Use outline format.

Add section on copyright years (from admin/notes/years).

1 files changed, 142 insertions, 74 deletions

diff --git a/CONTRIBUTE b/CONTRIBUTE
index 8b69ccd0983..e1fb74c8df6 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTE
+++ b/CONTRIBUTE
@@ -25,112 +25,180 @@ pages, or develop a package that works with Emacs.
 Here are some style and legal conventions for contributors to Emacs:
 
 
-o	Coding Standards
+* Coding Standards
 
-	Contributed code should follow the GNU Coding Standard.
-	If it doesn't, we'll need to find someone to fix the code
-	before we can use it.
+Contributed code should follow the GNU Coding Standard.
 
-	Emacs has certain additional style and coding conventions.
+If it doesn't, we'll need to find someone to fix the code before we
+can use it.
 
-	Ref: http://www.gnu.org/prep/standards_toc.html
-	Ref: GNU Coding Standards Info Manual
+Emacs has certain additional style and coding conventions.
 
+Ref: http://www.gnu.org/prep/standards_toc.html
+Ref: GNU Coding Standards Info Manual
+Ref: The "Tips" Appendix in the Emacs Lisp Reference.
 
-o	Copyright Assignment
 
-	We can accept small changes without legal papers, and for
-	medium-size changes a copyright disclaimer is ok too.  To
-	accept substantial contributions from you, we need a copyright
-	assignment form filled out and filed with the FSF.
+* Copyright Assignment
 
-	Contact us at emacs-devel@gnu.org to obtain the relevant
-	forms.
+We can accept small changes without legal papers, and for medium-size
+changes a copyright disclaimer is ok too.  To accept substantial
+contributions from you, we need a copyright assignment form filled out
+and filed with the FSF.
 
+Contact us at emacs-devel@gnu.org to obtain the relevant forms.
 
-o	Getting the Source Code
 
-	The latest version of Emacs can be downloaded using CVS or
-	Arch from the Savannah web site.  It is important to write
-	your patch based on this version; if you start from an older
-	version, your patch may be outdated when you write it, and
-	maintainers will have hard time applying it.
+* Getting the Source Code
 
-	After you have downloaded the CVS source, you should read the
-	file INSTALL.CVS for build instructions (they differ to some
-	extent from a normal build).
+The latest version of Emacs can be downloaded using CVS or Arch from
+the Savannah web site.  It is important to write your patch based on
+this version; if you start from an older version, your patch may be
+outdated when you write it, and maintainers will have hard time
+applying it.
 
-	Ref: http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/emacs
+After you have downloaded the CVS source, you should read the file
+INSTALL.CVS for build instructions (they differ to some extent from a
+normal build).
 
+Ref: http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/emacs
 
-o	Submitting Patches
 
-	Every patch must have several pieces of information before we
-	can properly evaluate it.
+* Submitting Patches
 
-	* For bug fixes, a description of the bug and how your patch
-	  fixes this bug.
+Every patch must have several pieces of information before we
+can properly evaluate it.
 
-	* For new features, a description of the feature and your
-	  implementation.
+When you have all these pieces, bundle them up in a mail message and
+send it to emacs-pretest-bug@gnu.org or emacs-devel@gnu.org.
 
-	* A ChangeLog entry as plaintext (separate from the patch);
-	  see the various ChangeLog files for format and content. Note
-	  that, unlike some other projects, we do require ChangeLogs
-	  also for documentation, i.e. Texinfo files.
+All subsequent discussion should also be sent to the mailing list.
 
-	  Ref: "Change Log Concepts" node of the GNU Coding Standards
-	  Info Manual, for how to write good log entries.
+** Description
 
-	* The patch itself.  If you are accessing the CVS repository
-	  use "cvs update; cvs diff -cp"; else, use "diff -cp OLD NEW".
-	  If your version of diff does not support these options, then
-	  get the latest version of GNU Diff. 
+For bug fixes, a description of the bug and how your patch fixes this
+bug.
 
-	* We accept the patches as plain text (preferred for the
-	  compilers themselves), MIME attachments (preferred for the
-	  web pages), or as uuencoded gzipped text.
+For new features, a description of the feature and your
+implementation.
 
-	When you have all these pieces, bundle them up in a mail message
-	and send it to emacs-pretest-bug@gnu.org or emacs-devel@gnu.org.
-	All subsequent discussion should also be sent to the mailing
-	list.
+** ChangeLog
 
+A ChangeLog entry as plaintext (separate from the patch).
 
-o	Please reread your patch before submitting it.
+See the various ChangeLog files for format and content. Note that,
+unlike some other projects, we do require ChangeLogs also for
+documentation, i.e. Texinfo files.
 
+Ref: "Change Log Concepts" node of the GNU Coding Standards Info
+Manual, for how to write good log entries.
 
-o	If you send several unrelated changes together, we will
-	ask you to separate them so we can consider each of the changes
-	by itself.
+** The patch itself.
 
+Please use "Context Diff" format.
 
-o	Supplemental information for Emacs Developers:
+If you are accessing the CVS repository use
+	cvs update; cvs diff -cp
+else, use
+	diff -cp OLD NEW
 
-	Once you become a frequent contributor to Emacs, we can
-	consider giving you write access to the CVS repository.
+If your version of diff does not support these options, then get the
+latest version of GNU Diff.
 
-	Discussion about Emacs development takes place on
-	emacs-devel@gnu.org.
+** Mail format.
 
-	Think carefully about whether your change requires updating the
-	documentation.  If it does, you can either do this yourself or
-	add an item to the NEWS file.
+We prefer to get the patches as inline plain text.
 
-	If you document your change in NEWS, please mark the NEWS
-	entry with the documentation status of the change: if you
-	submit the changes for the manuals, mark it with "+++"; if it
-	doesn't need to be documented, mark it with "---"; if it needs
-	to be documented, but you didn't submit documentation changes,
-	leave the NEWS entry unmarked.  (These marks are checked by
-	the Emacs maintainers to make sure every change was reflected
-	in the manuals.)
+Please be aware of line wrapping which will make the patch unreadable
+and useless for us.  To avoid that, you can use MIME attachments or,
+as a last resort, uuencoded gzipped text.
 
-	The best way to understand Emacs Internals is to read the code,
-	but the nodes "Tips" and "GNU Emacs Internals" in the Appendix
-	of the Emacs Lisp Reference Manual may also help.
+** Please reread your patch before submitting it.
 
-	The file etc/DEBUG describes how to debug Emacs bugs.
+** Do not mix changes.
+
+If you send several unrelated changes together, we will ask you to
+separate them so we can consider each of the changes by itself.
+
+
+* Coding style and conventions.
+
+** Mandatory reading:
+
+The "Tips and Conventions" Appendix of the Emacs Lisp Reference.
+
+** Avoid using `defadvice' or `eval-after-load' for Lisp code to be
+included in Emacs.
+
+** Remove all trailing whitespace in all source and text files.
+
+** Use ?\s instead of ?  in Lisp code for a space character.
+
+
+* Supplemental information for Emacs Developers.
+
+** Write access to Emacs' CVS repository.
+
+Once you become a frequent contributor to Emacs, we can consider
+giving you write access to the CVS repository.
+
+
+** Emacs Mailing lists.
+
+Discussion about Emacs development takes place on emacs-devel@gnu.org.
+
+Bug reports for released versions are sent to emacs-bugs@gnu.org.
+
+Bug reports for development versions are sent to emacs-pretest-bug@gnu.org.
+
+You can subscribe to the mailing lists at savannah.gnu.org/projects/emacs.
+
+You can find the mailing lists archives at mail.gnu.org or gmane.org.
+
+
+** Document your changes.
+
+Think carefully about whether your change requires updating the
+documentation.  If it does, you can either do this yourself or add an
+item to the NEWS file.
+
+If you document your change in NEWS, please mark the NEWS entry with
+the documentation status of the change: if you submit the changes for
+the manuals, mark it with "+++"; if it doesn't need to be documented,
+mark it with "---"; if it needs to be documented, but you didn't
+submit documentation changes, leave the NEWS entry unmarked.  (These
+marks are checked by the Emacs maintainers to make sure every change
+was reflected in the manuals.)
+
+
+** Understanding Emacs Internals.
+
+The best way to understand Emacs Internals is to read the code,
+but the nodes "Tips" and "GNU Emacs Internals" in the Appendix
+of the Emacs Lisp Reference Manual may also help.
+
+The file etc/DEBUG describes how to debug Emacs bugs.
+
+
+
+* How to Maintain Copyright Years for GNU Emacs
+
+** Our lawyer says it is ok if we add, to each file that has been in Emacs
+since Emacs 21 came out in 2001, all the subsequent years.  We don't
+need to check whether *that file* was changed in those years.
+It's sufficient that *Emacs* was changed in those years (and it was!).
+
+** For those files that have been added since then, we should add
+the year it was added to Emacs, and all subsequent years."
+
+** For the refcards under etc/, it's ok to simply use the latest year
+(typically in a `\def\year{YEAR}' expression) for the rendered copyright
+notice, while maintaining the full list of years in the copyright notice
+in the comments.
+
+
+Local variables:
+mode: outline
+paragraph-separate: "[ 	]*$"
+end:
 
-	Avoid using `defadvice' or `eval-after-load' for Lisp
-	code to be included in Emacs.