Re: merging etc

[Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>]

> From: Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca>
> Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 08:37:33 -0400
> Cc: emacs-devel <emacs-devel@gnu.org>
> 
> > Just to get things started, here is a tentative NEWS entry:
> 
> > ** Emacs now supports several simultaneous display devices.
> > Emacs can now handle frames on several different X displays and
> > terminals simultaneously. Emacsclient has also been extendend to allow
> > specification on which display to use.
> 
> That's the Emacs-level documentation.

Actually, it isn't even that.  It's basically an announcement of a new
feature without any details, and as such, it's almost useless.

Joakim, please take a moment to browse through NEWS entries.  For each
new feature, they mention at least the most important user commands
and variables, and any other auxiliary info, like environment
variables, that are necessary to at least turn on/off the feature and
control its behavior in some basic ways.

In CVS, this kind of documentation serves yet another purpose: it is a
reminder to update the manual with the expanded version of the
documentation.  Without such a reminder, chances are we will forget to
update the manual when the time comes to release Emacs.

If neither the manual nor NEWS have some information about a new
feature (and a major feature such as multi-tty), that feature does not
exist for all practical purposes, since no one will be able to use it
without prolonged study of the sources.  Please have a mercy on us!