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I have a package for interacting with GRASS GIS processes, available on MELPA. The rate of development and number of users are both quite low, so there's no need for a mailing list or any formal communications with my users.

However, I've just introduced some changes to the configuration options that will require some attention from my users - how can I communicate this to them, given that for most of them all they will see is the updated package coming in from MELPA? Is there a way to pass a message on to users that they will see the first time they run code after a certain change has been made? What is best-practice in this regard?

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    I think this should be closed as "opinion-based".
    – user227
    Commented Oct 30, 2015 at 16:39
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    You can use the method magit uses to warn users about incompatible git version.. basically conditionally displaying messages using display-warning.
    – Kaushal Modi
    Commented Oct 30, 2015 at 16:45
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    @lunaryorn "is there a way to pass a message to users via the package system?" isn't opinion based. Best-practices may or may not be, depending on whether package.el or the different repositories have an established method in place for passing info on to users.
    – Tyler
    Commented Oct 30, 2015 at 17:35

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I think the answer is that you're looking at the wrong place: try to solve the more general problem where the user installs your package maybe by hand, or via some other package system, or via ELPA but in a 100% automated way (so he won't see any message that may show up at that point).

IOW do it with code within your package, which tries to recognize the problematic situation and emit a warning/error accordingly at that time (i.e. at the time the package is used, rather than when it's installed or compiled).

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  • what does "IOW" mean?
    – uuu
    Commented Aug 9, 2016 at 20:45
  • @toogley In Other Words
    – Tyler
    Commented Aug 9, 2016 at 21:09

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