The point here is about users being _able_ to have the traditional
(pre-22)behavior, not about setting the traditional
behavior as the default.
Wouldn't that need be much less if the links where
underlined or only underlined links where followed by
mouse-1 (as I wrote in the
previous comment to your proposal)?
It has nothing to do with link appearance. (It would not
help to underline links in Dired.) Quite the contrary:
I don't want to have to look carefully to see if
I'm clicking on a link, just to select a buffer. I don't
want to check whether text is underlined or whatever.
Thanks, I see. But I believe many people would think
differently since they have learned otherwise from for
example web browsers.
And that's precisely why we let them use mouse-1 to follow links. I am not
proposing to take that away from anyone who expects or wants it.