Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 12:58:05 -0600 From: Warner Losh <imp@bsdimp.com> To: Ian Lepore <ian@FreeBSD.org> Cc: Warren Block <wblock@wonkity.com>, Mariusz Zaborski <oshogbo@FreeBSD.org>, freebsd-current@FreeBSD.org, freebsd-arch@FreeBSD.org, jilles@FreeBSD.org, =?windows-1252?Q?Dag-Erling_Sm=F8rgrav?= <des@des.no> Subject: Re: Hello fdclose Message-ID: <98DE2314-1233-4C12-8346-5D1240B9BAAF@bsdimp.com> In-Reply-To: <1395422417.81853.14.camel@revolution.hippie.lan> References: <CAGOYWV80vTTQbvSjvNa6XBzBiKy%2BjnGantkUH_RO=8prxoHmyQ@mail.gmail.com> <201403181404.52197.jhb@freebsd.org> <alpine.BSF.2.00.1403182230140.45496@wonkity.com> <201403191523.33275.jhb@freebsd.org> <alpine.BSF.2.00.1403191407240.52822@wonkity.com> <86zjkkr5ma.fsf@nine.des.no> <alpine.BSF.2.00.1403210740240.13682@wonkity.com> <86fvmbzlbn.fsf@nine.des.no> <alpine.BSF.2.00.1403211030450.14887@wonkity.com> <86mwgj7aru.fsf@nine.des.no> <1395422417.81853.14.camel@revolution.hippie.lan>
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On Mar 21, 2014, at 11:20 AM, Ian Lepore <ian@FreeBSD.org> wrote: > On Fri, 2014-03-21 at 17:54 +0100, Dag-Erling Sm=F8rgrav wrote: >> Warren Block <wblock@wonkity.com> writes: >>> Dag-Erling Sm=F8rgrav <des@des.no> writes: >>>> I mean the FreeBSD project, and the reason is as John stated: all >>>> sentences must start with a capital letter. I've gotten so used to >>>> this over the past 15 years that I even do it in email and other >>>> non-FreeBSD written material. >>> "Because it's been that way for 15 years" is not always a >>> justification (consider BIND in base, for example :). >>=20 >> "I don't like your answer, so I will ignore it" is not a = justification >> either. It's kindergarden behavior and beneath the dignity of a = FreeBSD >> committer. >>=20 >> We have a rule that sentences must always start with a capital = letter. >> The fact that this rule was instituted 15 years ago does not >> automatically invalidate it, and neither does the fact that Joe = Random >> Committer disagrees with it. >>=20 >> DES >=20 > Just as the age of a moronic "rule" such as this doesn't in any way > justify the idea that it could never be changed. Especially when the > "rule" appears to be an undocumented prejudice. It has been the way things have been for a long time, and everybody that has been writing man pages in the project for any length of time knows it. Ruslan was especially good about fixing this issue back in the day. This rule was hashed out and there=92s really no compelling = reason to change it. Unlike BIND, we have had no complaints about it in the almost two decades it has been around=85 It does serve a useful purpose, though, which is why it has endured. If you were to have a man page that said =91Putc(3) returns =85=92 then = the automated tools (and web links) that find Putc.3 wouldn=92t be able to = since it doesn=92t exist. > People love to throw around assertions about "rules" of the English > language. It doesn't have many rules (subject has to agree in number > with the verb, that's about it for unbreakable rules), but it has as > many opinions on proper style as there are readers and writers. This is the proper style for FreeBSD man page, by convention. It is so basic that it doesn=92t surprise me it isn=92t in the docs, but it also = surprises me that it isn=92t. There=92s numerous instances of this rule being mentioned in commit = messages: http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/cvs-doc/2008-February/017562.html http://osdir.com/ml/os.freebsd.devel.cvs.doc/2004-07/msg00284.html = http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.os.freebsd.devel.documentation/month=3D2005020= 1/page=3D6 or the discussions in the archives like: http://osdir.com/ml/freebsd.devel.documentation/2002-05/msg00589.html = http://markmail.org/thread/jx2jr5myngp5jg5d#query:+page:1+mid:lasvnzqoojxf= eoet+state:results or a few other places. These discussions span the last 15 years (the oldest one is 1999, but = the convention is easily a few years older than that). Warner
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