> >> You got it to work with the alternative
> >> package, thingatpt+?
> >
> > Got what to work?  thingatpt+.el isn't an
> > alternative in the sense that it replaces
> > thingatpt.el.  It fixes and extends stuff
> > in the latter.  It builds on it.
> 
> Okay, alternative function then.

I repeat, "Got what to work?"

___

> As for what is `require'd no need to communicate that to
> anyone since it is handled by/in library+'s source ...

I was explaining to you the file-name convention I
use, since you brought up the `+' in the file name.

> > (I've even had a couple libraries with suffix - instead of
> > +, where - means load before the library to be extended, and
> > + means load after it.)
> 
> A clever little game in your mind and by all means, but it
> doesn't look good and with the hyphen-minus it looks even
> worse since that is used as our beloved
> lisp-word-separator ...

File-name syntax has nothing to do with Lisp syntax.

That some file name "doesn't look good" to you is,
well, too bad.  You're not obliged to like it. ;-)

> And there is no need to communicate any of that,

No.  Users can sometimes need to know how and when
to load a library.

> anything should be possible to load at any time

Absolutely not - if the intended behavior is to
be achieved.  Load order of libraries matters, in
general.  Loading means evaluating Lisp code, and
evaluation order matters in Lisp.

> and if at that point
> further loading is ... required then that is all handled in
> that pack's source, nothing to bother the mere user with since
> s/he isn't even doing it.

I think you're wailing in the dark, here.

This is what such a file says.  Do you think users
shouldn't be told this?

;;; Commentary:
;;
;;  Extensions to library `ffap.el'.
;;
;;  To use this library, add this to your initialization file.
;;
;;      (require 'ffap-) ; Load this library.
;;
;;  You should explicitly load *only* `ffap-.el', not also
;;  `ffap.el' (this will automatically load `ffap.el').

> Or they are not redefining each other's stuff, are they?

They are.  And at specific points.

`ffap-.el', for instance, redefines variable
`ffap-bindings', to make it user option.
And it adds a variable to let you inhibit FFAP
buffer-locally.

Then it loads standard library `ffap.el'.

Then it redefines function `ffap-guesser', to
take advantage of those vars.

https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/download/ffap-.el

See also bug #26243:
https://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=25243