Re: [PATCH] Remove special requirement to disable startup message.

[Mark Oteiza]

On 23/12/15 at 12:10am, Richard Stallman wrote:
>   > > This code blocks the most obvious way for the site to disable the
>   > > message for all users.
> 
>   > Why is this important?
> 
> So that sysadmins will think twice before disabling the message for
> their users.

Are there sites that disable the message? Is there something other than
imagining hostile site admins or distro packagers that prompted the
addition (and consequent bizarre treatment) of this variable?

>   > It also makes the init file of a user following the docstring of
>   > inhibit-startup-echo-area-message less portable. 
> 
> In what sense "less portable"?  What does it need to be portable to?
> If you answer that, we can judge whether this issue matters.

An individual using their username to disable the message will not
necessarily be able to use the same config across different sites.
The practice of keeping emacs configs synchronized across sites is
rather prevalent, and this weird treatment of the variable makes it
useless as a defcustom in this respect. Put another way, the message is
not "easily inhibitable" as written in the Elisp manual.