mesh-issues: a milestone or commit link moves no issue and keeps no worker current (issue 1781)

The seed linked 188 issues at once and every one read as moved at the seed's minute, hiding when each
really moved; on a worked issue the link also counted as its worker's activity. These links only place
an issue, so last-moved and the worker's activity leave them out.

modules/mesh-issues/cmd/mesh-issues/list_progress_test.go

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"reflect"
+	"strings"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 )
@@ -26,6 +27,22 @@ func TestListSaysWhenEachIssueMovedAndKeepsTheLinkedOnes(t *testing.T) {
 	if _, err := h.Link(LinkAsk{Number: quiet, Kind: LinkDesign, Target: "03-DESIGN/01-to-be/47-delivery-from-commit-to-delivered.md"}); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
+	// Issue 1781: a milestone or a commit link places the issue and moves nothing, nor keeps its worker current.
+	if _, err := h.milestoneSet("lead@shanks", MilestoneSetAsk{Design: 47, ID: "R6", Outcome: "x"}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	h.fixing(t, noted)
+	worked, _ := h.Get(noted)
+	clock = clock.Add(time.Hour)
+	for _, l := range []LinkAsk{{Number: noted, Kind: LinkMilestone, Target: "47/R6"},
+		{Number: noted, Kind: LinkCommit, Target: "mesh-catalog@" + strings.Repeat("a", 40)}} {
+		if _, err := h.link("seed@shanks", l); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	if after, _ := h.Get(noted); !after.Worker.Active.Equal(worked.Worker.Active) {
+		t.Fatalf("a milestone link kept the worker current: %v, was %v", after.Worker.Active, worked.Worker.Active)
+	}
 	start := time.Date(2026, 10, 26, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
 	for _, c := range []struct {
 		name   string
@@ -35,7 +52,7 @@ func TestListSaysWhenEachIssueMovedAndKeepsTheLinkedOnes(t *testing.T) {
 		refuse bool
 	}{
 		{"numbers say moved", ListAsk{Numbers: []uint64{quiet, noted, linked}}, []uint64{quiet, noted, linked},
-			[]time.Time{start.Add(2 * time.Hour), start.Add(time.Hour), start.Add(2 * time.Hour)}, false},
+			[]time.Time{start.Add(2 * time.Hour), start.Add(2 * time.Hour), start.Add(2 * time.Hour)}, false},
 		{"linked to a decision", ListAsk{Linked: "decision:0493"}, []uint64{linked}, nil, false},
 		{"linked to a design", ListAsk{Linked: " design:03-DESIGN/01-to-be/47-delivery-from-commit-to-delivered.md"}, []uint64{quiet}, nil, false},
 		{"linked and numbers together", ListAsk{Linked: "decision:0493", Numbers: []uint64{quiet, noted}}, nil, nil, false},

modules/mesh-issues/cmd/mesh-issues/tracker.go

@@ -675,7 +675,9 @@ func (t *Tracker) link(by string, a LinkAsk) (*Linked, error) {
 					return fmt.Errorf("issue %d already has the %s link to %s", is.Number, kind, target)
 				}
 				is.Links = append(is.Links[:i:i], is.Links[i+1:]...)
-				touch(is, by, at)
+				if !placesOnly(kind) {
+					touch(is, by, at)
+				}
 				return nil
 			}
 		}
@@ -692,7 +694,9 @@ func (t *Tracker) link(by string, a LinkAsk) (*Linked, error) {
 			return fmt.Errorf("issue %d has %d links, the most one issue keeps", is.Number, MostLinks)
 		}
 		is.Links = append(is.Links, Link{Kind: kind, Target: target, By: by, At: at})
-		touch(is, by, at)
+		if !placesOnly(kind) {
+			touch(is, by, at)
+		}
 		return nil
 	})
 	if err != nil {
@@ -768,7 +772,7 @@ type Row struct {
 }
 
 // lastMoved is when an issue last changed, as its own record says: the latest of its opening, its closing, its
-// notes, its links, its worker's start and last act, its import and what the delivery last said of each fix.
+// notes, its links but those that only place it, its worker's start and last act, its import and what the delivery last said of each fix.
 func lastMoved(is *Issue) time.Time {
 	at := is.Opened
 	later := func(t time.Time) {
@@ -783,7 +787,9 @@ func lastMoved(is *Issue) time.Time {
 		later(n.At)
 	}
 	for _, l := range is.Links {
-		later(l.At)
+		if !placesOnly(l.Kind) {
+			later(l.At)
+		}
 	}
 	if w := is.Worker; w != nil {
 		later(w.Since)
@@ -798,6 +804,10 @@ func lastMoved(is *Issue) time.Time {
 	return at
 }
 
+// placesOnly says a link of this kind only places the issue (its milestone) or names a commit that fixed it: no work
+// on it, so it neither moves the issue nor keeps its worker current (issue 1781: the seed linked 188 issues at once).
+func placesOnly(kind string) bool { return kind == LinkMilestone || kind == LinkCommit }
+
 // checkLinked is a list's linked filter, kind:target, said the one way a link of that kind is kept.
 func checkLinked(s string) (kind, target string, err error) {
 	k, t, ok := strings.Cut(strings.TrimSpace(s), ":")