Replace `master` branch with a `release` branch

[jeremystretch]

Proposed Changes

We currently maintain three persistent branches within the project:

• master - Contains the latest stable release
• develop - Any work intended for the next patch release
• feature - Feature work & breaking changes intended for the next minor release (e.g. v3.6)

The master branch is essentially a clone of develop, which gets merged every time a new release is to be published. We can remove this branch and create a new release branch which contains only a single squashed commit for each release.

Justification

Our current approach can be confusing as many newcomers expect master to function as the repo's default branch (ours is develop). And introducing a new release branch which is limited to only squashed commits provides a much more efficient mechanism for checking out the latest stable release using git (e.g. git checkout release).

[pv2b]

For my two cents: Removing or renaming the "master" branch makes sense. The "master" branch not being the one being actively developed was confusing for me as a newcomer as well.

That said, I'm not sure how much value there is to squashing the commits on the "release" branch. Is the efficiency really worth not being able to "git blame" if you have the release branch checked out? Personally, I'd say no, I'd much rather have git blame work if I'm checked out with the release branch rather than have my checkout take half a second instead of three.

[github-actions[bot]]

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs. NetBox is governed by a small group of core maintainers which means not all opened issues may receive direct feedback. Do not attempt to circumvent this process by "bumping" the issue; doing so will result in its immediate closure and you may be barred from participating in any future discussions. Please see our contributing guide.

[github-actions[bot]]

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs. NetBox is governed by a small group of core maintainers which means not all opened issues may receive direct feedback. Do not attempt to circumvent this process by "bumping" the issue; doing so will result in its immediate closure and you may be barred from participating in any future discussions. Please see our contributing guide.