@c For double-sided printing, uncomment:
@c @setchapternewpage odd
@c This date is automagically updated when you save this file:
-@set lastupdate March 14, 2008
+@set lastupdate October 13, 2008
@c %**end of header
@dircategory GNU organization
guidelines; if you would like to be a GNU maintainer, then it is
essential to follow these guidelines.
+In addition to this document, please read and follow the GNU Coding
+Standards (@pxref{Top, , Contents, standards, GNU Coding Standards}).
+
Please send corrections or suggestions for this document to
@email{maintainers@@gnu.org}. If you make a suggestion, please include
a suggested new wording for it, to help us consider the suggestion
other version of this document, or propose it in any way that makes it
clear.
+If you have general questions or encounter a situation where it isn't
+clear what to do, you can ask @email{mentors@@gnu.org}, which is a
+list of a few other GNU contributor who have offered to answer
+questions for new maintainers.
+
This document uses the gender-neutral third-person pronouns ``person'',
``per'', ``pers'' and ``perself'' which were promoted, and perhaps
invented, by Marge Piercy in @cite{Woman on the Edge of Time}. They are
The directory @file{/gd/gnuorg} is found on the GNU file server,
currently @code{fencepost.gnu.org}; if you are the maintainer of a GNU
-package, you should have an account there. Contact
-@email{accounts@@gnu.org} if you don't have one. (You can also ask
-for accounts for people who help you a large amount in working on the
-package.)
+package, you should have an account there. See
+@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/README.accounts.html} if you don't
+have one. (You can also ask for accounts for people who help you a
+large amount in working on the package.)
This release of the GNU Maintenance Instructions was last updated
@value{lastupdate}.
some of your developers as co-maintainers, please contact
@email{maintainers@@gnu.org}.
+We're happy to acknowledge all major contributors to GNU packages on
+the @url{http://www.gnu.org/people/people.html} web page. Please send
+an entry for yourself to @email{webmasters@@gnu.org}, and feel free to
+suggest it to other significant developers on your package.
+
@node Legal Matters
@chapter Legal Matters
made nontrivial changes to the package. (Here we assume you're using
a publicly accessible revision control server, so that every revision
installed is also immediately and automatically published.) When you
-add the new year, it is not required to keep track which files have
+add the new year, it is not required to keep track of which files have
seen significant changes in the new year and which have not. It is
recommended and simpler to add the new year to all files in the
package, and be done with it for the rest of the year.
The GNU Coding Standards are a good thing to send people when you ask
them to clean up changes (@pxref{Top, , Contents, standards, GNU Coding
Standards}). The Emacs Lisp manual contains an appendix that gives
-coding standards for Emacs Lisp programs; it is good to urge authors to
-read it (@pxref{Tips, , Tips and Standards, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
+coding standards for Emacs Lisp programs; it is good to urge Lisp authors to
+read it (@pxref{Tips, , Tips and Conventions, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
Reference Manual}).
nowadays we want to give each program its own bug-reporting list and
move away from using @email{bug-gnu-utils}.
+If you wish, you can also have mailing lists such as
+@samp{info-@var{program}} for announcements (@pxref{Announcements}),
+@samp{help-@var{program}} for general help and discussion (see below),
+or any others you find useful.
+
+By far the easiest way to create mailing lists is through
+@code{savannah.gnu.org}. Once you register your program, you can do
+this yourself through the `Mailing Lists' menu, without needing
+intervention by anyone else. Furthermore, lists created through
+Savannah will have a reasonable default configuration for antispam
+purposes (see below).
+
If you are the maintainer of a GNU package, you should have an account
-on the GNU servers; contact @email{accounts@@gnu.org} if you don't have
-one. (You can also ask for accounts for people who help you a large
-amount in working on the package.) With this account, you can edit
-@file{/com/mailer/aliases} to create a new unmanaged list or add
-yourself to an existing unmanaged list. A comment near the beginning of
-that file explains how to create a Mailman-managed mailing list.
+on the GNU servers; contact
+@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/README.accounts.html} if you don't
+have one. (You can also ask for accounts for people who help you a
+large amount in working on the package.) With this account, you can
+edit @file{/com/mailer/aliases} to create a new unmanaged list or add
+yourself to an existing unmanaged list. A comment near the beginning
+of that file explains how to create a Mailman-managed mailing list.
But if you don't want to learn how to do those things, you can
alternatively ask @email{alias-file@@gnu.org} to add you to the
@node Automated Upload Registration
@subsection Automated Upload Registration
-@cindex registration
+@cindex registration for uploads
@cindex uploads, registration for
Here is how to register your information so you can perform uploads
package. You also receive a message when your upload has been successfully
processed.
+One relatively easy way to create and transfer the necessary files is
+to use the @code{gnupload} script, which is available from the
+@file{build-aux/} directory of the @code{gnulib} project at
+@url{http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/gnulib}. Run @code{gnupload
+--help} for a description and examples.
+
+@code{gnupload} uses the @code{ncftpput} program to do the actual
+transfers; if you don't happen to have the @code{ncftp} package
+installed, you can use the @code{ncftpput-ftp} script as a
+replacement, which uses plain command line @code{ftp}. It's also
+available from the @file{build-aux/} directory of @code{gnulib}.
+
If you have difficulties processing an upload, email
@email{ftp-upload@@gnu.org}.
@node Announcements
@section Announcing Releases
+@cindex announcements
+@cindex @code{info-gnu} mailing list
When you have a new release, please make an announcement. For
official new releases, including those made just to fix bugs, we
-recommend using the (moderated) general GNU announcements list,
-@email{info-gnu@@gnu.org}. Doing so makes it easier for users and
-developers to find the latest GNU releases.
-
-You can maintain your own mailing list for announcements as well if
-you like. For your own list, you can decide as you see fit what
-events are worth announcing.
+strongly recommend using the (moderated) general GNU announcements
+list, @email{info-gnu@@gnu.org}. Doing so makes it easier for users
+and developers to find the latest GNU releases. On the other hand,
+please do not announce test releases on @code{info-gnu} unless it's an
+unusual situation.
+
+@cindex @url{http://planet.gnu.org}
+@cindex Savannah, news area
+Please also post release announcements in the news section of your
+Savannah project site. It is fine to also write news entries for test
+releases and any other newsworthy events. The news feeds from all GNU
+projects at savannah are aggregated at @url{http://planet.gnu.org}.
+(You can also post items directly, or arrange for feeds from other
+locations; see contact information on the GNU Planet web page.)
+
+@cindex announcement mailing list, project-specific
+You can maintain your own mailing list (typically
+@email{info-@var{program}@@gnu.org}) for announcements as well if you
+like. For your own list, of course you can decide as you see fit what
+events are worth announcing. (@xref{Mail}, for more suggestions on
+handling mail for your package.)
@node Web Pages
Please write web pages about your package for installation on
@code{www.gnu.org}. They should follow our usual standards for web
-pages (see @url{http://www.gnu.org/server}); we chose them in order to
-support a wide variety of browsers, to focus on information rather
-than flashy eye candy, and to keep the site simple and uniform.
+pages (see @url{http://www.gnu.org/server/fsf-html-style-sheet.html}).
+The overall goals are to support a wide variety of browsers, to focus
+on information rather than flashy eye candy, and to keep the site
+simple and uniform.
The simplest way to maintain the web pages for your project is to
register the project on @code{savannah.gnu.org}. Then you can edit
Software Movement is idealistic, and raises issues of freedom, ethics,
principle and what makes for a good society. The Open Source Movement,
founded in 1998, studiously avoids such questions. For more explanation,
-see @url{http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html}.
+see @url{http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html}.
The GNU Project is aligned with the Free Software Movement. This
doesn't mean that all GNU contributors and maintainers have to agree;
@cindex Free Software Directory
@cindex Directory, Free Software
-The Free Software Directory aims to be a complete list of free software
-packages, within certain criteria. Every GNU package should be listed
-there, so please contact @email{bug-directory@@gnu.org} to ask for
-information on how to write an entry for your package.
+The Free Software Directory aims to be a complete list of free
+software packages, within certain criteria. Every GNU package should
+be listed there, so please see
+@url{http://www.gnu.org/help/directory.html#adding-entries} for
+information on how to write an entry for your package. Contact
+@email{bug-directory@@gnu.org} with any questions or suggestions for
+the Free Software Directory.
@node Using the Proofreaders List
time-stamp-start: "@set lastupdate "
time-stamp-end: "$"
time-stamp-format: "%:b %:d, %:y"
-compile-command: "make just-maintain"
+compile-command: "make -C work.m"
End: