From: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>

Explain what we use Acked-by: for, and how it differs from Signed-off-by:
Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
---

 Documentation/SubmittingPatches |   15 ++++++++++++++-
 1 file changed, 14 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff -puN Documentation/SubmittingPatches~document-acked-by Documentation/SubmittingPatches
--- a/Documentation/SubmittingPatches~document-acked-by
+++ a/Documentation/SubmittingPatches
@@ -328,7 +328,20 @@ now, but you can do this to mark interna
 point out some special detail about the sign-off. 
 
 
-12) The canonical patch format
+12) When to use Acked-by:
+
+The Signed-off-by: tag implies that the signer was involved in the development
+of the patch, or that he/she was in the patch's delivery path.
+
+If a person was not directly involved in the preparation or handling of a
+patch but wishes to signify and record their approval of it then they can
+arrange to have an Acked-by: line added to the patch's changelog.
+
+Acked-by: is often used by the maintainer of the affected code when that
+maintainer neither wrote, merged nor forwarded the patch themselves.
+
+
+13) The canonical patch format
 
 The canonical patch subject line is:
 
_
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