# HG changeset patch
# User Mark Doliner <mark@kingant.net>
# Date 1249001793 0
# Node ID 37141b94d568949ee394601b980b7a110ab26299
# Parent  42359a734696a9979d9e0d1c807d3b07cfe11506
Add a note about why we do this.  Feel free to correct spelling
and grammer, and change for readability and correctness.

diff -r 42359a734696 -r 37141b94d568 COPYRIGHT
--- a/COPYRIGHT	Fri Jul 31 00:48:16 2009 +0000
+++ b/COPYRIGHT	Fri Jul 31 00:56:33 2009 +0000
@@ -1,8 +1,21 @@
 Pidgin, Finch, and libpurple
-Copyright (C) 1998-2009 by the following:
+
+This file is intended to be a comprehensive list of contributors to
+this project.  If you have contributed to this project then you deserve
+to be on this list.  Contact us (see: AUTHORS) and we'll add you.
 
-If you have contributed to this project then you deserve to be on this
-list.  Contact us (see: AUTHORS) and we'll add you.
+Many open source projects list contributor names at the top of each
+source file that the contributor contributed to.  However, we've found
+that it is difficult to keep this list accurate.  Especially when old
+code is removed or existing code is moved to a different file.  So
+instead we chose to list a generic message at the top of each source
+file that points here.
+
+If concerns are raised as to the copyright holder of a particular
+piece of code, then that code should be traced through our version
+control system to see where it came from and who has modified it.
+
+Copyright (C) 1998-2009 by the following:
 
 Saleem Abdulrasool
 Dave Ahlswede