use (or avoid misusing) it.