PROPOSAL: changelog.html.gz sanitization

[Joey Hess <joey@kitenet.net>]

Package: debian-policy
Severity: wishlist

Policy currently says that:

  If the upstream changelog file is text formatted, it must be accessible as
  `/usr/doc/<package>/changelog.gz'. If the upstream changelog file is HTML
  formatted, it must be accessible as `/usr/doc/<package>/changelog.html.gz'.

This went in back in October, but so far a grand total of 2 packages
(pstoedit, xterm) comply with it. A lot more could of course. (Frankly, part
of the problem is that debhelper wasn't supporting it properly, this is now
fixed). 

But my big problem with this is that it means that as more and more packages
comply, people will start having to look in two places for upstream
changelogs. It's very useful to be able to look in only one place, for
pusposes of automation and for plain old lazyness. Therefore I'd like to
suggest a modification:

  If the upstream changelog file is HTML formatted, it must be accessible as
  `/usr/doc/<package>/changelog.html.gz' with 
  `/usr/doc/<package>/changelog.gz' being a symbolic link to it.

-- 
see shy jo