License Section

[RichardLitt]

@tunnckoCore, here:

And second I also don't have License section, because it 1) can be accessed directly by opening the LICENSE file from file browser, or 2) by clicking the badge which is next to the name of the repo (h1). I think it is more faster than scrolling to the end of big/small readmes. Look at mukla's or hybridify's current/latest readme using verb 0.9. :)

If you are lawyer or such, or just you come to see the license, isn't it more natural to look is there a license file first and open it directly, instead of scrolling and etc? That's why I don't have license section. Also in the package's npm page have link to license based on license field in package.json.

I still think it is industry standard - at least in the Node community - to have a License note, and as it is the last element, I don't think it detracts. The README should be the sole source of information - it can link elsewhere (like to the LICENSE file), and I think this redundancy (which you are right, it is) is useful, in that regard. If I just cat the README, I should know the License without having to look in another file. Also, package.json is js-specific. I want standard-readme to be more than just javascript.

[wooorm]

Related: zcei/standard-readme#4 (TL;DR: Probably not required by law, but user friendly).

[RichardLitt]

TL;DR: Probably not required by law, but user friendly

Sums it up for me.

[tunnckoCore]

If I just cat the README, I should know the License without having to look in another file.

good point, just forgot about that. hm.

[RichardLitt]

Cool. Reopen if more discussion happens; at some point, I've got to stop bikeshedding - doesn't mean I am stopping conversation, though. :)

[tunnckoCore]

But one more thing. Why you'll cat the README and expect to have license header as last header, when you'll see the LICENSE file when ls. Just curious. Everything we need is good and logical mind.

[RichardLitt]

Because that's an extra command. And because I think that the README should be a source of truth for this, too. It's often what one finds as the first point of entry - even before downloading the module, like on GitHub, where you have to click License to see the contents of the file.

[tunnckoCore]

In 90 or even 99% of the cases there's also license file in every repository, so you can directly cat it, not the readme, lol. But nevermind, i'm just thinking differently whole life :D

[RichardLitt]

:) No! These are good questions. I just think that the redundancy is super useful here.