Re: Using VC for change descriptions

[Paul Eggert]

Richard Stallman wrote:
>    > I suggest that we temporarily experiment with a real GNU
>    > project: that is, we issue a special dispensation just for that
>    > project, where it can try out the proposed guidelines for a few
>    > months, and then we look at how well the proposal worked in that
>    > project.
>
> I don't see how that experiment makes sense.  What aspect we would try
> to observe and judge?  How would we reach a conclusion?

We would look at the effect on overall maintenance effort under the experimental 
guidelines. One way to do that would be to ask maintainers how well it all 
worked, compared to the existing guidelines. Their practical experience should 
be far more valuable than our armchair theorizing.
> Suppose on looking at the results I conclude that the missing ChangeLog
> information was a real loss.  What they would we do to get written?

The maintainers of the project could then write up a ChangeLog file in the old 
format, by inspecting the new-format ChangeLog and version-control information 
such as diff listings.