"Non-nil means" versus "On means" in docstrings

[Bill Wohler]

When running checkdoc, I get a "Flag variable doc strings should usually
start: Non-nil means" error on the following:

  (defcustom mh-compose-space-does-completion-flag nil
    "*On means \\<mh-letter-mode-map>\\[mh-letter-complete-or-space] does 
completion in message header."
    :type 'boolean
    :group 'mh-letter)

This might have been fine before the advent of customize, but now that
we have customize, we have opened our applications (such as MH-E) to
non-programmers who would have no idea what "Non-nil" means. When they
click on the customize button, they see "On" and "Off".

I would therefore propose, for the sake of usability, to modify
checkdoc-this-string-valid-engine so that it accepts "On means" as well
as "Non-nil means".

Index: checkdoc.el
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvsroot/emacs/emacs/lisp/emacs-lisp/checkdoc.el,v
retrieving revision 1.51
diff -u -u -r1.51 checkdoc.el
--- checkdoc.el 24 Sep 2005 13:43:59 -0000      1.51
+++ checkdoc.el 27 Oct 2005 22:22:37 -0000
@@ -1635,7 +1635,8 @@
 
             ;; If the variable has -flag in the name, make sure
             (if (and (string-match "-flag$" (car fp))
-                     (not (looking-at "\"\\*?Non-nil\\s-+means\\s-+")))
+                     (not (looking-at
+                            "\"\\*?\\(Non-nil\\|On\\)\\s-+means\\s-+")))
                 (checkdoc-create-error
                  "Flag variable doc strings should usually start: Non-nil 
means"
                  s (marker-position e) t))

-- 
Bill Wohler <address@hidden>  http://www.newt.com/wohler/  GnuPG ID:610BD9AD
Maintainer of comp.mail.mh FAQ and MH-E. Vote Libertarian!
If you're passed on the right, you're in the wrong lane.