Carl-Daniel Hailfinger wrote: ..
this move has a total cost of roughly 18*2*20=720 minutes for the core committers.
The cost when compared to this discussion and many others like it strikes me as negligible.
net benefit.
..
net loss.
I'm afraid you're ignoring the value of clear structure and good naming. This is important to ensure as low an entry level as possible. Which in turn is crucial in order to reach as many users, and developers, as possible.
This suspiciously sounds like Gentoo. "I can save 2 seconds of startup if I recompile the whole system for days."
It sounds like you (like so many others) have missed the point of Gentoo; it's not that users should compile for maximum binary performance, but that users should be able to make all choices that they want.
Many Linux users do not care squat about choice and are really happy with the latest cute bear distribution. Others enjoy the power of choice very much, probably not because it gives them 2 seconds faster execution, but perhaps because they feel more involved in how their system works.
The choices made by Gentoo users is irrelevant. The fact that they _can_ make those choices is what I think makes Gentoo unique.
//Peter