Bug#671058: lintian: DEP-3 From field - name preceeds email

[jaalto <jari.aalto@cante.net>]

On 2012-05-01 21:56, Niels Thykier wrote:
| block 671058 by 602304
| tags 671058 + moreinfo
| tags 602304 + moreinfo
| thanks
| 
| On 2012-05-01 16:51, Jari Aalto wrote:
| > Package: lintian
| > Version: 2.5.6
| > Severity: wishlist
| > 
| > For debian/patches in DEP-3 format, please add some check to warn about
| > headers like this (From/Author):
| > 
| >     From: <dfg@example.com>
| >     Subject: Fix FTBFS ....
| > 
| > Something like:
| > 
| >     I: patches-header-from-missing-person-name
| > 
| 
| Hi,
| 
| I believe I have already mentioned it in #602304, but DEP-3 does not
| mandate that the from header is in a specific format.  Supposedly, the
| format "mail@example.com (name)" variant is allowed too.

Perhaps allowed, but it would be unexpected use. Western people write
from left to right, so name is expected to precede email.

One would also argue that almost all patches that are moving to DEP-3
are using email as identification; thus it would be sensible to treat
it, in case of "@", like a standard mail format:

   Something-here (comment field) <email-address-part>

in case of this:

   From: <address@example.com>

It would be reasonable to expect that the writer probably forgot to
include:

   From: Firstname LastName <address@example.com>

This convention is also highly practical. You can use the field's data
if you are planning to contact the person; or use it on Google.

| Also, we still (to my knowledge) cannot relibly detect DEP-3 from
| non-DEP-3 patches nor do we have a parser supporting the format (hench
| the block on 602304).

Ok,
Jari