@c For double-sided printing, uncomment:
@c @setchapternewpage odd
@c This date is automagically updated when you save this file:
-@set lastupdate February 21, 2008
+@set lastupdate July 6, 2008
@c %**end of header
@dircategory GNU organization
package.)
In order for the contributor to know person should sign papers, you need
-to ask for the necessary papers. If you don't know per well, and you
+to ask per for the necessary papers. If you don't know per well, and you
don't know that person is used to our ways of handling copyright papers,
then it might be a good idea to raise the subject with a message like
this:
changes to a manual, you can use @file{assign.future.manual}.
For a translation of a manual, use @file{assign.translation.manual}.
+For translations of program strings (as used by GNU Gettext, for
+example; @pxref{Internationalization,,,standards,GNU Coding
+Standards}), use @file{disclaim.translation}. If you make use of the
+Translation Project (@url{http://translationproject.org}) facilities,
+please check with the TP coordinators that they have sent the
+contributor the papers; if they haven't, then you should send the
+papers. In any case, you should wait for the confirmation from the
+FSF that the signed papers have been received and accepted before
+integrating the new contributor's material, as usual.
+
If a contributor is reluctant to sign an assignment for a large change,
and is willing to sign a disclaimer instead, that is acceptable, so you
should offer this alternative if it helps you reach agreement. We
@section Legally Significant Changes
If a person contributes more than around 15 lines of code and/or text
-that is legally significant for copyright purposes, which means we
-need copyright papers for it as described above.
+that is legally significant for copyright purposes, we
+need copyright papers for that contribution, as described above.
A change of just a few lines (less than 15 or so) is not legally
significant for copyright. A regular series of repeated changes, such
@cindex recording contributors
@strong{Keep correct records of which portions were written by whom.}
-This is very important. These records should say which files
-parts of files, were written by each person, and which files or
-portions were revised by each person. This should include
+This is very important. These records should say which files or
+parts of files were written by each person, and which files or
+parts of files were revised by each person. This should include
installation scripts as well as manuals and documentation
files---everything.
made nontrivial changes to the package. (Here we assume you're using
a publicly accessible revision control server, so that every revision
installed is also immediately and automatically published.) When you
-add the new year, it is not required to keep track which files have
+add the new year, it is not required to keep track of which files have
seen significant changes in the new year and which have not. It is
recommended and simpler to add the new year to all files in the
package, and be done with it for the rest of the year.
-For files which are regularly copied from another project (such as
-@samp{gnulib}), the copyright notice should left as it is in the
-original.
-
-Don't delete old year numbers, though; they can indicate when older
-versions might theoretically go into the public domain. If you copy a
-file into the package from some other program, keep the copyright
-years that come with the file.
+Don't delete old year numbers, though; they are significant since they
+indicate when older versions might theoretically go into the public
+domain, if the movie companies don't continue buying laws to further
+extend copyright. If you copy a file into the package from some other
+program, keep the copyright years that come with the file.
Do not abbreviate the year list using a range; for instance, do not
write @samp{1996--1998}; instead, write @samp{1996, 1997, 1998}.
+For files which are regularly copied from another project (such as
+@samp{gnulib}), leave the copyright notice as it is in the original.
+
The copyright statement may be split across multiple lines, both in
source files and in any generated output. This often happens for
files with a long history, having many different years of
The GNU Coding Standards are a good thing to send people when you ask
them to clean up changes (@pxref{Top, , Contents, standards, GNU Coding
Standards}). The Emacs Lisp manual contains an appendix that gives
-coding standards for Emacs Lisp programs; it is good to urge authors to
-read it (@pxref{Tips, , Tips and Standards, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
+coding standards for Emacs Lisp programs; it is good to urge Lisp authors to
+read it (@pxref{Tips, , Tips and Conventions, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
Reference Manual}).
Software Movement is idealistic, and raises issues of freedom, ethics,
principle and what makes for a good society. The Open Source Movement,
founded in 1998, studiously avoids such questions. For more explanation,
-see @url{http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html}.
+see @url{http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html}.
The GNU Project is aligned with the Free Software Movement. This
doesn't mean that all GNU contributors and maintainers have to agree;
projects / gnulib.git / blobdiff