Re: problem of define-minor-mode while bootstrapping

[Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org>]

    >     > The reason for this little piece of code is so as to call (foo-mode 1) when
    >     > people do (setq foo-mode t) in their .emacs and then load foo-mode.el.
    >     > But people shouldn't use (setq foo-mode t), they should use (foo-mode 1)
    >     > instead anyway.
    >     > So I'd rather use that code less often rather than more often.
    > 
    >     CAn we just get rid of it?
    > 
    > I'd rather not do that.
    > It would be an incompatible change, and I don't see
    > enough reason for one.

    The fact that you can't currently DTRT seems good enough.

Would you please be more specific?  I have no idea what that refers
to.  The start of this conversation was a week or more ago, and I
don't remember it.  What exactly is the RT that we can't D?

      I don't see
    a serious problem with such a change since I, for one, wasn't aware
    there was such code and the minor mode doc explicitly says that
    setting the variable doesn't take effect.

Could you show me the specific documentation?  Maybe it needs to be
fixed.

    It's also meant to be a requirement that just loading a library
    doesn't change Emacs's state, particularly for the sake of Custom; I
    think that's documented, but if not, it should be.

Could you explain more concretely what it is that you're thinking of
as a change in Emacs's state?  My memory is saying that this code was
designed to avoid an unwanted change in Emacs's state.