By default, for edx projects do not require docstrings for private methods

edx_lint/files/pylintrc

@@ -411,7 +411,7 @@ bad-names=foo,bar,baz,toto,tutu,tata
 
 # Regular expression which should only match function or class names that do
 # not require a docstring.
-no-docstring-rgx=__.*__$|test_.+|setUp$|setUpClass$|tearDown$|tearDownClass$|Meta$
+no-docstring-rgx=^_|test_.+|setUp$|setUpClass$|tearDown$|tearDownClass$|Meta$
 
 # Minimum line length for functions/classes that require docstrings, shorter
 # ones are exempt.

pylintrc

@@ -59,9 +59,10 @@ load-plugins = edx_lint.pylint
 
 [MESSAGES CONTROL]
 enable = 
+	# These are controlled by explicit choices in the pylintrc files
 	blacklisted-name,
 	line-too-long,
-	
+	# These affect the correctness of the code
 	syntax-error,
 	init-is-generator,
 	return-in-init,
@@ -184,7 +185,7 @@ enable =
 	anomalous-unicode-escape-in-string,
 	bad-open-mode,
 	boolean-datetime,
-	
+	# Checking failed for some reason
 	fatal,
 	astroid-error,
 	parse-error,
@@ -192,20 +193,21 @@ enable =
 	django-not-available,
 	raw-checker-failed,
 	django-not-available-placeholder,
-	
+	# Documentation is important
 	empty-docstring,
 	invalid-characters-in-docstring,
 	missing-docstring,
 	wrong-spelling-in-comment,
 	wrong-spelling-in-docstring,
-	
+	# Unused code should be deleted
 	unused-import,
 	unused-variable,
 	unused-argument,
-	
+	# These are dangerous!
 	exec-used,
 	eval-used,
-	
+	# These represent idiomatic python. Not adhering to them
+	# will raise red flags with future readers.
 	bad-classmethod-argument,
 	bad-mcs-classmethod-argument,
 	bad-mcs-method-argument,
@@ -240,32 +242,34 @@ enable =
 	model-has-unicode,
 	model-no-explicit-unicode,
 	protected-access,
-	
+	# Don't use things that are deprecated
 	deprecated-module,
 	deprecated-method,
-	
+	# These help manage code complexity
 	too-many-nested-blocks,
 	too-many-statements,
 	too-many-boolean-expressions,
-	
+	# Consistent import order makes finding where code is
+	# imported from easier
 	ungrouped-imports,
 	wrong-import-order,
 	wrong-import-position,
 	wildcard-import,
-	
+	# These should be auto-fixed by any competent editor
 	missing-final-newline,
 	mixed-line-endings,
 	trailing-newlines,
 	trailing-whitespace,
 	unexpected-line-ending-format,
 	mixed-indentation,
-	
+	# These attempt to limit pylint line-noise
 	bad-option-value,
 	unrecognized-inline-option,
 	useless-suppression,
 	bad-inline-option,
 	deprecated-pragma,
 disable = 
+	# These should be left to the discretion of the reviewer
 	bad-continuation,
 	invalid-name,
 	misplaced-comparison-constant,
@@ -275,7 +279,7 @@ disable =
 	unused-wildcard-import,
 	global-statement,
 	no-else-return,
-	
+	# These are disabled by pylint by default
 	apply-builtin,
 	backtick,
 	basestring-builtin,
@@ -362,7 +366,7 @@ class-attribute-rgx = ([A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]{2,30}|(__.*__))$
 inlinevar-rgx = [A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*$
 good-names = f,i,j,k,db,ex,Run,_,__
 bad-names = foo,bar,baz,toto,tutu,tata
-no-docstring-rgx = __.*__$|test_.+|setUp$|setUpClass$|tearDown$|tearDownClass$|Meta$
+no-docstring-rgx = ^_|test_.+|setUp$|setUpClass$|tearDown$|tearDownClass$|Meta$
 docstring-min-length = 5
 
 [FORMAT]
@@ -440,4 +444,4 @@ int-import-graph =
 [EXCEPTIONS]
 overgeneral-exceptions = Exception
 
-# aebe69bb7440000dc1b4b9c5b162438a75e22d9d
+# c6a9056b56ee021936dc0bd6f092b36c5bb9ec12