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Re: [tracecompass-dev] Removing contributor list from copyright header

Just to give my opinion, it might not be popular (that's OK).

What I don't like about the contributor list is the description of the change, which we only fill the first time and usually don't update when the same contributor makes additional changes, even when they are more substantial than the first. I sometimes struggle to find the best one-line wording for my change.

The git log is a better place for a change log, but I think not so much for contributor appreciation. You don't see the git log for classes in your Plug-In Dependencies, but you see the source code.

What I would prefer is a contributor list in the form:

Contributors:
  Person A, Company X
  Person B
  Person C, Company Y

This has the advantage of clarifying "and others." in the copyright line for the reader, even if it may not be legally binding.

Patrick

On Thu, Aug 6, 2015 at 3:38 PM, Marc-André Laperle <marc-andre.laperle@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
If we remove them as we go, it will make patches bigger for not much reason (like unrelated formatting changes). I think I'd rather not touch them at all or remove them all at the same time. We could just not encourage people to not add their names. I guess this is more or less the approach of the Platform/CDT.

Marc-Andre

________________________________________
From: tracecompass-dev-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxx [tracecompass-dev-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxx] on behalf of Alexandre Montplaisir [alexmonthy@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, 06 August 2015 3:16 PM
To: Martin.Oberhuber@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: tracecompass developer discussions
Subject: Re: [tracecompass-dev] Removing contributor list from  copyright       header

Hi Martin,

Thanks for providing this insight!

First, just so it's clear to everyone, I am *not* suggesting that we
remove the copyright headers entirely! These are very important to have!
I am only talking about the contributor list, which is the
"Contributors:" line and the ones below listing a kind of changelog of
every file.

Indeed, what I am proposing for Trace Compass here is slightly different
than what CDT and Platform are suggesting. CDT and Platform are making
those lists optional. I personally feel that the contributor lists are
superfluous, and that our project could (if the other committers agree
of course) enforce to not use them at all. It would remain compatible
with Eclipse's template.


On 2015-08-06 02:39 PM, Oberhuber, Martin wrote:
> [...]
> 1. for some contributors, having their name listed in the Copyright Header is a small signal of appreciation.

I can totally understand this. However, the copyright header is supposed
to list copyright holders, it is only there for legal reasons. The git
logs (author and sign-off lines) are arguably a better place to put
contributor appreciation.

> 2. the copyright headers never claimed to be complete or accurate, since it always said "... and others" in the first line.

I find this problematic. Copyright headers are supposed to be complete
and accurate. OSS licenses depend on copyright laws to be enforceable,
and while IANAL, I don't think "and others" holds a meaning as strong as
explicitly listing all copyright holders. As I mentioned previously in
[1], I think this is a flaw in the current copyright header template.

>      Thus there is no urgency in pruning or cleaning them.

Of course, there is no rush to remove the existing contributor lists.


Cheers,
Alexandre

[1] https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=435933#c8


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