From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: esr@thyrsus.com (Eric S. Raymond) Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: RFC - cleaning up /etc Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2014 09:02:26 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <20140109140226.57D6C38085A@snark.thyrsus.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: plane.gmane.org X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1389276159 16195 80.91.229.3 (9 Jan 2014 14:02:39 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2014 14:02:39 +0000 (UTC) To: Emacs developers Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Thu Jan 09 15:02:47 2014 Return-path: Envelope-to: ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([208.118.235.17]) by plane.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1W1GBz-0003Ln-56 for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Thu, 09 Jan 2014 15:02:39 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:52093 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1W1GBy-0002jQ-KR for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Thu, 09 Jan 2014 09:02:38 -0500 Original-Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:4830:134:3::10]:37607) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1W1GBr-0002jI-TZ for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Thu, 09 Jan 2014 09:02:36 -0500 Original-Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1W1GBn-00071N-7k for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Thu, 09 Jan 2014 09:02:31 -0500 Original-Received: from static-71-162-243-5.phlapa.fios.verizon.net ([71.162.243.5]:38171 helo=snark.thyrsus.com) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1W1GBn-00071H-3U for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Thu, 09 Jan 2014 09:02:27 -0500 Original-Received: by snark.thyrsus.com (Postfix, from userid 1000) id 57D6C38085A; Thu, 9 Jan 2014 09:02:26 -0500 (EST) X-detected-operating-system: by eggs.gnu.org: GNU/Linux 2.2.x-3.x [generic] X-Received-From: 71.162.243.5 X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.14 Precedence: list List-Id: "Emacs development discussions." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:167907 Archived-At: This is an issue completely orthogonal to the git transition, but also motivated by my concern that the Emacs codebase and project raise needless barriers to contribution. /etc is a mess. Over the years it's become a dumping ground for miscellany. There are no fewer that four different files of miscellaneous jokes! And a cookie recipe! And...stuff. I think this matters because newbies who try to browse it get lost. Important things like the GNU Manifesto (yes, I agree it should be treated as important despite my well-known disagreements with it) are half-submerged in trivia, clutter, and files that only programs rather than humans care about. I propose to fix this with a reorganization. /etc should be the data directory for files used by Lisp and programs in the suite. The files meant exclusively for human browsing - the jokes, the cookie recipe, the Manifesto, the hacking guides - should move to a new directory designated for such content. That directory should have a proper README of it own mapping the content, so newbies can quickly grasp what is there and what they might want to look at. Discuss. -- Eric S. Raymond "The power to tax involves the power to destroy;...the power to destroy may defeat and render useless the power to create...." -- Chief Justice John Marshall, 1819.