docs/160696: style(9) should be mentioned in the devs' handbook

[Warren Block]

On Thu, 13 Oct 2011, Garrett Cooper wrote:

> On Thu, Oct 13, 2011 at 9:13 PM, Warren Block <wblock at wonkity.com> wrote:
>> On Fri, 14 Oct 2011, Benjamin Kaduk wrote:
>>
>>> The overall paragraph feels a bit odd, though; maybe like it's written in
>>> a more informal style than I would expect?  A more standard dry, technical
>>> writing version might be:
>>> %%%%%%%%%%
>>> <para>When working in a large codebase such as the &os; source, it is
>>> important to adhere to a common coding style.  This provides uniformity
>>
>>               ^^^^^^
>> "conform" might be better here.
>
> I'm usually not touchy feely about wording like this, but unless the
> rest of the document is worded in such a standoffish / cold manner, I
> would just keep things polite and neutral. "Conform" sounds really
> pushy and "When working in a..." sounds condescending in my opinion.

Here's a rewrite:

<para>Consistent coding style is extremely important, particularly with
   large projects like &os;.  Code should follow the &os; coding styles
   described in &man.style.9;, and &man.style.Makefile.5;.</para>


As an alternate:

<para>We know you've developed some fancy coding style of your own.  So
   has everybody else.  Hundreds of people, maybe even thousands, have
   contributed to &os;, and mixing all those different styles results in
   a mess.  So we're sorry, but do it as shown in &man.style.9;  and
   &man.style.Makefile.5; if you want your code to be accepted.</para>