After installing apache, the default site configuration file is /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf. The site defined therein serves files from /var/www, qua the
DocumentRoot /var/www
The directive for that directory (the <Directory /var/www> block) is in a different config file (apache2.conf).
In order to serve from another directory (e.g. /home/me/public_html), I'd have to change /var/www to the new path in both locations. I suggest moving the <Directory /var/www> block to /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf because
1. it makes more sense to collect the /var/www stuff in one file
2. it'll easier to figure out how to move the document root
3. if you miss out on the "Require all granted" configuration, presently found only in apache2.conf, you'll get 403's that will drive you nuts--this is not documented in many tutorials found on the web, nor in https://help.ubuntu.com/13.10/serverguide/httpd.html
Thank you for taking the time to file this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better.
I don't think it makes sense for Ubuntu to deviate from Debian's packaging on this point. Please can you check if your report also applies to Debian, and if so then file a bug against the apache2 package in Debian?
Also, are you aware that in Trusty, the document root has moved to /var/www/html? See http://