Bug#357162: debian-policy: preserve /usr/share/doc/*/* timestamps

[Dan Jacobson <jidanni@jidanni.org>]

Package: debian-policy
Version: 3.6.2.1
Severity: wishlist

Many /usr/share/doc/*/* file maintainers don't
cp --preserve=timestamps (cp -p) their updates. Thus upon ls -l,
README.blorg looks like it was updated yesterday, when in fact it
hasn't changed since 2002, upstream or downstream.

I recall somewhere in some documents a recommendation on keeping
original dates, but even many of the sharpest Debian developers aren't
hip to cp -p, or cp -a yet. There must be hundreds of packages like
this. I suppose I shall find that policy paragraph and file a wishlist
bug against such a package when I encounter it.

Here offline my slightly stale
/usr/share/doc/debian-policy/policy.html/ch-docs.html
12.3 Additional documentation
doesn't mention it. Here policy should urge it.

/usr/share/doc/developers-reference/ch-best-pkging-practices.en.html#s-bpp-docs
says to follow the above policy, so putting it into policy would be
seen by readers of the Developer's Reference too.