Merge branch 'docs-feature-flag-note' into 'master'

Updated feature flag documentation guidance

See merge request gitlab-org/gitlab!66783

doc/administration/feature_flags.md

@@ -31,16 +31,27 @@ These features can be enabled and disabled to allow or disallow users to use
 them. It can be done by GitLab administrators with access to GitLab Rails
 console.
 
+When you disable a feature flag, the feature is hidden from users and all of the functionality is turned off.
+For example, data is not recorded and services do not run.
+
 If you used a certain feature and identified a bug, a misbehavior, or an
 error, it's very important that you [**provide feedback**](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/new?issue[title]=Docs%20-%20feature%20flag%20feedback%3A%20Feature%20Name&issue[description]=Describe%20the%20problem%20you%27ve%20encountered.%0A%0A%3C!--%20Don%27t%20edit%20below%20this%20line%20--%3E%0A%0A%2Flabel%20~%22docs%5C-comments%22%20) to GitLab as soon
 as possible so we can improve or fix it while behind a flag. When you upgrade
 GitLab to an earlier version, the feature flag status may change.
 
-WARNING:
-Features deployed behind feature flags may not be ready for
-production use. However, disabling features behind flags that were deployed
-enabled by default may also present a risk. If they're enabled, we recommend
-you leave them as-is.
+## Risks when enabling features still in development
+
+Features that are disabled by default may change or be removed without notice in a future version of GitLab.
+
+Data corruption, stability degradation, or performance degradation might occur if
+you enable a feature that's disabled by default. Problems caused by using a default
+disabled feature aren't covered by GitLab support, unless you were directed by GitLab
+to enable the feature.
+
+## Risks when disabling released features
+
+In most cases, the feature flag code is removed in a future version of GitLab.
+If and when that occurs, from that point onward you can't keep the feature in a disabled state.
 
 ## How to enable and disable features behind flags
 

doc/administration/instance_limits.md

@@ -491,7 +491,7 @@ A runner's registration fails if it exceeds the limit for the scope determined b
 > - To use in GitLab self-managed instances, ask a GitLab administrator to [enable it](#enable-or-disable-job-log-limits). **(FREE SELF)**
 
 This in-development feature might not be available for your use. There can be
-[risks when enabling features still in development](../user/feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
+[risks when enabling features still in development](../administration/feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
 Refer to this feature's version history for more details.
 
 The job log file size limit is 100 megabytes by default. Any job that exceeds this value is dropped.

doc/api/graphql/custom_emoji.md

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated w
 > - To use in GitLab self-managed instances, ask a GitLab administrator to [enable it](#enable-or-disable-custom-emoji-api). **(FREE SELF)**
 
 This in-development feature might not be available for your use. There can be
-[risks when enabling features still in development](../../user/feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
+[risks when enabling features still in development](../../administration/feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
 Refer to this feature's version history for more details.
 
 To use custom emoji in comments and descriptions, you can add them to a group using the GraphQL API.

doc/api/group_protected_environments.md

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ type: concepts, howto
 > - To use in GitLab self-managed instances, ask a GitLab administrator to [enable it](../ci/environments/protected_environments.md#enable-or-disable-group-level-protected-environments). **(FREE SELF)**
 
 This in-development feature might not be available for your use. There can be
-[risks when enabling features still in development](../user/feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
+[risks when enabling features still in development](../administration/feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
 Refer to this feature's version history for more details.
 
 Read more about [group-level protected environments](../ci/environments/protected_environments.md#group-level-protected-environments),

doc/api/index.md

@@ -254,7 +254,7 @@ tries to steal tokens from other jobs.
 > - To use in GitLab self-managed instances, ask a GitLab administrator to [enable it](#enable-or-disable-ci-job-token-scope-limit). **(FREE SELF)**
 
 This in-development feature might not be available for your use. There can be
-[risks when enabling features still in development](../user/feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
+[risks when enabling features still in development](../administration/feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
 Refer to this feature's version history for more details.
 
 You can limit the access scope of a project's CI/CD job token to increase the

doc/ci/environments/protected_environments.md

@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ For more information, see [Deployment safety](deployment_safety.md).
 > - To use in GitLab self-managed instances, ask a GitLab administrator to [enable it](#enable-or-disable-group-level-protected-environments). **(FREE SELF)**
 
 This in-development feature might not be available for your use. There can be
-[risks when enabling features still in development](../../user/feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
+[risks when enabling features still in development](../../administration/feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
 Refer to this feature's version history for more details.
 
 Typically, large enterprise organizations have an explicit permission boundary

doc/ci/pipelines/index.md

@@ -362,7 +362,7 @@ you visualize the entire pipeline, including all cross-project inter-dependencie
 > - To disable in GitLab self-managed instances, ask a GitLab administrator to [disable it](#enable-or-disable-job-dependency-view). **(FREE SELF)**
 
 This in-development feature might not be available for your use. There can be
-[risks when enabling features still in development](../../user/feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
+[risks when enabling features still in development](../../administration/feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
 Refer to this feature's version history for more details.
 
 You can arrange jobs in the pipeline graph based on their [`needs`](../yaml/index.md#needs)

doc/ci/yaml/index.md

@@ -474,7 +474,7 @@ Use local includes instead of symbolic links.
 > - For GitLab self-managed instances, GitLab administrators can opt to disable it. **(CORE ONLY)**
 
 There can be
-[risks when disabling released features](../../user/feature_flags.md#risks-when-disabling-released-features).
+[risks when disabling released features](../../administration/feature_flags.md#risks-when-disabling-released-features).
 Refer to this feature's version history for more details.
 
 You can use wildcard paths (`*` and `**`) with `include:local`.

doc/user/admin_area/monitoring/background_migrations.md

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated w
 > - Recommended for production use.
 > - For GitLab self-managed instances, GitLab administrators can opt to [disable it](#enable-or-disable-batched-background-migrations). **(FREE SELF)**
 
-There can be [risks when disabling released features](../../../user/feature_flags.md#risks-when-disabling-released-features).
+There can be [risks when disabling released features](../../../administration/feature_flags.md#risks-when-disabling-released-features).
 Refer to this feature's version history for more details.
 
 To update database tables in batches, GitLab can use batched background migrations. These migrations
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ Feature.disable(:execute_batched_migrations_on_schedule)
 > - Recommended for production use.
 > - For GitLab self-managed instances, GitLab administrators can opt to [disable it](#enable-or-disable-automatic-batch-size-optimization). **(FREE SELF)**
 
-There can be [risks when disabling released features](../../../user/feature_flags.md#risks-when-disabling-released-features).
+There can be [risks when disabling released features](../../../administration/feature_flags.md#risks-when-disabling-released-features).
 Refer to this feature's version history for more details.
 
 To maximize throughput of batched background migrations (in terms of the number of tuples updated per time unit), batch sizes are automatically adjusted based on how long the previous batches took to complete.

doc/user/application_security/dependency_scanning/index.md

@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ WARNING:
 This feature might not be available to you. Check the **version history** note above for details.
 
 There can be
-[risks when disabling released features](../../../user/feature_flags.md#risks-when-disabling-released-features).
+[risks when disabling released features](../../../administration/feature_flags.md#risks-when-disabling-released-features).
 Refer to this feature's version history for more details.
 
 To enable Dependency Scanning in a project, you can create a merge request

doc/user/feature_flags.md

@@ -20,21 +20,13 @@ may be unavailable to you.
 In this case, you'll see a warning like this in the feature documentation:
 
 This in-development feature might not be available for your use. There can be
-[risks when enabling features still in development](#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
+[risks when enabling features still in development](../administration/feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
 Refer to this feature's version history for more details.
 
 In the version history note, you'll find information on the state of the
 feature flag, including whether the feature is on ("enabled by default") or
 off ("disabled by default") for self-managed GitLab instances and for users of
-GitLab.com. To see the full notes:
-
-1. Click the three-dots icon (ellipsis) to expand version history notes:
-
-   ![Version history note with FF information](img/version_history_notes_collapsed_v13_2.png)
-
-1. Read the version history information:
-
-   ![Version history note with FF information](img/feature_flags_history_note_info_v13_2.png)
+GitLab.com.
 
 If you're a user of a GitLab self-managed instance and you want to try to use a
 disabled feature, you can ask a [GitLab administrator to enable it](../administration/feature_flags.md),
@@ -42,17 +34,3 @@ although changing a feature's default state isn't recommended.
 
 If you're a GitLab.com user and the feature is disabled, be aware that GitLab may
 be working on the feature for potential release in the future.
-
-## Risks when enabling features still in development
-
-Features that are disabled by default may change or be removed without notice in a future version of GitLab.
-
-Data corruption, stability degradation, or performance degradation might occur if
-you enable a feature that's disabled by default. Problems caused by using a default
-disabled feature aren't covered by GitLab support, unless you were directed by GitLab
-to enable the feature.
-
-## Risks when disabling released features
-
-In most cases, the feature flag code is removed in a future version of GitLab.
-If and when that occurs, from that point onward you can't keep the feature in a disabled state.

doc/user/group/iterations/index.md

@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ In GitLab, iterations are similar to milestones, with a few differences:
 > - To use in GitLab self-managed instances, ask a GitLab administrator to [enable it](#enable-or-disable-iteration-cadences). **(PREMIUM SELF)**
 
 This in-development feature might not be available for your use. There can be
-[risks when enabling features still in development](../../feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
+[risks when enabling features still in development](../../../administration/feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
 Refer to this feature's version history for more details.
 
 Iteration cadences automate some common iteration tasks. They can be used to

doc/user/project/issue_board.md

@@ -233,7 +233,7 @@ and vice versa.
 > - For GitLab self-managed instances, GitLab administrators can opt to [disable it](#enable-or-disable-graphql-based-issue-boards). **(FREE SELF)**
 
 There can be
-[risks when disabling released features](../feature_flags.md#risks-when-disabling-released-features).
+[risks when disabling released features](../../administration/feature_flags.md#risks-when-disabling-released-features).
 Refer to this feature's version history for more details.
 
 Using GraphQL-based boards gives you these
@@ -345,7 +345,7 @@ As in other list types, click the trash icon to remove a list.
 > - For GitLab self-managed instances, GitLab administrators can opt to disable the feature flags: [`board_new_list`](#enable-or-disable-new-add-list-form) and [`iteration_board_lists`](#enable-or-disable-iteration-lists-in-boards). **(PREMIUM SELF)**
 
 There can be
-[risks when disabling released features](../feature_flags.md#risks-when-disabling-released-features).
+[risks when disabling released features](../../administration/feature_flags.md#risks-when-disabling-released-features).
 Refer to this feature's version history for more details.
 
 You're also able to create lists of an iteration.
@@ -629,7 +629,7 @@ and the target list.
 > - To use in GitLab self-managed instances, ask a GitLab administrator to [enable it](#enable-or-disable-multi-selecting-issue-cards). **(FREE SELF)**
 
 This in-development feature might not be available for your use. There can be
-[risks when enabling features still in development](../feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
+[risks when enabling features still in development](../../administration/feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
 Refer to this feature's version history for more details.
 
 You can select multiple issue cards, then drag the group to another position within the list, or to

doc/user/project/merge_requests/changes.md

@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ Feature.disable(:local_file_reviews)
 > - To use in GitLab self-managed instances, ask a GitLab administrator to [enable it](#enable-or-disable-merge-request-conflicts-in-diff). **(FREE SELF)**
 
 This in-development feature might not be available for your use. There can be
-[risks when enabling features still in development](../../feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
+[risks when enabling features still in development](../../../administration/feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
 Refer to this feature's version history for more details.
 
 To avoid displaying the changes that are already on target branch in the diff,

doc/user/project/merge_requests/commits.md

@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ Previously merged commits can be added, but they can't be removed due to
 [this bug](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/325538).
 
 This in-development feature might not be available for your use. There can be
-[risks when enabling features still in development](../../feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
+[risks when enabling features still in development](../../../administration/feature_flags.md#risks-when-enabling-features-still-in-development).
 Refer to this feature's version history for more details.
 
 When reviewing a merge request, it helps to have more context about the changes