>>>>> On Thu, 3 Aug 2017, Michael Orlitzky wrote:

> On 08/03/2017 03:39 PM, Mike Gilbert wrote:
>> The developer handbook was also a "policy" manual of sorts when it
>> existed.

> The developer handbook that I just said didn't mention variables in
> HOMEPAGE at all.

It did, even back in 2004:
https://sources.gentoo.org/cgi-bin/viewvc.cgi/gentoo/xml/htdocs/proj/en/devrel/handbook/hb-guide-ebuild.xml?hideattic=0&revision=1.10&view=markup#l534

Ulrich