Re: [groff] mom manpage

[G. Branden Robinson]

At 2018-12-01T09:27:03-0500, Doug McIlroy wrote:
> Software that inherently defies concise description is suspect on
> its face.

Ingo made a similar point not long ago when he and I were arguing past
each other.

I agree with this--such a property is definitely grounds for suspicion,
_but_...

> In all likelihood it was built by accumulation way beyond the bounds
> of any organizing principles that the author(s) may have had at the
> outset.

When this is the case it is of little help to those tasked with the
maintenance of technical documentation.  If we are not prepared to
undertake a revolutionary act, like discarding a tool altogether, or
removing the -u flag from cat[1], then our responsibility is to document
the software system as it exists, warts and all.

Regards,
Branden

[1] I note with some amusement that GNU coreutils documents cat's -u
flag as "ignored", thus reinforcing the FSF's reputation as
woolly-faced, bomb-tossing radicals.  :P

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