RE: [External] : Re: Default custom file was: Re: Propose to add setup-wizard.el to ELPA

[Drew Adams <drew.adams@oracle.com>]

> >  The default behavior of Emacs now is to have
> >  a single file that mixes user coding and
> >  Custom coding.  Why is that a great idea?
> >
> > No one has answered that.  Forget, for a
> > second (and no, I'm not saying this isn't
> > important), that there is habit & legacy.
> 
> There goes the _most_ important aspect of this: it's been around for a
> long time, which is precisely why it's a great idea to stick with it.

What part of "no, I'm not saying this isn't
important", did you have trouble with?

> I don't think it's a good idea on its own, but it's too established to
> change now, no matter how good an idea the change is.

That's a pretty broad argument.  It argues
against pretty much all of the small & large
changes Emacs has undergone over the last
couple of decades.

It's a blanket argument against both good
& bad changes.  No addition of you-name-it.
(Think how long the lack of lexical binding
was "established".)

(And try arguing "longstanding behavior"
against some change coming from on high.
Been there.)

The number of things Emacs changes willy
nilly, which oblige users to change all
kinds of things in their code, setup, etc.,
is far greater than what I'd prefer.
We even live with some changes that are
unaccompanied by any stated reason, other
than a "Because _I_ like it".

This change would cause no such disruption.