Re: [TR] Substantive Change

On Thu, 31 Oct 2013 23:40:10 +0100, fantasai  
<fantasai.lists@inkedblade.net> wrote:

>    # A substantive change (whether deletion, inclusion, or other  
> modification)
>    # is one where someone could reasonably expect that making the change  
> would
>    # invalidate an individual's review or implementation experience.  
> Other
>    # changes (e.g., clarifications, bug fixes, editorial repairs, and  
> minor
>    # error corrections) are minor changes.
>
> If "substantive change" and "minor change" are meant to be mutually  
> exclusive (which it sounds like they are), then this paragraph is  
> self-contradictory:
> a bug fix, error correction, or clarification can be reasonably expected  
> to invalidate an individual's review or implementation experience if
> they had read the spec previously as saying other than what the WG
> intended.

Agreed. (This text is also in the current process, BTW).

> For example, let's say a step in the Flexbox algorithm forgot to mention
> that the width should be clamped to the specified min/max constraints.
> This is clearly an error from the WG's perspective. But someone  
> implementing based on the old text might have left out that step because
> it was not in the spec originally. Thus this change is bot a "bug fix"
> and a "substantive change".

I think the issue here is really whether it invalidates a review, or  
affects conformance. Anything that does is a substantive change, and I  
think that should be clarified.

I'll raise an issue on the definition of changes (or you can do it - the  
issue tracker should work for anyone in the CG).

cheers

chaals
-- 
Charles McCathie Nevile - Consultant (web standards) CTO Office, Yandex
       chaals@yandex-team.ru         Find more at http://yandex.com

Received on Friday, 1 November 2013 02:43:00 UTC