Re: To ChangeLog or not to ChangeLog, that is the question

sb> It has been suggested that as mild an improvement in code sb> documentation as adopting full FSF Emacs-style ChangeLogs is hurting sb> XEmacs development. I don't think any patch should patch should be sb> applied to the code base without a ChangeLog entry. I don't know how sb> Richard manages to keep with the minute details of every single patch, sb> but I can't. I can manage in the case of (relatively) simple sb> patches. Large patches are problematic. Pollsters know that the way a question is phrased often heavily influences the outcome. Scenario: J. Random Luser has been lurking on xemacs-beta and comes up with his first patch to XEmacs. Here it is: --- nt/xemacs.mak.old +++ nt/xemacs.mak ＠＠ -143,7 +143,7 ＠＠ !message Compiling in support for dialogs. !endif !if $(HAVE_MSW_C_DIRED) -# Define HAVE_MSW_C_DIRED to be non-zero if you want Xemacs to use C +# Define HAVE_MSW_C_DIRED to be non-zero if you want XEmacs to use C # primitives to significantly speed up dired, at the expense of an # additional ~4KB of code. !message Compiling in fast dired implementation. Now, this patch is not rocket science, but it IS a contribution. JRL doesn't know or care about ChangeLogs, so doesn't provide one. Question 1: Does adding a ChangeLog for this change actually make XEmacs better? 1998-06-26 J. Random Luser <jrl(a)xemacs.org&gt; * nt/xemacs.mak: Changed Xemacs -> XEmacs I claim not. If you agree, vote NO. Question 2: Maintainer to JRL: Could you add a ChangeLog for that change? JRL to Maintainer: You're kidding, right? Maintainer to JRL: Nope. JRL to Maintainer: F!(* you. Did we just lose an XEmacs contributor? My feeling is that ChangeLogs are a good thing, for MOST BUT NOT ALL changes, and that contributions should not be categorically turned down due to lack of ChangeLogs. I think this is just Common Sense. I you agree, vote NO <cl-no(a)vmailer.xemacs.org&gt;. I currently have submitted patches that have not been applied due to lack of ChangeLog. These are the kind of changes that don't deserve a ChangeLog, i.e. adding ChangeLog entriess would make XEmacs LESS maintainable. If the yes votes win, the likelihood that I will be contributing in the future will drop significantly. The question is not whether ChangeLogs are a Good Thing, but whether ALL changes must be accompanied by ChangeLogs. Martin