From: Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
Date: Sun, 25 May 2025 09:08:02 +0000 (+0300)
Subject: ; * CONTRIBUTE: Explain the line-width preferences.
X-Git-Tag: archive/raspbian/1%30.2+1-2+rpi1^2~2^2~24^2~69
X-Git-Url: https://dgit.raspbian.org/%22http:/www.example.com/cgi/%22https://%22Program/%22http:/www.example.com/cgi/%22https:/%22Program?a=commitdiff_plain;h=421ecbcf6b476c413675e93c074f1399db146fc8;p=emacs.git

; * CONTRIBUTE: Explain the line-width preferences.
---

diff --git a/CONTRIBUTE b/CONTRIBUTE
index 06e6fe45c84..2da47fa35f8 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTE
+++ b/CONTRIBUTE
@@ -231,7 +231,9 @@ formatting them:
 - Lines in ChangeLog entries should preferably be not longer than 63
   characters, and must not exceed 78 characters, unless they consist
   of a single word of at most 140 characters; this 78/140 limit is
-  enforced by a commit hook.
+  enforced by a commit hook.  (The 63-character preference is to
+  avoid too-long lines in the ChangeLog file generated from Git logs,
+  where each entry line is indented by a TAB.)
 
 - If only a single file is changed, the summary line can be the normal
   first line of a ChangeLog entry (starting with the asterisk).  Then