RE: [External] : Re: Default custom file was: Re: Propose to add setup-wizard.el to ELPA

[Drew Adams]

>> The *only* case I can see where we could set
>> custom-file to eg ~/.emacs.d/custom.el (and
>> maybe load it automatically) is for people
>> with no customizations.
>
> Hmmm??? I don't get it... really and humbly sorry.
> My initial take is that things will be clearer if
> you split things between init.el and custom.el.

Definitely.  Your initial take is correct.

> Customising and initialising are two different
> although related things.   I think it is less
> dangerous to delete the custom.el file and leave
> the init.el file untouched than to edit the
> .emacs or the init.el file. More so for novice users.

Definitely.  This is a case where requiring those
users who insist on keeping things as they are
(living dangerously) would suffer a  v e r y  mild
one-time inconvenience.  They'd just make a simple
addition to their init files: (setq custom-file
MY-INIT-FILE).

I often defend _not_ changing default behavior,
especially when it's longstanding (and often to
no avail, alas).

This is a rare case where the advantages of a
simple change vastly outweigh the disadvantages.