Re: [Groff] [groff] 01/01: In groff source top directory add Emacs settings for most text files.

[Ingo Schwarze]

Hi Bernd,

Bernd Warken wrote on Tue, Sep 02, 2014 at 05:03:50PM +0000:

> commit fe9c3ec1ad398f07d89da432b9a5c8e777b517df
> Author: Bernd Warken <address@hidden>
> Date:   Tue Sep 2 19:03:15 2014 +0200
> 
>     In groff source top directory add Emacs settings for most text files.
> ---
>  BUG-REPORT   |    6 ++++++
>  ChangeLog    |    5 +++++
>  FDL          |   10 ++++++++--
>  INSTALL      |   10 ++++++++--
>  INSTALL.REPO |   10 ++++++++--
>  INSTALL.gen  |   10 ++++++++--
>  MANIFEST     |   11 +++++++++--
>  MORE.STUFF   |    7 +++++++
>  NEWS         |    3 ++-
>  PROBLEMS     |    9 ++++++++-
>  PROJECTS     |    7 +++++++
>  README       |   11 +++++++++--
>  README.MinGW |    9 ++++++++-
>  13 files changed, 93 insertions(+), 15 deletions(-)

Almost all of this commit seems wrong, please revert.

The following files are not UTF-8, bus US-ASCII encoded:

BUG-REPORT
FDL
INSTALL
INSTALL.REPO
INSTALL.gen
MANIFEST
MORE.STUFF
PROBLEMS
PROJECTS
README
README.MinGW


In addition to that, it is widely considered bad style to add
annotations suitable only for one particular editor to end-user
visible files.


Besides, in a new work, copyright is only applicable if the work
exceeds a threshold of originality[1].  In a derived work, copyright
is only applicable to the changes and additions if these changes
and additions exceed a threshold of originality.  Addition of
boilerplate text like

> +##### Emacs settings
> +Local Variables:
> +mode: text
> +coding: utf-8
> +End:

appears to me as a textbook example of an addition that is *not*
copyrightable, no matter whether you use the "originality" or the
"sweat of the brow" doctrine.  Consequently, bumping the list of
copyright years in such a case is a misrepresentation of the legal
situation - unless you bumped based on some *other*, indeed
copyrightable change, but a quick "git log -- FDL" gives me the
impression that is not the case.

Yours,
  Ingo


[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threshold_of_originality