docs: clarify CNAME behavior for GitHub Pages forks - #238
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Pull request overview
This PR updates the contributor documentation to better explain how to preview changes via GitHub Pages on a fork, with specific guidance around the repository’s CNAME/custom-domain behavior.
Changes:
- Rewrites “Testing Changes on Github” into clearer numbered steps for enabling GitHub Pages on a fork.
- Adds an expanded explanation of the upstream
CNAMEfile and what contributors should expect when enabling Pages on forks. - Clarifies that Pages URLs differ from the repository’s wiki feature and that CNAME-related emails can be ignored.
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Pull request overview
Copilot reviewed 1 out of 1 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.
Suppressed comments (1)
Previously missed (1) — in code that hasn't changed since the last review.
Development/Contributing-to-Heads-Wiki.md:85
- The heading uses "Github" instead of the correct "GitHub" capitalization.
### Testing Changes on Github
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Development/Contributing-to-Heads-Wiki.md:85
- The section header uses "Github" instead of the correct "GitHub" capitalization, which is inconsistent with the rest of the updated instructions.
This issue also appears on line 113 of the same file.
### Testing Changes on Github
You may use GitHub to render the changes for review by others. To do this:
1. Go to your fork of the heads-wiki on GitHub.com and click **Settings**.
Development/Contributing-to-Heads-Wiki.md:117
- Grammar: "prior of pushing" should be "prior to pushing" (or similar).
Please note that the GitHub Pages URL for your fork is different from
the wiki Pages feature available in the GitHub repository sidebar.
### Verifying broken links
Please verify `https://YOUR_USERNAME_HERE.github.io/heads-wiki/` with `https://validator.w3.org/checklink` prior of pushing your changes.
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Re-requesting Copilot review after fixing review feedback.
- Use consistent Settings > Pages navigation path with URL examples - Use USERNAME placeholder (not YOUR_USERNAME_HERE) for Settings URL - Capitalize standalone "github" to "GitHub" throughout - Remove trailing whitespace from lines
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Copilot reviewed 1 out of 1 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.
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Development/Contributing-to-Heads-Wiki.md:101
- This instruction line is significantly longer than nearby lines and breaks the document’s existing hard-wrap formatting. Wrapping it improves readability and keeps future diffs smaller.
`https://YOUR_USERNAME_HERE.github.io/heads-wiki/`. To fix this, go to your fork's
**Settings** tab (`https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME_HERE/heads-wiki/settings`), select **Pages** in the left sidebar, and **clear the "Custom domain" field**, then save.
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Development/Contributing-to-Heads-Wiki.md:108
- The bolded sentence is split across a newline, which can render inconsistently in some Markdown pipelines. Consider keeping the entire emphasized sentence on one line for more predictable formatting.
your pull request diff. **You do not need to delete or rename the
`CNAME` file** in your branch.
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Pull request overview
Copilot reviewed 1 out of 1 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.
Suppressed comments (1)
Previously missed (1) — in code that hasn't changed since the last review.
Development/Contributing-to-Heads-Wiki.md:112
- The statement that clearing the Pages “Custom domain” field does not modify/delete the
CNAMEfile (and therefore won’t affect a PR diff) appears incorrect. GitHub Pages can create an automatic commit that removesCNAMEfrom the root of the selected source branch when the custom domain is removed, which could unexpectedly change a contributor’s PR branch/history.
This is a Pages configuration change only — it does **not** modify or
delete the tracked `CNAME` file in your branch, so it will not change
your pull request diff. **You do not need to delete or rename the
`CNAME` file** in your branch.
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Pull request overview
Copilot reviewed 1 out of 1 changed files in this pull request and generated no new comments.
Suppressed comments (1)
Previously missed (1) — in code that hasn't changed since the last review.
Development/Contributing-to-Heads-Wiki.md:104
- Optional readability: this sentence is fairly long and repeats “DNS”, which makes it harder to parse. Consider splitting it into a shorter sentence while keeping the same meaning.
Because the fork owner does not control the `osresearch.net` DNS, this
commonly causes GitHub to associate your fork with the `osresearch.net`
custom domain, which shows a custom-domain error because you don't control
that DNS, meaning your fork may not be viewable at
`https://YOUR_USERNAME_HERE.github.io/heads-wiki/`. To fix this,
|
Superseding in #240: the CNAME/custom-domain explanation (and the GitHub wording / ** NOTE:** spacing fixes) have been reconciled into PR #240's 'Testing Changes on GitHub' section. #238 and #240 both edit the same file section and cannot both merge cleanly, and #240 now carries all of #238's content in a coherent section, so this PR is closed as superseded. |
Fixes #235
Documents the top-level
CNAMEfile (theosresearch.netcustom domain) and how it affects GitHub Pages on contributor forks. Makes clear that the fix when a fork redirects or shows a custom-domain warning is to clear the "Custom domain" field in the fork's Pages settings, and that deleting/renaming the trackedCNAMEfile is neither required nor desired (it would change the PR diff). Also fixes the** NOTE:**spacing in the CNAME email note.