(Resending this email, since I forgot to add the debugs.gnu.org address as a recipient)

> IMHO the Guix behaviour of always setting a value is the right one
> (explicit is better than implicit after all). As for the default
> values, one might disagree as to which fits, but I don't think ignoring
> lid switches while powered is harmful.

That's fair!

Well, if explicitly setting variables is the standard, then I suggest changing `handle-lid-switch-external-power` to the same value as `handle-lid-switch` ("suspend"). I agree that the current setting isn't harmful, but this change would match the default, unconfigured behavior of `elogind`. It would also be more consistent with other distros' defaults from what I've experienced.