Don't display Changes link in sidebar if no Changes file was found

[neilb]

If a dist doesn't have a Changes (or ChangeLog, or ...) file, you still get a Changes link in the sidebar. For example in:

https://metacpan.org/pod/release/AKSTE/Array-PrintCols-2.5/lib/Array/PrintCols.pm

But when you click on the Changes link, you're told Not Found, and some other (generally not very helpful) links.

In this situation I think you should either:

• don't show a Changes link, or
• have grey Changes text, but not a link, and put a tooltip on it saying "no Changes file found.

I think the second option is a better user experience.

[szabgab]

I'd even add a link there to some explanation how to contribute a Changes file...

.... and then it would be also nice if there was a totally separate page listing all the releases that don't have a recognized Changes file.

[neilb]

and then it would be also nice if there was a totally separate page listing all the releases that don't have a recognized Changes file.

Don't say that. @rwstauner will produce one and then I'll feel honour-bound to fix them :-p

I'm fixing Array-PrintCols anyway :-)

[neilb]

I'd even add a link there to some explanation how to contribute a Changes file

I don't think that search results should be trying to get users (who are probably just looking for a module to help them get their work done) to fix stuff. That would be distracting.

But ...

it would be also nice if there was a totally separate page listing all the releases that don't have a recognized Changes file

Good idea.

And list other things too!

[rwstauner]

I made an issue on the api about adding the data that would enable us to do this check without doing another request.

[oalders]

This could use release.changes_file to decide whether to display the link.

[neilb]

Maybe if the dist doesn't have any change log, then the sidebar could say No Changes File or similar, and that could be a link to a page that tells the end-user about changes files, written both for authors and end users. More education, like was done for the Contributing stuff.