[RFC] whitespace.el

[David Kastrup]

Didier Verna <didier at xemacs.org> writes:

> David Kastrup <dak at gnu.org> wrote:
>
> Point is, I already have one bad experience in this matter: I
> completely rewrote rect.el back 1999, for both GNU Emacs and XEmacs
> (BTW, I'm still listed as the official maintainer for this
> library). They agreed to incorporate my version and some time after
> that, I discovered numerous changes which they did not bother to
> report back to me. I'm not upset anymore ;-), but I really don't
> feel like speding time and energy on anything new in these lines
> unless I have some control on things.

Putting yourself in as the maintainer at the top of the file
considerably helps usually.

But you won't have "control" in any manner: that is pretty much the
point of the copyright assignment: passing the control.

I don't think that it is a good idea to suggest in a multiperson free
software project that every contributor retains individual control.
While there are projects (like the Linux kernel) where this is
factually the case, having every contributor able to throw a monkey
wrench into further development is calling for trouble in the long
run.  Alienation _does_ happen in personal and professional
relationships.

> Anyway, since 1/ now is not the time for them, and 2/ we're
> diverging already, I'll probably apply my changes in the XEmacs
> package (and let people play with it), and defer the "sync decision"
> to some time later...

Hopefully not forever.  But then that's the same worry I have about
Emacs 22.

>> (the release should be any year now:
>
> I see :-)

I hope I'll be able to see it, too.

-- 
David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum