Re: CVS commit: pkgsrc/print/cups

[Greg Troxel <gdt%lexort.com@localhost>]

Frédéric Fauberteau <triaxx%NetBSD.org@localhost> writes:

> Le 26/05/2020 à 13:03, Greg Troxel a écrit :
>> Frédéric Fauberteau <triaxx%netbsd.org@localhost> writes:
>> 
>>> Log Message:
>>> cups: add a comment to appease pkglint
>> 
>> Actually this is "Add comment that is required by our standards and
>> helpful to humans.  Helpfully noticed by pkglint."
>
> I wrote my comment because I already read the very same about changes
> that consisted of removing warnings and/or notes identified by
> pkglint. By reading your comment, I have the feeling that using the
> word "appease" might suggest that I considered pkglint like capricious
> children who need to be calmed down. Actually, I find tools like
> pkglint very useful and I have a deep respect for the people who
> develop and maintain them, and who are very reactive to update them. I
> am sincerely sorry if I could let think otherwise. It shows the
> poverty of my english.

Thanks.

I think these particular comments have a lot of value; I notice them as
I am thinking about changing a file and it's a reminder to build-test
those packages.  Yes, we all should know that any Makefile.common is
used multiple places and find them.  I would far rather have these
comments than missed checks or a requirement that we all use intellij!

And yes, appease is a word with a lot of history and baggage.  It very
much has a connotation that the thing being done is not the right thing,
and is done only to cause someone who is being unreasonable to stop
complaining or not take further negative action.   Generally the person
being appeased has power or authority.

I personally do not like to see this in commit messages at all, as
"appease" generally has a moral aspect, whereas "initialize variable to
zero explicitly to avoid a false positive uninitialized use warning
[because of a failure in the static analyzer to detect that the variable
was used properly]" is about software that could be better, which isn't
a moral failing.