Bug#53760: [PROPOSED] revision of X application-defaults policy

[Branden Robinson]

Package: debian-policy
Version: 3.1.1.1
Severity: wishlist

Mostly a semantic revision, but also clarifies the language to properly
address the package maintainer, not the system administrator, as to how to
manage /etc/X11/Xresources.

-- 
G. Branden Robinson            |         Yesterday upon the stair,
Debian GNU/Linux               |         I met a man who wasn't there.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]         |         He wasn't there again today,
roger.ecn.purdue.edu/~branden/ |         I think he's from the CIA.

--- policy.sgml.orig    Wed Dec 29 17:01:51 1999
+++ policy.sgml Wed Dec 29 17:24:15 1999
@@ -3140,21 +3140,20 @@
          without) of your package.</p>
          
        <p>
-         <em>Application defaults</em> files have to be installed in
-         the directory <tt>/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/app-defaults/</tt>.
-         They are considered as part of the program code.  Thus, they
-         should not be modified and should not be tagged as
-         <em>conffile</em>s nor otherwise treated as configuration
-         files.  If the local system administrator wants
-         to customize X applications globally, a file with the same
-         name as that of the package should be placed in the
-         <tt>/etc/X11/Xresources/</tt> directory instead.
+         <em>Application defaults</em> files must be installed in the
+         directory <tt>/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/app-defaults/</tt>.  They should
+         not be registered as <em>conffile</em>s or otherwise treated as
+         configuration files.  Customization of programs' X resources may
+         be supported with the provision of a file with the same name as
+         that of the package placed in the <tt>/etc/X11/Xresources/</tt>
+         directory, which should be registered as a <em>conffile</em>.
          <em>Important:</em> packages that install files into the
-         <tt>/etc/X11/Xresources/</tt> directory <em>must</em>
-         declare a conflict with <tt>xbase (&lt;&lt;
-         3.3.2.3a-2)</tt>; if this is not done it is possible for the
-         package to destroy a previously-existing
-         <tt>/etc/X11/Xresources</tt> <em>file</em>.</p>
+         <tt>/etc/X11/Xresources/</tt> directory <em>must</em> declare a
+         conflict with <tt>xbase (&lt;&lt; 3.3.2.3a-2)</tt>; if this is
+         not done it is possible for the installing package to destroy a
+         previously-existing <tt>/etc/X11/Xresources</tt> <em>file</em>
+         which had been customized by the system administrator.</p>
+       </p>
          
        <p>
          No package should ever install files into the directories