Bug#567485: [checks/lintian] changed-by-name-missing is not Severity: serious

[Jean-Christophe Dubacq <jcdubacq1@free.fr>]

clone 567485 -1
reassign -1 debian-policy
retitle -1 Clarify that Changed-By must have name and email address
severity -1 wishlist
tags -1 =
thanks
On 20/03/2010 23:51, Russ Allbery wrote:
> tags 567485 wontfix
> thanks
> 
> Jean-Christophe Dubacq <jcdubacq1@free.fr> writes:
> 
>> Though the check is correct, it should not be severity serious: the
>> format of the Changed-By (and the Maintainer field) is not mandated by a
>> MUST, only a SHOULD.
> 
> I don't agree for two reasons:
> 
> * maintainer-name-missing and uploader-name-missing are both automatic
>   rejects in the ftp-master checks, which makes them automatically
>   severity: serious in Lintian.  That's not the specific one that you're
>   asking about, but that's the rule that Changed-By references.
> 
> * The Policy description for Changed-By says "The name and email address
>   of the person who changed the said package."  That's not a should.
>   That's a statement of what that field shall include, which means that if
>   it doesn't have the name and e-mail address, it's a syntax error and
>   therefore is a violation of an implicit must.
> 
> I see where your reading is coming from, but suspect the best fix is to
> just change the Policy wording to make it clear that this is a must.
> There's really no reason to use a different format, and Debian elsewhere
> already requires names.

Then let's reassign to debian-policy.


-- 
Jean-Christophe Dubacq