Bug#649530: [copyright-format] clearer definitions and more consistent License: stanza specification

[Charles Plessy <plessy@debian.org>]

Le Sat, Feb 04, 2012 at 11:26:33AM +0900, Charles Plessy a écrit :
> Le Fri, Feb 03, 2012 at 01:16:08PM -0600, Jonathan Nieder a écrit :
> > 
> > I believe this should be a blocker --- it is an instance of the
> > document and actual practice clearly contradicting one another.  I
> > wouldn't mind if it is resolved by forbidding stand-alone license
> > sections for license exceptions, though, if that's the only way to get
> > something released.  (Of course I would prefer the opposite
> > resolution.)
> 
> I think that the document overlooks rather than forbids the case of standalone
> paragraphs for licence with exceptions.  In that sense I do not see a
> contradiction, and indeed, I found multiple copyright files in the Lintian lab
> that use such standalone paragraphs.

Dear Jonathan, Ximin, and everybody,

would the following changes solve the problem with license exceptions ?

--- copyright-format.xml	(révision 266)
+++ copyright-format.xml	(copie de travail)
@@ -327,10 +327,10 @@
     <section id="stand-alone-license-paragraph">
       <title>Stand-alone License Paragraph (Optional, Repeatable)</title>
       <para>
-        Where a set of files are dual (tri, etc) licensed, or when the same
-        license occurs multiple times, you can use a single-line
-        <varname>License</varname> field and stand-alone
-        <varname>License</varname> paragraphs to expand the license short names.
+        Stand-alone <varname>License</varname> paragraphs expand license short
+        names, optionally followed by an exception statement, and are useful
+        in particular with sets of files that are dual (tri, etc) licensed, or
+        when the same license occurs multiple times.
       </para>
       <para>
         The following fields may be present in a stand-alone License
@@ -471,10 +471,10 @@
       </para>
       <para>
         Remaining lines: if left blank here, the file
-        <emphasis>must</emphasis> include a <link
+        <emphasis>must</emphasis> include one or more<link
         linkend="stand-alone-license-paragraph">stand-alone License
-        paragraph</link> matching each license short
-        name listed on the first line.
+        paragraphs</link> matching the first line's license short
+        names, with their exception if any.
         Otherwise, this field should either
         include the full text of the license(s) or include a pointer to the
         license file under <filename>/usr/share/common-licenses</filename>. 


Have a nice day,

-- 
Charles Plessy
Tsurumi, Kanagawa, Japan