Package synopsis: appositive clause, not full sentence (was: Bug#463666: ITP: tomoe -- Tomoe - A handwriting recognition engine)

[Ben Finney <bignose+hates-spam@benfinney.id.au>]

Christian Perrier <bubulle@debian.org> writes:

> Quoting NIIBE Yutaka (gniibe@fsij.org):
> >   Description     : 
> 
> Apparently your proposed synopsis for the package is "-- Tomoe - A
> handwriting recognition engine". May I suggest a simpler and more
> "standard" one:
> 
> handwriting recognition engine

Yes.

In general, all Debian packages should follow the Debian Developer's
Reference guide on package descriptions:

    It's a good idea to think of the synopsis as an appositive clause,
    not a full sentence. An appositive clause is defined in WordNet as
    a grammatical relation between a word and a noun phrase that
    follows, e.g., "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer". The appositive
    clause here is "red-nosed reindeer". Since the synopsis is a
    clause, rather than a full sentence, we recommend that it neither
    start with a capital nor end with a full stop (period). It should
    also not begin with an article, either definite ("the") or
    indefinite ("a" or "an").

    <URL:http://www.debian.org/doc/developers-reference/ch-best-pkging-practices.en.html#s-bpp-pkg-synopsis>

-- 
 \           "For fast acting relief, try slowing down." —Jane Wagner, |
  `\                                                   via Lily Tomlin |
_o__)                                                                  |
Ben Finney