README.manpages: Clarify that man-page source is ASCII.

[nmh] / docs / README.manpages

diff --git a/docs/README.manpages b/docs/README.manpages
index 42bd6a35a9057bd0b05c0b5d5da6f5d5a2426ddd..412ba9c4981105d93c5477fc1051181b4856969a 100644 (file)
--- a/docs/README.manpages
+++ b/docs/README.manpages
@@ -27,10 +27,10 @@ Troff Considerations
        When quoting, use \*(lq and \*(rq. This ensures correct
        formatting on typesetter-like devices.
 
-       Don't use UTF-8 characters in the manpage source.  We still
-       build and run on systems that can't handle this.  And most
-       anything you would want to use has an internal troff character
-       escape sequence, anyway.
+        A man page's source is ASCII, not UTF-8.  troff has escapes for
+        non-ASCII characters, e.g. \(em for an em-dash, U+2014, that are
+        mapped onto whatever the output device supports, e.g. UTF-8 or
+        PDF.
 
 
 Section Ordering
@@ -63,16 +63,8 @@ Dates
 
        The DATE in the .TH macro should reflect the most recent
        *non-trivial* update to the *content* of the manpage;
-       formatting changes don't count.  Spell out the date (no
-       abbreviations or shortcuts):
-
-         January 2, 1904
-
-       not the unparseable
-
-         01/02/04
-
-       Don't abbreviate the month.
+       formatting changes don't count, nor does expanding the `SEE
+       ALSO' list.  The date is in `yyyy-mm-dd' format.
 
 
 Program Names
@@ -99,7 +91,7 @@ SYNPOSIS Section
 
        Set literal text (such as flags) in bold.  Set parameters
        in italic.  Mutually exclusive options (like "-foo" and
-       "-nofoo") should be grouped together and seperated by a
+       "-nofoo") should be grouped together and separated by a
        "|":
 
                .RI [ +folder ]              <---- parameter