RE: Elisp manual node "Future Local Variables"

[Drew Adams]

        Why is this node in the manual? What is the point of mentioning
        possible future anythings? I really don't understand this.

    To ask people if they want these features.
    I don't think anyone has said he wants them.

I'm not for or against these particular features. I think it's inappropriate
to place this kind of thing in the user manual. There are other ways to ask
for input from users, and there is no reason to single out this or that
particular potential feature for mention in the doc (or is there?).
Technical doc usually tries to avoid mentioning what might or might not be
done in the future.

Apparently, this has been in the manual for almost a decade. Adding stuff
like this to the doc tends to pollute it with wannabe and hasbeen info that
can be confusing to users of the latest version. It seldom gets weeded out
because people lose track of what it was for.

It's better to put this kind of thing on a Web site (e.g. a wiki) or in a
list of stuff to be discussed by a mailing list. Or, a list of such
possibilities could be delivered _as such_ to users, along with Emacs (e.g.
in directory etc or made available via a Help menu). If we want to solicit
user input on particular questions, let's do so explicitly, not via stuff
that's buried in the manual.