[erlang-questions] Controversial subject of the day: tabs and spaces for indentation

[Vlad Dumitrescu]

Hi all,

It's been almost a full day since the last controversial issue was
discussed here and I feel it's time for a new one (well, it's actually
old).

The default indentation used by the erlang-mode uses a mix of tabs and
spaces. Whatever side one is in the "tabs vs spaces" war, mixing them
is the common enemy!

Not everybody uses emacs, nor should they be forced to. This means
that creating a patch might take less time than adjusting the
whitespace afterwards, which feels a horrible waste of time and
energy.

Of course, we the non-emacs-using hackers of the OTP code might be in
a crushing minority, and then the issue will get closed quickly. I
feel however that I need to try to change this. I have abstained
before from submitting small fixes just because of this (instead I
sold the idea to someone else, but that doesn't always work).

So my question is: are enough people bothered by this issue? If yes,
can we try to agree on a solution? Such changes are best done in
connection with a release.

best regards,
Vlad